Johann Alexander Ecker was a German anthropologist and anatomist who was born in Freiburg im Breisgau. He studied medicine in Freiburg, where in 1840 became a prosector

Prosector

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology....

. In 1841 he was a lecturer in Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, where he was influenced by scientists and physicians such as Friedrich Tiedemann

Friedrich Tiedemann

Friedrich Tiedemann was a German anatomist and physiologist.He was born at Cassel, the eldest son of Dietrich Tiedemann , a philosopher and psychologist of considerable repute. He graduated in medicine at Marburg in 1804, but soon abandoned practice...

 (1781-1861), Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff (1807-1882) and Maximilian Joseph von Chelius

Maximilian Joseph von Chelius

Maximilian Joseph von Chelius was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist who was born in Mannheim. He received his medical doctorate in 1812 at the University of Heidelberg, and afterwards was a civilian and military physician in Munich, and was an army surgeon in the last phases of the Napoleonic...

 (1794-1876). In 1844 he became a full professor at Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, and in 1850 returned to Freiburg as a professor of physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 and comparative anatomy

Comparative anatomy

Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...

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As an anthropologist, Ecker is remembered for his excavations of early burial sites in the Kaiserstuhl

Kaiserstuhl

The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

 region of southwestern Germany. At the University of Freiburg

University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 he created a museum of anthropology and ethnography

Ethnography

Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

. With prehistorian

Prehistory

Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

 Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder

Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder

Ludwig Lindenschmit was a German history painter, prehistorian and art instructor who was a native of Mainz. He studied art in Vienna and Munich, and beginning in 1831 was a high school art teacher in Mainz...

 (1809-1893), he founded the first German journal of anthropology, the Archiv für Anthropologie.

Ecker performed anatomical studies of the brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

, and did important research regarding development of cerebral convolutions in the fetus

Fetus

A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...

. The eponymous "Ecker's fissure" is named after him, which is also known as the petro-occipital fissure

Petro-occipital fissure

This grooved surface of the foramen magnum is separated on either side from the petrous portion of the temporal bone by the petro-occipital fissure, which is occupied in the fresh state by a plate of cartilage; the fissure is continuous behind with the jugular foramen, and its margins are grooved...

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