Anthropological and Archaeological American Studies in the 19th Century: On the Way to Science

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to study the initial stages of the development of anthropological and archaeological American studies in the 19th century, to identify the role of travel, multidisciplinary projects, persons and scientific institutions in its institutionalization. The reviewed materials of the research of European naturalists in Peru and Chile illustrate both the scientific and political interest of the Old World powers in a comprehensive study of the continent. The initial context of the research, which was the travel and work of naturalists, was focused on obtaining applied data: geological, geographical, on natural resources, botany, zoology. The export of collections and the publication of the results in European languages demonstrate the weak interest of the Peruvian and Chilean authorities in pre-Columbian and ethnographic culture. As a result, the development of American studies was linked to the European scientific tradition and took place in the scientific centers of Europe. This process is traced based on the French scenario. The place and role of individual specialists, as well as several institutions are analyzed: the Louvre, American societies, the Trocadero Ethnographic Museum, the Americanist Society.