A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900

In this paper I examine the significance of histories and documentation in association with collections as technologies of credibility in nineteenth century racial anthropology. Drawing on the analysis of catalogues and archives of anthropological collections, I argue that connecting histories and d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ricardo Roque
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Éditions de la Sorbonne 2015-09-01
Series:Revue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/rhsh/2687
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849690213635325952
author Ricardo Roque
author_facet Ricardo Roque
author_sort Ricardo Roque
collection DOAJ
description In this paper I examine the significance of histories and documentation in association with collections as technologies of credibility in nineteenth century racial anthropology. Drawing on the analysis of catalogues and archives of anthropological collections, I argue that connecting histories and documentation was important to perform the authenticity of skulls as scientific objects and thereby guarantee the credibility of material testimony in racial anthropology. This economy of authenticity of biological materials implied an economy of credibility of the testimony of documents. The reliability of skulls as racial evidence had to be attested by trustworthy histories. The credibility of the latter also had to be guaranteed by three main forms of authentication: anatomical certification; sociological assurance; and rhetorical authentication.
format Article
id doaj-art-ecdd7cc92a2843ed90e4d1be4e5835ef
institution DOAJ
issn 1963-1022
language English
publishDate 2015-09-01
publisher Éditions de la Sorbonne
record_format Article
series Revue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines
spelling doaj-art-ecdd7cc92a2843ed90e4d1be4e5835ef2025-08-20T03:21:23ZengÉditions de la SorbonneRevue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines1963-10222015-09-012714316710.4000/rhsh.2687A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900Ricardo RoqueIn this paper I examine the significance of histories and documentation in association with collections as technologies of credibility in nineteenth century racial anthropology. Drawing on the analysis of catalogues and archives of anthropological collections, I argue that connecting histories and documentation was important to perform the authenticity of skulls as scientific objects and thereby guarantee the credibility of material testimony in racial anthropology. This economy of authenticity of biological materials implied an economy of credibility of the testimony of documents. The reliability of skulls as racial evidence had to be attested by trustworthy histories. The credibility of the latter also had to be guaranteed by three main forms of authentication: anatomical certification; sociological assurance; and rhetorical authentication.http://journals.openedition.org/rhsh/2687CredibilityAuthenticityRaceHuman SkullsPhysical AnthropologyNineteenth Century
spellingShingle Ricardo Roque
A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
Revue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines
Credibility
Authenticity
Race
Human Skulls
Physical Anthropology
Nineteenth Century
title A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
title_full A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
title_fullStr A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
title_full_unstemmed A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
title_short A little history attached to them : authenticité et crédibilité du témoignage matériel dans les collections anthropologiques, 1850-1900
title_sort little history attached to them authenticite et credibilite du temoignage materiel dans les collections anthropologiques 1850 1900
topic Credibility
Authenticity
Race
Human Skulls
Physical Anthropology
Nineteenth Century
url http://journals.openedition.org/rhsh/2687
work_keys_str_mv AT ricardoroque alittlehistoryattachedtothemauthenticiteetcredibilitedutemoignagematerieldanslescollectionsanthropologiques18501900
AT ricardoroque littlehistoryattachedtothemauthenticiteetcredibilitedutemoignagematerieldanslescollectionsanthropologiques18501900