Article ID: CBB808676145

‘With the Risk of Being Called Retrograde’. Racial Classifications and the Attack on the Aryan Myth by Jean-Baptiste d'Omalius d'Halloy (1783–1875) (2017)

unapi

Renowned for his geological studies, Jean-Baptiste d'Omalius d'Halloy also pursued a far less known anthropological career. In different ‘editions’ of his main work, the first Belgian armchair anthropologist tried to divide the world population into races, branches, families and peoples. As a true figure of transition between the 18th and 19th century, he used both human and natural sciences to establish his racial classification, based on natural characters and geography, but also evolution, history and language. Influenced by both William Frederic Edwards and Paul Broca, d'Omalius often defended polygenist views, despite his catholic and monogenist conviction and his refusal to accept the multiple origin of humankind. It is also notable that d'Omalius, like Tacitus and Montesquieu before him, claimed that the sole origin of humankind could to be situated in Northern European, which for d'Omalius still represented the homeland of the most civilized races. Critical of the ‘Aryan myth’, he stated that ‘Germanic’ culture and language had spread over Asia and not the other way around, an argument that caused conflict within learned societies and at international conferences. For the first time, based on new archival material, this article offers an overview of Belgian anthropology before the creation of Société d'Anthropologie de Bruxelles in 1882.

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Authors & Contributors
Stewart, Ian B.
Balogh, Piroska
Victor Genin
Teslow, Tracy
Blanckaert, Claude
TallBear, Kimberly
Concepts
Anthropology
Science and race
Human sciences
Science and culture
Museums
Indigenous peoples; indigeneity
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century, early
20th century
Enlightenment
Places
France
Belgium
United States
Germany
Australia
Africa
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