Paul Topinard
Encyclopedia
Paul Topinard was a French physician and anthropologist
who was a student of Paul Broca
and whose views influenced the methodology adopted by Herbert Hope Risley
in his ethnographic surveys of the people of India. He became director of the Ecole Anthropologie and secretary-general of the Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
, both in succession to Broca.
The specialism of Paul Topinard was physical anthropology
, in which field he held polygenist
opinions but of a less rigid form than did Broca. He nonetheless frequently referred to Broca as his "master", and according to John Carson was "committed to the superiority of white male Europeans". Patrick Brantlinger says that
In a manner similar to Samuel George Morton
, the anthropologist of the United States, Topinard conducted experiments intended to test theories that cranial capacity was a marker of ethnicity, with European capacities being the largest and Australian Aborigines the smallest. He calculated the capacity of various skulls by pouring substances into them and then noting the volume consumed, on the assumption that a larger space for a brain equated to a more developed intellect. He also believed that such measurements could be tracked through the evolution of the human species and that a larger cranial capacity was therefore related to a greater degree of civilisation. Charles Loring Brace has recently studied skulls used originally by Topinard in his experiments and believes that there is a fundamental flaw in the theory because the Congolese and West African examples represented people who were physically much smaller overall.
By 1891 Topinard was questioning the assumptions used to asses relative racial worth in his earlier works. He noted in his L'Homme dans la nature
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...
who was a student of Paul Broca
Paul Broca
Pierre Paul Broca was a French physician, surgeon, anatomist, and anthropologist. He was born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that has been named after him. Broca’s Area is responsible for articulated language...
and whose views influenced the methodology adopted by Herbert Hope Risley
Herbert Hope Risley
Sir Herbert Hope Risley KCIE CSI was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, a member of the Indian Civil Service who conducted extensive studies on the tribes and castes of Bengal. He is also remembered for the formal application of the caste system to the entire Hindu population of...
in his ethnographic surveys of the people of India. He became director of the Ecole Anthropologie and secretary-general of the Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
The Society of Anthropology of Paris was a French learned society for anthropology founded by Paul Broca in 1859. It was disbanded in the 1930s....
, both in succession to Broca.
The specialism of Paul Topinard was physical anthropology
Physical anthropology
Biological anthropology is that branch of anthropology that studies the physical development of the human species. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology and in forensic anthropology...
, in which field he held polygenist
Polygenism
Polygenism is a theory of human origins positing that the human races are of different lineages . This is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity.- Origins :...
opinions but of a less rigid form than did Broca. He nonetheless frequently referred to Broca as his "master", and according to John Carson was "committed to the superiority of white male Europeans". Patrick Brantlinger says that
In a manner similar to Samuel George Morton
Samuel George Morton
Samuel George Morton was an American physician and natural scientist. Morton, reared a Quaker but became Episcopalian in midlife, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1820. After earning an advanced degree from Edinburgh University in...
, the anthropologist of the United States, Topinard conducted experiments intended to test theories that cranial capacity was a marker of ethnicity, with European capacities being the largest and Australian Aborigines the smallest. He calculated the capacity of various skulls by pouring substances into them and then noting the volume consumed, on the assumption that a larger space for a brain equated to a more developed intellect. He also believed that such measurements could be tracked through the evolution of the human species and that a larger cranial capacity was therefore related to a greater degree of civilisation. Charles Loring Brace has recently studied skulls used originally by Topinard in his experiments and believes that there is a fundamental flaw in the theory because the Congolese and West African examples represented people who were physically much smaller overall.
By 1891 Topinard was questioning the assumptions used to asses relative racial worth in his earlier works. He noted in his L'Homme dans la nature
Publications
- Quelques aperçus sur la chirurgie anglaise (1860)
- L'Homme dans la nature (1891)
- Science et foi. L'anthropologie et la science sociale (1900)