George Gliddon
Encyclopedia
George Robins Gliddon was an English-born American
Egyptologist. He was born in Devonshire
, England
. His father, a merchant, was United States
consul at Alexandria
where Gliddon was taken at an early age.
Gliddon became United States vice-consul and took a great interest in Egypt
ian antiquities. Subsequently he lectured in the United States and succeeded in attracting attention to the subject of Egyptology
. His chief work was Ancient Egypt (1850, ed. 1853). He wrote also Memoir on the Cotton of Egypt (1841); Appeal to the Antiquaries of Europe on the Destruction of the Monuments of Egypt (1841); Discourses on Egyptian Archaeology (1841); Types of Mankind (1854), in conjunction with J. C. Nott; and Indigenous Races of the Earth (1857), also in conjunction with Nott and others.
Gliddon was influenced by Samuel George Morton
's craniometry and polygenist theory of human origins. Morton collected hundreds of human skulls from around the world and tried to classify them. Morton claimed that he could judge the intellectual capacity of a race by the cranial capacity
(the measure of the volume of the interior of the skull). In Morton's theory, a large skull meant a large brain and high intellectual capacity, and a small skull indicated a small brain and decreased intellectual capacity. By studying these skulls he claimed that the evidence supported polygenism, that each race had a separate origin. Morton had many skulls from Ancient Egypt
, and concluded that the ancient Egyptians were not African, but were instead Caucasians
.
Morton's followers, particularly Gliddon and Josiah Nott in their monumental tribute to Morton's work, Types of Mankind (1854), carried Morton's ideas further and backed up Morton's findings which supported the notion of polygenism
, which contends that humanity originates from different lineages and is the ancestor of the multiregional hypothesis.
Gliddon collaborated with Morton on several published works; they shared many views on human races. Morton had sent Gliddon over 100 Egyptian crania specimens. Gliddon was a popular lecturer and researcher on Egyptology and from his studies of ancient Egyptian monuments and hieroglyphics, he concluded that the Egyptians had been white, and that even in the ancient world there had been distinctly different races. He posited that Whites and Negroes had never changed their racial appearance and features.He believed that neither environment or climate could change a race into another. He rejected Monogenesis
, and claimed that the Bible
supported Polygenisis. Gliddon believed the differences of the races had been impressed upon them by the Creator himself since the beginning.
George Robins Gliddon died in Panama
in 1857.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Egyptologist. He was born in Devonshire
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His father, a merchant, was United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
consul at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
where Gliddon was taken at an early age.
Gliddon became United States vice-consul and took a great interest in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian antiquities. Subsequently he lectured in the United States and succeeded in attracting attention to the subject of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
. His chief work was Ancient Egypt (1850, ed. 1853). He wrote also Memoir on the Cotton of Egypt (1841); Appeal to the Antiquaries of Europe on the Destruction of the Monuments of Egypt (1841); Discourses on Egyptian Archaeology (1841); Types of Mankind (1854), in conjunction with J. C. Nott; and Indigenous Races of the Earth (1857), also in conjunction with Nott and others.
Gliddon was influenced by 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...
's craniometry and polygenist theory of human origins. Morton collected hundreds of human skulls from around the world and tried to classify them. Morton claimed that he could judge the intellectual capacity of a race by the cranial capacity
Cranial capacity
Cranial capacity is a measure of the volume of the interior of the cranium of those vertebrates who have both a cranium and a brain. The most commonly used unit of measure is the cubic centimetre or cc...
(the measure of the volume of the interior of the skull). In Morton's theory, a large skull meant a large brain and high intellectual capacity, and a small skull indicated a small brain and decreased intellectual capacity. By studying these skulls he claimed that the evidence supported polygenism, that each race had a separate origin. Morton had many skulls from Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, and concluded that the ancient Egyptians were not African, but were instead Caucasians
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
.
Morton's followers, particularly Gliddon and Josiah Nott in their monumental tribute to Morton's work, Types of Mankind (1854), carried Morton's ideas further and backed up Morton's findings which supported the notion of polygenism
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 :...
, which contends that humanity originates from different lineages and is the ancestor of the multiregional hypothesis.
Gliddon collaborated with Morton on several published works; they shared many views on human races. Morton had sent Gliddon over 100 Egyptian crania specimens. Gliddon was a popular lecturer and researcher on Egyptology and from his studies of ancient Egyptian monuments and hieroglyphics, he concluded that the Egyptians had been white, and that even in the ancient world there had been distinctly different races. He posited that Whites and Negroes had never changed their racial appearance and features.He believed that neither environment or climate could change a race into another. He rejected Monogenesis
Monogenesis
Monogenism is the theory of human origins which posits a single origin for all human races. For the belief that all humans are descended from Adam, see Polygenism.Monogenesis may refer to:* Recent African origin of modern humans...
, and claimed that the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
supported Polygenisis. Gliddon believed the differences of the races had been impressed upon them by the Creator himself since the beginning.
George Robins Gliddon died in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in 1857.