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The paper explores the origins of ideas about Australian Aborigines as the archetypal "natural men" in nineteenth-century Western thought. These notions are primarily derived from a specific group of texts that had a profound influence on social evolutionary theory, impacting figures like Marx, Engels, and Morgan. The paper delves into the context and content of these foundational texts to understand the origins and nature of these ideas. It particularly focuses on Marx, Engels, and Morgan, who collectively contributed to a significant strain of social evolutionary theory that continues to impact modern archaeologists and anthropologists, especially in socialist countries. The discussion is structured around key works, examining Marx and Engels' writings before encountering Morgan's work, Morgan's utilization of Australian Aboriginal ethnography, Marx's consideration of anthropological sources, and Engels' use of the same sources.