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Opening address: the magic of the skull. ‘Commercium craniorum’ in the nineteenth century
Author(s) -
LuyendijkElshout Antonie M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1212(199711/12)7:6<571::aid-oa330>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - phrenology , magic (telescope) , skull , character (mathematics) , art history , art , history , anatomy , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , geometry , mathematics , pathology , quantum mechanics
Interest in skull‐collecting started with the concept of phrenology, as postulated by Franz Joseph Gall in the late eighteenth century. After the denouncement of his doctrines around 1850 skulls were studied as indicators of national character. A lively exchange of skulls between anthropologists took place. This so‐called ‘commercium craniorum’ involved scientists such as Anders Retzius in Sweden, Joseph Barnard Davis in England, and Samuel Morton in America. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.