Alphonse Pinart
Encyclopedia
Alphonse Pinart was a French explorer, philologist, and ethnographer. He was an early champion of the theory that the Americas were first populated by migration across the Bering Strait
. To support his research, he made extensive travel in the Pacific, from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to Easter Island
. He also pilfered numerous historical documents from the Spanish archives in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
He recorded vocabularies of the Mission Indians in California
, and also documented early rock art
in Aruba
.
In 1875, he purchased a crystal skull
and other ethnographic artifacts from Eugène Boban
, which was later donated to the Trocadéro
Museum.
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
. To support his research, he made extensive travel in the Pacific, from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
. He also pilfered numerous historical documents from the Spanish archives in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Large numbers of documents of this period [from 1743 to 1749] were . . . stolen and are now in the so-called “Pinart” collection. Pinart (Alphonse) was a Frenchman and visited New Mexico and Arizona in the early ‘seventies [1870's], at which time this “collection” was made.
He recorded vocabularies of the Mission Indians in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and also documented early rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
in Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
.
In 1875, he purchased a crystal skull
Crystal skull
The crystal skulls are a number of human skull hardstone carvings made of clear or milky quartz rock, known in art history as "rock crystal", claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. However, none of the specimens made available for scientific study have been...
and other ethnographic artifacts from Eugène Boban
Eugène Boban
Eugène Boban or Boban-Duvergé was a French antiquarian. He was the official archaeologist of the court of Maximillian I of Mexico, and a member of the French Scientific Commission in Mexico...
, which was later donated to the Trocadéro
Trocadéro
The Trocadéro, , site of the Palais de Chaillot, , is an area of Paris, France, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The hill of the Trocadéro is the hill of Chaillot, a former village.- Origin of the name :...
Museum.
Publications
- Carverne d'Aknañh, île d'Ounga Paris, E. Leroux 1875
- VOYAGE A L'ILE DE PAQUES (Océan Pacifique) (Voyage to Easter Island) (in French; see External Link below for English translation)
External links
- Easter Island Foundation sells an English translation, by Ann M. Altman Ph.D., of Pinart's account of his visit to Easter Island, along with those of Eugène EyraudEugène EyraudEugène Eyraud was a lay friar of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and the first Westerner to live on Easter Island.- Early life :...
, Pierre LotiPierre LotiPierre Loti was a French novelist and naval officer.-Biography:Loti's education began in his birthplace, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime. At the age of seventeen he entered the naval school in Brest and studied at Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906...
and Hippolyte RousselHippolyte RousselHippolyte Roussel was a French priest and missionary to Polynesia, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.In 1854 he was sent to evangelize in the Tuamotus and Mangareva in the Gambier Islands...
, under the title Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864-1877. - Guide to the Alphonse Louis Pinart Papers at The Bancroft Library