Juan Bautista Ambrosetti
Encyclopedia
Juan Bautista Ambrosetti (August 22, 1865May 28, 1917) was an Argentine archaeologist, ethnographer and naturalist who helped pioneer anthropology
in his country.
, Entre Ríos Province
, in 1865. He enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
, where he was mentored by the prominent local naturalist, Dr. Florentino Ameghino
. At age twenty, he joined an expedition of naturalists into then-remote and largely uncharted Chaco Province
, publishing his observations in Buenos Aires by a pseudonym, Tomás Bathata.
Following graduation, he was appointed Director of Zoology at the Provincial Museum of Entre Ríos, in Paraná
. Ambrosetti's reputation in his field was first earned with his publication of studies on the ethnomusicology
and cemeteries
of the native peoples of Misiones Province
, in 1893-95, and with The Megaliths of Tafí del Valle
(1896). He collaborated with a number of local scientific institutions in subsequent years, including work for his alma mater's School of Philosophy and Letters, the Argentine Geographic Institute, the La Plata Museum
, the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum
(where he collaborated with Ameghino), and the Buenos Aires Zoo
(likewise led by a former teacher, Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg
).
Ambrosetti contributed to a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the National Acedemy of Sciences Bulletin (Córdoba
) and the National Agricultural Bulletin, contributing over 70 articles in all. He joined the Argentine Scientific Society and the Western Hemisphere Historical and Numismatic Association in 1901, representing Argentina at the 1902 Scientific Congress (in New York
), becoming the first Argentine to participate in the event. He was named Professor of Archaeology
in 1903, and established the University of Buenos Aires Museum of Ethnography
, in 1904. His text, Argentine Archaeology: Bronze in the Calchaquí
Region (1904), would remain among the definitive texts on the subject.
His expeditions in the Argentine Northwest
led Ambrosetti to the Quebrada de Humahuaca
, a scenic gorge in Jujuy Province
, where in 1908, he discovered the ruins of the Tilcara
, an Omaguaca
people long since vanished. Built on a strategic site as a fort along the storied Inca road system
, the Pucará de Tilcara
was estimated by Ambrosetti to have been established in the 11th century. The 15-hectare (38 acre) site included a necropolis
, extensive petroglyph
s, and thousands of archaeological pieces. Over the following three years, he and his team, recovered and catalogued over 3,000 artifacts, many of which were added to the Museum of Ethnography. The effort earned Ambrosetti a Doctorate honoris causa from his alma mater in 1910, following which he left responsibility for the project to his student, Salvador Debenedetti
; the Quebrada de Humahuaca, including the ruins, was declared a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
in 2003.
Ambrosetti continued to teach and write, and in 1917, published his only novel, Superstitions and Legends, which drew from his study of the carnival
in the country's northeast
region. He died in Buenos Aires in 1917, and his ashes were buried at the foot of the Tilcara ruins.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
in his country.
Life and work
Ambrosetti was born in GualeguayGualeguay
Gualeguay may refer to:* Gualeguay, Entre Ríos* Gualeguay Department* Gualeguay River...
, Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
, in 1865. He enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
, where he was mentored by the prominent local naturalist, Dr. Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist.Born in Luján, son of Italian immigrants, Ameghino was a self-taught naturalist, and focused his study on the lands of the southern Pampas...
. At age twenty, he joined an expedition of naturalists into then-remote and largely uncharted Chaco Province
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
, publishing his observations in Buenos Aires by a pseudonym, Tomás Bathata.
Following graduation, he was appointed Director of Zoology at the Provincial Museum of Entre Ríos, in Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
. Ambrosetti's reputation in his field was first earned with his publication of studies on the ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
and cemeteries
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
of the native peoples of Misiones Province
Misiones Province
Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamiсa region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
, in 1893-95, and with The Megaliths of Tafí del Valle
Tafí del Valle
Tafí del Valle is a city in Tucumán, Argentina....
(1896). He collaborated with a number of local scientific institutions in subsequent years, including work for his alma mater's School of Philosophy and Letters, the Argentine Geographic Institute, the La Plata Museum
La Plata Museum
The La Plata Museum is a natural history museum in La Plata, Argentina.The building, 135 meters long, today houses 3 million fossils and relics , an amphitheatre, opened in 1992, and a 58,000-volume library, serving over 400 university researchers...
, the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum
Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum
The Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum is a public museum located in the Caballito section of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History and overview:...
(where he collaborated with Ameghino), and the Buenos Aires Zoo
Buenos Aires Zoo
The Buenos Aires Zoo is an zoo in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Zoo contains 89 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles and 175 species of birds, with a total of over 2,500 different animals...
(likewise led by a former teacher, Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg
Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg
Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg was an Argentine natural historian and novelist, one of the leading figures in Argentine biology. Together with Florentino Ameghino he undertook the inventory of Argentine flora and fauna, and explored all the ecoregions in the country...
).
Ambrosetti contributed to a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the National Acedemy of Sciences Bulletin (Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
) and the National Agricultural Bulletin, contributing over 70 articles in all. He joined the Argentine Scientific Society and the Western Hemisphere Historical and Numismatic Association in 1901, representing Argentina at the 1902 Scientific Congress (in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
), becoming the first Argentine to participate in the event. He was named Professor of Archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
in 1903, and established the University of Buenos Aires Museum of Ethnography
Juan B. Ambrosetti Museum of Ethnography
The Juan B. Ambrosetti Museum of Ethnography is an Argentine museum maintained by the University of Buenos Aires School of Philosophy and Letters.-Overview:...
, in 1904. His text, Argentine Archaeology: Bronze in the Calchaquí
Calchaquí
The Calchaquí were a tribe of South American Indians of the Diaguita group, now extinct, who formerly occupied northern Argentina. Stone and other remains prove them to have reached a high degree of civilization...
Region (1904), would remain among the definitive texts on the subject.
Argentine Northwest
The Argentine Northwest is a region of Argentina composed by the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán.-Geography:The region had 5 different biomes:* Sub-Andean humid Sierras of the east...
led Ambrosetti to the Quebrada de Humahuaca
Quebrada de Humahuaca
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow mountain valley located in the province of Jujuy in northwest Argentina, north of Buenos Aires . It is about long, oriented north-south, bordered by the Altiplano in the west and north, by the Sub-Andean hills in the east, and by the warm valleys in the...
, a scenic gorge in Jujuy Province
Jujuy Province
Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south.-History:...
, where in 1908, he discovered the ruins of the Tilcara
Tilcara
San Francisco de Tilcara is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina, and the head town of the Tilcara Department...
, an Omaguaca
Quilmes (tribe)
The Quilmes people were an indigenous tribe of the Diaguita group settled in the western subandean valleys of today’s Tucumán province, in northwestern Argentina. They fiercely resisted the Inca invasions of the 15th century, and continued to resist the Spaniards for 130 years, until being defeated...
people long since vanished. Built on a strategic site as a fort along the storied Inca road system
Inca road system
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads with numerous branches. The best known portion of the road system is the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu...
, the Pucará de Tilcara
Pucará de Tilcara
The Pucará de Tilcara is a pre-Inca fortification or pucará located on a hill just outside the small town of Tilcara, in the Argentine province of Jujuy. The location was strategically chosen to be easily defensible and to provide good views over a long stretch of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.The...
was estimated by Ambrosetti to have been established in the 11th century. The 15-hectare (38 acre) site included a necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
, extensive petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s, and thousands of archaeological pieces. Over the following three years, he and his team, recovered and catalogued over 3,000 artifacts, many of which were added to the Museum of Ethnography. The effort earned Ambrosetti a Doctorate honoris causa from his alma mater in 1910, following which he left responsibility for the project to his student, Salvador Debenedetti
Salvador Debenedetti
Salvador Santiago Lorenzo Debenedetti was an Argentine archaeologist, anthropologist and educator. He was involved in the restoration of Pucará de Tilcara, an ancient fortification in what today is Jujuy Province...
; the Quebrada de Humahuaca, including the ruins, was declared a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 2003.
Ambrosetti continued to teach and write, and in 1917, published his only novel, Superstitions and Legends, which drew from his study of the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
in the country's northeast
Mesopotamia, Argentina
La Mesopotamia, Región Mesopotámica is the humid and verdant area of north-east Argentina, comprising the provinces of Misiones, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. The region called Litoral consists of the Mesopotamia and the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe...
region. He died in Buenos Aires in 1917, and his ashes were buried at the foot of the Tilcara ruins.