<<The>> skull collectors race, science, and america's unburied dead

When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. It would have been strange, but perhaps fitting, had Morton’s skull wound up in a collector’s cabinet, for Morton himself had collected hundreds of skulls over the course of a long career. Friends, diplomats, doctors, soldiers, and fellow naturalists sent him skulls they gathered from battlefields and burial grounds across America and around the world. With __The Skull Collectors__, eminent historian Ann Fabian resurrects that popular and scientific movement, telling the strange—and at times gruesome—story of Morton, his contemporaries, and their search for a scientific foundation for racial difference. From cranial measurements and museum shelves to heads on stakes, bloody battlefields, and the “rascally pleasure” of grave robbing, Fabian paints a lively picture of scientific inquiry in service of an agenda of racial superiority, and of a society coming to grips with both the deadly implications of manifest destiny and the mass slaughter of the Civil War. Even as she vividly recreates the past, Fabian also deftly traces the continuing implications of this history, from lingering traces of scientific racism to debates over the return of the remains of Native Americans that are held by museums to this day. Full of anecdotes, oddities, and insights, __The Skull Collectors__ takes readers on a darkly fascinating trip down a little-visited but surprisingly important byway of American history. "When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. It would have been strange, but perhaps fitting, had Morton's skull wound up in a collector's cabinet, for Morton himself had collected hundreds of skulls over the course of a long career. Friends, diplomats, doctors, soldiers, and fellow naturalists sent him skulls they gathered from battlefields and burial grounds across America and around the world. With the Skull Collectors, eminent historian Ann Fabian resurrects that popular and scientific movement, telling the strange--and at times gruesome--story of Morton, his contemporaries, and their search for a scientific foundation for racial difference. From cranial measurements and museum shelves to heads on stakes, bloody battlefields, and the 'rascally pleasure' of grave robbing, Fabian paints a lively picture of scientific inquiry in service of an agenda of racial superiority, and of a society coming to grips with both the deadly implications of manifest destiny and the mass slaughter of the Civil War. Even as she vividly recreates the past, Fabian also deftly traces the continuing implications of this history, from lingering traces of scientific racism to debates over the return of the remains of Native Americans that are held by museums to this day."--Provided by publisher With The Skull Collectors, eminent historian Ann Fabian tells the strange--and at times gruesome--story of Morton, his contemporaries, and racial difference. From cranial measurements and museum shelves to heads on stakes, bloody battlefields, and the "rascally pleasure" of grave robbing, Fabian vividly re-creates the world of scientific inquiry in service of an agenda of racial superiority, and of a society coming to grips with both the deadly implications of manifest destiny and the mass slaughter of the Civil War. Fabian also deflty traces the continuing implications of this history, from lingering traces of scientific racism to debates over the return of the remains of Native Americans that are held by museums to this day When Philadelphian Samuel George Morton Died In 1851, No One Cut Off His Head, Boiled Away Its Flesh And Added His Grinning Skull To A Collection Of Crania. It Would Have Been Strange, But Perhaps Fitting, Had Mortona's Skull Wound Up In A Collector's Cabinet, For Morton Himself Had Collected Hundreds Over The Course Of A Long Career. The Promise Of A Fine Skull -- A Native Among The Headhunters -- Crania Americana -- News From The Feegees -- The Unburied Dead. Ann Fabian. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [221]-260) And Index. When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. It would have been strange, but perhaps fitting, has Morton's skull wound up in a collector's cabinet, for Morton himself had collected hundreds of skulls over the course of a long career. Friends, diplomats, doctors, soldiers, and fellow naturalists sent him skulls they gathered from battlefields and burial grounds across America and around the world Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction: Ghosts of the Unburied Dead......Page 14 1. “The Promise of a Fine Skull”......Page 22 2. A Native among the Headhunters......Page 60 3. Crania Americana......Page 92 4. “News from the Feegees”......Page 134 5. The Unburied Dead......Page 178 Epilogue: Brains, Bones, and Graves......Page 218 Notes......Page 234 Index......Page 274 "A haunting voyage through the peculiar--and peculiarly American--world of human skull collecting. Ann Fabian's remarkable and moving study illuminates as few other works have the powerful hold that the dead and their remains continue to have upon the living". Karl Jacoby, author of Shadows at Dawn: A Borderlands Massacre and the Violence of History When Philadelphia naturalist Samuel George Morton died in 1851, no one cut off his head, boiled away its flesh, and added his grinning skull to a collection of crania. This title tells the strange - and at times gruesome - story of Morton, his contemporaries, and their search for a scientific foundation for racial difference. Full of compelling stories and singular insights. The Skull Collectors takes readers on a darkly fascinating trip to a little-visited but surprisingly impotant corner of American history. --Book Jacket "The Skull Collectors takes readers on a darkly fascinating trip to a little-visited but surprisingly impotant byway of American history." --Page [4] of cover