1. From the state of nature to the state of ruins: 'American race' and 'savage knowledge' according to Carl von Martius.
- Author
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Uchôa, Raphael
- Subjects
- *
ANTHROPOLOGY , *NATURAL history , *ETHNOLOGY , *MYTHOLOGY - Abstract
This study focuses on the notions of 'ruins', 'savage knowledge', and 'American race' in the works of the German naturalist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868). A somewhat neglected figure in the history of anthropology and of natural history, Martius was regarded by scholars from Europe and the Americas as a leading figure in botany and ethnology in the nineteenth century. In this article, I discuss how Martius articulated: (1) the notion of American race, that is, a broad characterization of the native peoples of the Americas rooted in a complex natural history which brought together seemingly disparate fields of knowledge, such as medicine, botany, theology, philology, and mythology; (2) having ruins as a guiding concept, which helped him to make sense of American natives; and (3) savage knowledge – a concept semantically aligned to that of ruins, and among whose principal modes of expression was shamanic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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