Donald Alexander Mackenzie
Encyclopedia
Donald Alexander Mackenzie (1873 – 2 March 1936) was a Scottish journalist
and folklorist and prolific writer on religion
, mythology
and anthropology
in the early 20th century.
and began his career in Glasgow
. Between 1903 and 1910 he owned and edited The North Star in Dingwall
, and then moved to the People's Journal in Dundee
. From 1916 he represented the Glasgow paper, The Bulletin, in Edinburgh
. As well as writing books, articles and poems, he often gave lectures, and also broadcast talks on Celtic mythology
. He was the friend of many specialist authorities in his areas of interest. His older brother was William Mackay Mackenzie
, Secretary of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland between 1913 and 1935. He died in Edinburgh on 2 March 1936 and was buried in Cromarty.
times, pre-Indo-European societies were matriarchal and woman-centered (gynocentric
), where goddesses were venerated but that the Bronze Age
Indo-European patriarchal ("androcratic") culture supplanted it. Mackenzie's matristic theories were notably influential to Marija Gimbutas
. He also believed that the Neolithic matriarchy was as far north as Scotland, writing an article in the Celtic Review called "A Highland Goddess" attempting to trace the very early presence of goddess worship.
. He believed specifically that Buddhists colonised the globe in ancient antiquity and were responsible for spreading the swastika
. In his Buddhism in Pre-Christian Britain (1928) he developed the theory that Buddhists were in Britain and Scandinavia long before the spread of Christianity. His main evidence can be summarised as follows:
The work received a mixed reception. Professor of Philosophy Vergilius Ferm
reviewed the work positively, but other scholars criticised it for its lack of evidence.
times, from a strong ethnological basis. The foreword of the book was written by Grafton Elliot Smith
. The work covers the earliest settlement of Britain by the first modern Humans
from around 35,000 years ago during the Aurignacian
(pp. 19–27). In the book, Mackenzie maintains that the Caucasoid Cro-Magnon
's who settled in Britain were dark haired and dark eyed, racially akin to the French Basques, Iberians
and Berbers of North Africa (p. 25) who he theorised were one of the earliest representatives of the Mediterranean race
. This indigenous proto-Mediterranean racial stock was later invaded by another "variety of the Mediterranean race" who initiated the Solutrean
culture around 20,000 years ago (p. 50). According to Mackenzie, the Aurignacian and Solutrean peoples of Britain traded in shells with Cro-Magnon
's of France. They later intermingled with later arriving Caucasoid racial types, including the proto-Alpines
(Furfooz race) who were brachycelphalic (broad-skulled) and a Lappid
race, who had minor Eskimo phenotypic traits. Mackenzie also believed that there was a highly depigmentated racial type in small numbers in Britain during the Magdalenian
, perhaps who were also blonde, who intermingled with the "dark Iberians" (p. 60). During the Neolithic
, Mackenzie believed that the predominant racial type of Britain continued to be Mediterranoid
: "The carriers of Neolithic culture were in the main Iberians of Mediterranean racial type" (p. 126) who traded in pearls and ores. Regarding Bronze Age Britain
, Mackenzie devoted several chapters supporting his theory that traders and "prospectors" (miners) arrived in Britain c. 2500 BC, originally from the Eastern Mediterranean (pp. 98–101). This theory was initially developed by Harold Peake, who coined the term "Prospector Theory". In the scientific literature of Carleton S. Coon
(1939) the theory was revived, and the Mediterraneans who colonised Britain during the late Neolithic or Bronze Age were associated with the Medway megaliths
(or long-barrow Megalithic culture). Joseph Deniker
earlier called these colonists "Atlanto-Mediterranean". Mackenzie believed that these Mediterranean's who colonised parts of Britain survived well into later historic periods (p. 118) and that the Mediterranean race
in general was the bulk racial stock of Britain from Paleolithic through to the Neolithic and to more recent periods. They had black or brown hair, and swarthy skin "like those of the Southern Italians" (p. 126) and have survived in numerous pockets of Britain to the modern day (p. 139) despite the fact of the later Anglo-Saxon and Norse settlement, who were fairer in appearance, Mackenzie believed their genetic input or admixture was very limited but that they subjugated the British imposing a new civilization and culture (p. 227).
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and folklorist and prolific writer on religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and anthropology
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 the early 20th century.
Life & Career
He was born in CromartyCromartyshire
Cromartyshire was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, consisting of a main portion between Sutherland and Ross-shire and a series of exclaves within Ross-shire. Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined as the single county of Ross and Cromarty by the Local Government Act 1889, and this...
and began his career in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Between 1903 and 1910 he owned and edited The North Star in Dingwall
Dingwall
Dingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It was formerly an east-coast harbor but now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts...
, and then moved to the People's Journal in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. From 1916 he represented the Glasgow paper, The Bulletin, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. As well as writing books, articles and poems, he often gave lectures, and also broadcast talks on Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
. He was the friend of many specialist authorities in his areas of interest. His older brother was William Mackay Mackenzie
William Mackay Mackenzie
William Mackay Mackenzie was a Scottish historian, archaeologist and writer, who was Secretary of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland between 1913 and 1935, and also an expert on folk-lore. He was born in Cromarty, graduated MA at Edinburgh University and taught...
, Secretary of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland between 1913 and 1935. He died in Edinburgh on 2 March 1936 and was buried in Cromarty.
Neolithic Matriarchy
In one of his key works Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe (1917) Mackenzie argued that across Europe during NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times, pre-Indo-European societies were matriarchal and woman-centered (gynocentric
Gynocentrism
Gynocentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing female human beings or the feminine point of view at the center of one's world view...
), where goddesses were venerated but that the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Indo-European patriarchal ("androcratic") culture supplanted it. Mackenzie's matristic theories were notably influential to Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old Europe", a term she introduced. Her works published between 1946 and 1971 introduced new views by combining traditional spadework with linguistics and mythological...
. He also believed that the Neolithic matriarchy was as far north as Scotland, writing an article in the Celtic Review called "A Highland Goddess" attempting to trace the very early presence of goddess worship.
Buddhist Diffusionism
Mackenzie was a diffusionistGrafton Elliot Smith
Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, FRS FRCP was an Australian anatomist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory.-Professional career:Smith was born in Grafton, New South Wales...
. He believed specifically that Buddhists colonised the globe in ancient antiquity and were responsible for spreading the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
. In his Buddhism in Pre-Christian Britain (1928) he developed the theory that Buddhists were in Britain and Scandinavia long before the spread of Christianity. His main evidence can be summarised as follows:
- The Gundestrup bowl "on which the Celtic god, Cernunnos, is postured like a typical Buddha".
- Gaulish coins with seated figures like Buddha.
- The testimony of Asoka who launched Buddhist activities into Europe.
- OrigenOrigenOrigen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
's statement of Buddhist doctrines in ancient Britain.
The work received a mixed reception. Professor of Philosophy Vergilius Ferm
Vergilius Ferm
Vergilius Ture Anselm Ferm was the Compton Professor of Philosophy at the College of Wooster.-Works:*"Theology and Religious Experience" in * * *...
reviewed the work positively, but other scholars criticised it for its lack of evidence.
Racial Origin of British
In 1922 Mackenzie published Ancient Man in Britain, a work covering the history of Britain from Upper PaleolithicUpper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
times, from a strong ethnological basis. The foreword of the book was written by Grafton Elliot Smith
Grafton Elliot Smith
Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, FRS FRCP was an Australian anatomist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory.-Professional career:Smith was born in Grafton, New South Wales...
. The work covers the earliest settlement of Britain by the first modern Humans
Anatomically modern humans
The term anatomically modern humans in paleoanthropology refers to early individuals of Homo sapiens with an appearance consistent with the range of phenotypes in modern humans....
from around 35,000 years ago during the Aurignacian
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted broadly within the period from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in terms of conventional radiocarbon dating, or between ca. 47,000 and 41,000 years ago in terms of the most...
(pp. 19–27). In the book, Mackenzie maintains that the Caucasoid Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
's who settled in Britain were dark haired and dark eyed, racially akin to the French Basques, Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
and Berbers of North Africa (p. 25) who he theorised were one of the earliest representatives of the Mediterranean race
Mediterranean race
The Mediterranean race was one of the three sub-categories into which the Caucasian race and the people of Europe were divided by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, following the publication of William Z. Ripley's book The Races of Europe...
. This indigenous proto-Mediterranean racial stock was later invaded by another "variety of the Mediterranean race" who initiated the Solutrean
Solutrean
The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Palaeolithic, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP.-Details:...
culture around 20,000 years ago (p. 50). According to Mackenzie, the Aurignacian and Solutrean peoples of Britain traded in shells with Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
's of France. They later intermingled with later arriving Caucasoid racial types, including the proto-Alpines
Alpine race
The Alpine race is an historical racial classification or sub-race of humans, considered a branch of the Caucasian race. The term is not commonly used today, but was popular in the early 20th century.-History:...
(Furfooz race) who were brachycelphalic (broad-skulled) and a Lappid
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
race, who had minor Eskimo phenotypic traits. Mackenzie also believed that there was a highly depigmentated racial type in small numbers in Britain during the Magdalenian
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian , refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP...
, perhaps who were also blonde, who intermingled with the "dark Iberians" (p. 60). During the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, Mackenzie believed that the predominant racial type of Britain continued to be Mediterranoid
Mediterranean race
The Mediterranean race was one of the three sub-categories into which the Caucasian race and the people of Europe were divided by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, following the publication of William Z. Ripley's book The Races of Europe...
: "The carriers of Neolithic culture were in the main Iberians of Mediterranean racial type" (p. 126) who traded in pearls and ores. Regarding Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
, Mackenzie devoted several chapters supporting his theory that traders and "prospectors" (miners) arrived in Britain c. 2500 BC, originally from the Eastern Mediterranean (pp. 98–101). This theory was initially developed by Harold Peake, who coined the term "Prospector Theory". In the scientific literature of Carleton S. Coon
Carleton S. Coon
Carleton Stevens Coon, was an American physical anthropologist, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, lecturer and professor at Harvard, and president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.-Biography:Carleton Coon was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts to a...
(1939) the theory was revived, and the Mediterraneans who colonised Britain during the late Neolithic or Bronze Age were associated with the Medway megaliths
Medway megaliths
The Medway megaliths or Medway tombs are names given to a group of Neolithic chambered long barrows and other megaliths located in the lower valley of the River Medway in the English county of Kent...
(or long-barrow Megalithic culture). Joseph Deniker
Joseph Deniker
Joseph Deniker was a French naturalist and anthropologist, known primarily for his attempts to develop highly-detailed maps of race in Europe.- Life :...
earlier called these colonists "Atlanto-Mediterranean". Mackenzie believed that these Mediterranean's who colonised parts of Britain survived well into later historic periods (p. 118) and that the Mediterranean race
Mediterranean race
The Mediterranean race was one of the three sub-categories into which the Caucasian race and the people of Europe were divided by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, following the publication of William Z. Ripley's book The Races of Europe...
in general was the bulk racial stock of Britain from Paleolithic through to the Neolithic and to more recent periods. They had black or brown hair, and swarthy skin "like those of the Southern Italians" (p. 126) and have survived in numerous pockets of Britain to the modern day (p. 139) despite the fact of the later Anglo-Saxon and Norse settlement, who were fairer in appearance, Mackenzie believed their genetic input or admixture was very limited but that they subjugated the British imposing a new civilization and culture (p. 227).
Published Works
- Elves and Heroes (1909)
- Finn and his warrior band;: Or, Tales of old Alban (1911)
- The khalifate of the West (1911)
- Teutonic Myth and Legend (1912, 2nd Ed. 1934)
- Egyptian Myth and Legend (1913)
- Myths of Babylonia and Assyria (1915); online editions: gutenberg.org, sacred-texts.com
- Indian Fairy Stories (1915)
- Brave deeds of the War (1915)
- Heroes and Heroic Deeds of the Great War (1915)
- Great deeds of the Great war (1916)
- Stories of Russian Folk-Life (1916)
- Lord Kitchener, the story of his life and work (1916)
- From all the Fronts (1917)
- Wonder tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917)
- Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe (1917)
- Indian Myth and Legend (1919)
- Sons & daughters of the Motherland (1919)
- The Story of the Great War (1920)
- Sons & daughters of Canada (1920)
- Ancient Man in Britain (1922)
- Myths of Pre-Columbian America (1924)
- Tales from the Northern Sagas (1926)
- The Gods of the Classics (1926)
- The Story of Ancient Crete (80 page booklet, 1927)
- The Story of Ancient Egypt (80 page booklet, 1927)
- The Story of Ancient Babylonia and Assyria (80 page booklet, 1927)
- Buddhism in Pre-Christian Britain (1928)
- Myths of China and Japan (1924, 2nd Ed. 1930)
- Ancient England (phamplet, 1931)
- Myths and Traditions of the South Sea Islands (1931)
- Migration of Symbols (1926)
- Footprints Of Early Man (1927)
- Ancient civilizations from the earliest times to the birth of Christ (1927)
- Burmese Wonder Tales (1929)
- Scotland: the ancient kingdom (1930)
- Some Makers of History (1930)
- Myths from Melanesia and Indonesia (1930, 2nd Ed. 1933)
- Scottish folk-lore and folk life (1935)
- Songs of the Highlands and the islands (1936)
See also
- Lewis SpenceLewis SpenceJames Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence was a Scottish journalist, whose efforts as a compiler of Scottish folklore have proved more durable than his efforts as a poet and occult scholar....
- David MacRitchieDavid MacRitchieDavid MacRitchie was a Scottish folklorist and antiquarian.-Early Life:David MacRitchie was the younger son of William Dawson MacRitchie and Elizabeth Elder MacRitchie. He was born in Edinburgh and attended the Edinburgh Southern Academy, the Edinburgh Institute and the University of Edinburgh...
- John Stuart Stuart-GlennieJohn Stuart Stuart-Glennie-Life:John S. Stuart-Glennie was the son of the daughter of John Stuart of Inchbreck, Professor of Greek in the University of Aberdeen. He was educated in law at the University of Aberdeen and became a barrister...
- Gundestrup cauldronGundestrup cauldronThe Gundestrup cauldron is a richly-decorated silver vessel, thought to date to the 1st century BC, placing it into the late La Tène period. It was found in 1891 in a peat bog near the hamlet of Gundestrup, in the Aars parish in Himmerland, Denmark...
- John RhysJohn RhysSir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
- Scottish pork tabooScottish pork tabooThe Scottish pork taboo was Donald Alexander Mackenzie's phrase for discussing an aversion to pork amongst Scots, particularly Highlanders, which he believed to stem from an ancient taboo. Several writers who confirm that there was a prejudice against pork, or a superstitious attitude to pigs, do...
External links
- http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3A(texts)%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20(subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20D%2E%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20D%2E%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Donald%20Alexander%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Donald%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22D%2E%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%2C%20Sir%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20D%2E%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%2C%201873-1936%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20D%2E%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Donald%20Alexander%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Donald%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22D%2E%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Donald%20Alexander%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Donald%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20title%3A%22D%2E%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Donald%20Alexander%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Donald%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20description%3A%22D%2E%20A%2E%20Mackenzie%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20Alexander%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20D%2E%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Mackenzie%2C%20Donald%20A%2E%20%28Donald%20Alexander%29%22)Works by or about Donald Alexander Mackenzie] at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(scanned books original editions color illustrated) - Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend at sacred-texts.com