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Thomas Bateman, Crania Britannica, and Archaeological Chronology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2017

Deborah Harlan
Deborah Harlan*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, UK
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Abstract

This article explores the importance of the Derbyshire antiquarian Thomas Bateman in the context of mid-nineteenth-century debates about ethnology, craniology, and archaeological chronology. New information on the relationship between Bateman and the authors of Crania Britannica, Joseph Barnard Davis and John Thurnam, is brought to light thanks to unpublished archival material from the Sheffield Museums and the Royal Anthropological Institute. Crania Britannica was the first publication of British national skull types from prehistory to the Anglo-Saxon period. The publication employed the techniques of craniology—the systematic study of head types—as a chronological tool. Indeed, craniology is often seen as the mechanism by which the Three Age System was initially received in Britain and Ireland. Here, Bateman's involvement in the publication and his own theories on the development of the past with regard to cranial sequencing and archaeological chronology are explored in greater detail.

L'ampleur de l'influence de l'antiquaire Thomas Bateman, natif du Derbyshire, sur les débats du dix-neuvième siècle en ethnologie, craniologie et chronologie archéologique forme le sujet de cet article. Un examen des archives inédites conservées dans les musées de Sheffield et du Royal Anthropological Institute nous éclaire sur les des rapports entre Bateman et les auteurs de Crania Britannica, Joseph Barnard Davis et John Thurnam. Crania Britannica fut le premier ouvrage sur les types de crânes provenant de l'ensemble des Iles britanniques de la préhistoire à l’époque anglo-saxonne à avoir utilisé les techniques de la craniologie (l'analyse systématique des formes de crânes) à des fins chronologiques. En effet on pense que la craniologie a été un des mécanismes à travers lesquels le concept des trois âges fut introduit en Grande Bretagne et en Irlande. Le rôle que Bateman a joué dans la publication de cet ouvrage et ses propres théories sur l’évolution des crânes et leur position en chronologie archéologique sont exposés en détail dans cet article. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Die Bedeutung des Derbyshire Altertumsforschers Thomas Bateman in den Diskussionen der Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts innerhalb der Ethnologie, der Kraniologie und der archäologischen Chronologie wird in diesem Artikel geschildert. Die Beziehungen zwischen Bateman und die Autoren von Crania Britannica, Joseph Barnard Davis und John Thurnam, werden hier anhand von Archivmaterial in den Museen von Sheffield und im Royal Anthropological Institute untersucht. Crania Britannica war die erste Veröffentlichung von urgeschichtlichen bis angelsächsischen Schädeltypen aus ganz Großbritannien. Sie verwendete kraniologische Techniken (die systematische Untersuchung von Schädeln) um eine chronologische Reihenfolge aufzustellen. Man nimmt oft an, dass die Kraniologie zur ursprünglichen Annahme des Drei-Alter-Systems in Großbritannien und Irland beigetragen hat. Die Beteiligung von Bateman an der Veröffentlichung von Crania Britannica und seine eigenen Theorien über die Entwicklung der Vergangenheit hinsichtlich der zeitlichen Abfolge der Schädel und der archäologischen Chronologie werden hier eingehend untersucht. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

Crania BritannicaThomas BatemanJoseph Barnard DavisJohn ThurnamethnologycraniologyThree Age SystemCeltsCrania BritannicaThomas BatemanJoseph Barnard DavisJohn Thurnamethnologiecraniologiethéorie des trois âgesCeltesCrania BritannicaThomas BatemanJoseph Barnard DavisJohn ThurnamEthnologieKraniologieDrei-Alter-SystemKelten
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 57 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2017 

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References

Unpublished Sources

Sheffield Museums and Galleries Trust, Bateman Archive

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Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI)

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