Paul Broca's search for Basque skulls: The full story.

Publisher: Routledge Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9441330 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1744-5213 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0964704X NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Hist Neurosci Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2013- : London : Routledge
Original Publication: London : Smith-Gordon,

Biological Evolution* ; Hybridization, Genetic*; Anthropology/*history ; Craniosynostoses/*history ; Neuroanatomy/*history ; Skull/*anatomy & histology; Animals ; France ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Spain

Broca P; Velasco PG

Paul Broca surmised that the short and broad-brachycephalic-skulls of the earliest European settlers had become longer and narrower-dolichocephalic-in modern populations due to the blending of different races. Swedish anatomist Anders Retzius had two brachycephalic skulls said to be from contemporary Basque individuals, a claim suited to test Broca's hypothesis. Broca worked with fellow anatomist and surgeon Pedro González Velasco, the founding father of Spanish anthropology, to gather a large number of Basque skulls. In its time, this was the most fascinating collection owned by the Anthropological Society of Paris. This article explains how Broca and Velasco were able to gather such a sizeable array of specimens, which they had collected at a location known at first by the code name of "Z." Although Broca finally concluded that the origin of the Retzius skulls could not be determined, his research was to spark anthropologists' interest in the language and origins of the Basque people.

Keywords: Basque Country; Paul Broca; Pedro González Velasco; craniology; skull

Date Created: 20160930 Date Completed: 20170309 Latest Revision: 20181221

20231215

10.1080/0964704X.2014.886811

27684552