Theorising Race and Evolution – German Anthropologie's utilisation of Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains during the Long Nineteenth Century Antje Kühnast A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy University of New South Wales School of Humanities and Languages Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences September 2017 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Kühnast First name: Antje Other name/s: Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: Humanities and Languages Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Title: Theorising race and evolution – German Anthropologie's utilisation of Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains during the Long Nineteenth Century Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) This thesis investigates the German physical anthropological discourse on Australian Aborigines during the long nineteenth century. It particularly explores, on the basis of contemporaneous German-language scientific publications, the way in which German physical anthropologists utilised Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains for their theorising on human diversity and evolution. One focus lies on the discussion of the Neuholländer or Australier in its various manifestations: ranging from the speculative theorising of the late Enlightenment period to the natural scientific, physical anthropological investigations of the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. It is shown that German physical anthropologists first relied on, and then continuously reinforced and thereby sustained existing notions of Australian Aboriginal physical and cultural-intellectual inferiority that were conveyed from the beginning of European contact. This bias was extraordinarily powerful, overriding the empirical evidence that challenged these pre-conceived ideas. The profoundly variable nature of humanity demonstrates the underlying fundamental problem; namely, the intrinsic fragility of classifying, typifying and ordering human diversity on the basis of one or another concept of race. This thesis also examines the scientific investigation and interpretation of Australian Aboriginal ancestral remains in the context of the establishment of German Anthropologie as a natural science discipline in the second half of the nineteenth century. Sceptical of the idea of Darwinian human evolution from a common animal ancestor, the first generation of anthropologists used Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains as research material, attempting to rebuke Darwinist hypothesising. In this context, this thesis intervenes into the current historiographical debate about the relation between humanism, liberalism, Darwinism and (anti- or non-)racist approaches to human diversity in the early German physical anthropological community. It is shown in particular, that German anti- Darwinians, who have been credited with following a non-racist approach to the investigation of humanity, only in theory refrained from drawing conclusions about racial hierarchies. In practice, their skeletal investigations, whether undertaken by Darwinists or anti-Darwinians, remained within and furthered the prevalent paradigm of racial hierarchies throughout the time period in question. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. 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COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………........................... 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This thesis contains images of Australian Aboriginal Ancestral Remains Table of Contents Acknowledgements 4 List of Figures 6 Introduction 7 1 Historiography of nineteenth-century Anthropologie 25 1.1 Anthropologie's "Liberal Paradigm" ............................................................ 26 1.2 Anthropologie's "Antihumanism" ................................................................ 35 1.3 Preliminary remarks on Anthropologie's dealings with Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains ......................................................................... 42 2 Enlightenment concepts of race and human evolution 46 2.1 Pre-scientific concepts of race ..................................................................... 49 2.2 Immanuel Kant's scientific concept of race.................................................. 61 3 Johann Friedrich Blumenbach's Neuholländer 86 3.1 Imagined Neuholländer skulls in the South Seas ......................................... 89 3.2 Neuholländer – savage and dark ............................................................... 102 4 Early perceptions of "the Australian race" and the establishment of Anthropologie as a natural science 128 4.1 Human diversity and origin at the German Naturalists Association meetings (1827-1858) ............................................................................... 129 4.2 Establishment of Anthropologie as a natural science ................................. 151 5 Alexander Ecker's Australier 166 5.1 On Ecker's "Knowledge about the Natives of South Australia ................... 166 5.2 Ecker's (non-) Darwinism ......................................................................... 187 5.3 Ecker's subsequent utilisation of Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains ... 194 6 Gustav Lucae's Australneger 204 6.1 Projecting the skull's "truth and reality" .................................................... 205 6.2 Lucae's Neuholländer skulls and (a)symmetrical heads (1844) .................. 208 2 6.3 Lucae's "real measure" of the facial angle and Aboriginal brains that sit "in the face" .............................................................................................. 215 7 Rudolf Virchow's Stirnfortsatz 226 7.1 Investigating "some characteristics of the lower human races" .................. 227 7.2 Debating the statistics of race .................................................................... 231 8 Hermann Klaatsch's "Australoid" common ancestors 236 8.1 Before Australia – Klaatsch's Neue Anthropologie and the "most interesting material" of the Australier skeleton .......................................... 237 8.2 In Australia – encountering the Ur-Australier ........................................... 252 8.3 Back from Australia