Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism
William Matthews Flinders Petrie, ‘generally regarded as the father of modern Near Eastern archaeology’ (Silberman 1991:80), is remembered as a veritable genius, renowned for his powerful memory and intellectual abilities which played an important part in many of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2004-11-01
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| Series: | Bulletin of the History of Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.archaeologybulletin.org/article/view/167 |
| _version_ | 1818300628954251264 |
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| author | Jason D. Ramsey |
| author_facet | Jason D. Ramsey |
| author_sort | Jason D. Ramsey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | William Matthews Flinders Petrie, ‘generally regarded as
the father of modern Near Eastern archaeology’ (Silberman 1991:80), is remembered as a
veritable genius, renowned for his powerful memory and intellectual abilities which
played an important part in many of the ground-breaking developments in methodology he
brought about. Yet modern archaeologists are selective in deciding which parts of
Petrie’s legacy are to be highlighted. As a corrective to this, Silberman (1991, 1999)
has not only drawn attention to the racist ideology that permeated Petrie’s thinking,
but also suggests that this framework of thought crucially influenced many of his
revolutionary interpretive techniques. The final deed Petrie envisaged for himself was
the donation of his head to the Royal College of Surgeons in London ‘for further
scientific study . . . [and] as a specimen of a typical British skull’ (Drower
1985:424). As far as Silberman (1999) is concerned, such an act was wholly symbolic of
Petrie’s raciallyinformed viewpoint and of his self-identity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:10:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5d50259d0cc44d08ba63933e4fb8dee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1062-4740 2047-6930 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:10:09Z |
| publishDate | 2004-11-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bulletin of the History of Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5d50259d0cc44d08ba63933e4fb8dee2022-12-21T23:58:34ZengUbiquity PressBulletin of the History of Archaeology1062-47402047-69302004-11-01142152010.5334/bha.14203165Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of RacismJason D. Ramsey0University of ChicagoWilliam Matthews Flinders Petrie, ‘generally regarded as the father of modern Near Eastern archaeology’ (Silberman 1991:80), is remembered as a veritable genius, renowned for his powerful memory and intellectual abilities which played an important part in many of the ground-breaking developments in methodology he brought about. Yet modern archaeologists are selective in deciding which parts of Petrie’s legacy are to be highlighted. As a corrective to this, Silberman (1991, 1999) has not only drawn attention to the racist ideology that permeated Petrie’s thinking, but also suggests that this framework of thought crucially influenced many of his revolutionary interpretive techniques. The final deed Petrie envisaged for himself was the donation of his head to the Royal College of Surgeons in London ‘for further scientific study . . . [and] as a specimen of a typical British skull’ (Drower 1985:424). As far as Silberman (1999) is concerned, such an act was wholly symbolic of Petrie’s raciallyinformed viewpoint and of his self-identity.http://www.archaeologybulletin.org/article/view/167racismegyptologyhuman typologies |
| spellingShingle | Jason D. Ramsey Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism Bulletin of the History of Archaeology racism egyptology human typologies |
| title | Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism |
| title_full | Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism |
| title_fullStr | Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism |
| title_short | Petrie and the Intriguing Idiosyncrasies of Racism |
| title_sort | petrie and the intriguing idiosyncrasies of racism |
| topic | racism egyptology human typologies |
| url | http://www.archaeologybulletin.org/article/view/167 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jasondramsey petrieandtheintriguingidiosyncrasiesofracism |