A brief overview on the role of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu (the former Imperial University of Dorpat/Yuryev) in the development of anthropology in 1876–1918

During its history of nearly 390 years, the development of the University of Tartu has been discontinuous and complicated; sometimes it has even changed its location, but it has always included the Faculty of Medicine. For the longest time, the university operated as the Imperial University of Dorpat/Yuryev within the Russian Empire from 1802–1918. Even today, additions can be made to the biographies of some professors or graduates about the years they spent in Tartu (Dorpat/Yuryev) in that period. So, the role of the famous professors of anatomy Christian Hermann Ludwig Stieda (1837–1918) and August Antonius Rauber (1841–1917) in the development of anthropology at the Institute of Anatomy headed by them from 1876–1911 and in the following years until the Russian university in Tartu closed down in May 1918 has been studied modestly until now. To fill this gap, we present a brief overview on the role of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu in the development of anthropology in 1876–1918

On the background to Karin Mark’s monograph "Finno-Ugric Peoples Physical Anthropology" (2014)

This article describes how Karin Mark’s (1922–1999) monograph Physical Anthropology of Finno-Ugric Peoples, a bulky and beautifully designed book, (Tallinn: Academy of Sciences Press and Institute of History, Tallinn University, 2014, 542 pp.), reached publication.For better understanding of the background, short summaries are given of the research activities of three major Estonian anthropologists – Prof. Juhan Aul, Karin Mark and Leiu Heapost.When analysing the materials collected from 1955–1976 and preparing her life’s work for print as Origin of Finno-Ugric Peoples According to Anthropological Data, K. Mark passed away, and the book was unfinished. Only the unique collections of materials and manuscripts based on their analysis remained.Based on these, Leiu Heapost began to compile, enlarge and edit K. Mark’s monograph that by today has been published under the new title. Why did L. Heapost decide to do it, what were her aims, by which principles was she guided, where did she consider it necessary to make corrections and additions, etc.? Answers to all of this can be found in the materials L. Heapost included in the monograph compiled by her.It is certain that the unique materials collected by K. Mark and published 15 years after her death open new prospects for researchers for further indepth studies of the theme

Seventy years of the anthropology section of the Estonian Naturalists' Society (Part III)

Part II

The year 1964 in the history of Estonian anthropology

The year 1964 in the history of Estonian anthropology

On the translations of Karl Ernst von Baer’s Latin doctoral thesis On Estonians’ Endemic Diseases (1814) into other languages

Karl Ernst von Baer (1792–1876), who is considered one of the most renowned natural scientists of the 19th century, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tartu (then the Imperial University of Dorpat) in the summer of 1814 by defending his doctoral thesis On Estonians’ Endemic Diseases. According to the requirements at that time, the thesis was written in Latin. In the Middle Ages, Latin was a language of science and culture in a number of European countries; it was also the language of tuition at universities. The following disruption in the natural development of Latin made it a dead language. This may also be considered one of the reasons that have hindered researchers from thoroughly studying Baer’s doctoral thesis.The materials of Baer’s 180th birth anniversary conference arranged in Tartu were gathered into the collection Folia Baeriana I, published in 1975. As the interest in Baer’s works persists nowadays, a decision was made to publish his original works in Estonian translation. The above-mentioned collection was the first to contain the full Estonian translation of Baer’s doctoral thesis (translated by Ü. Torpats). The thesis was also printed as a separate book in 1976 and 2013. Thus, it has been possible for everyone who knows Estonian to read the Estonian translation of Baer’s doctoral thesis for nearly 40 years. During this time, the significance of English as the language of science has essentially increased in the world. No answer could be found, however, to the question whether Baer’s doctoral thesis is available for researchers in English, either in full or partially. To overcome this possible deficiency, we present in this article, the English translation (by I. Anvelt) of the chapter from Baer’s doctoral thesis where he gives an overview of Estonians’ body build and mentality, as this is of interest from the viewpoint of anthropology.It might be hoped that by the 190th anniversary of the discovery mammals’ (including humans’) ovum by Baer, the full English translation of Baer’s first research paper, his doctoral thesis, would be available for researchers

On preservation and development of Estonian as a research language in anthropology – the role of the Yearbooks of the Estonian Anthropometric Register (1998–2002) in it

A few years after its foundation (1993), the Centre for Physical Anthro pology at the University started cooperation with the Estonian Anthropometric Register. Together, it was decided to publish the Estonian-language Yearbook of the Estonian Anthropometric Register to preserve and develop Estonian as the language of research in anthropology. By that time, the Centre for Physical Anthropology had also started to publish the collection Papers on Anthropology in English.The article provides an overview of the Yearbooks of the Estonian Anthropometric Register 1998–2002. The covers of the yearbooks were designed by Michael Walsh and the language editor was Leelo Jago. From 1999, all the articles were accompanied by summaries in English. The Yearbook of 2002 is indexed in SPORTDiscus database. All the Yearbooks were printed by University of Tartu Press.The overview presents the cover, title page and contents of the first Yearbook; the following Yearbooks are represented only by the contents and summaries of prefaces by editor-in-chief Helje Kaarma.General characterisation of the five Yearbooks: 1129 pages in total, 125 published publications, 125 researchers as their first authors, in addition to them 171 co-authors; thus, 296 researchers participated as authors of articles. Actually, these numbers turn out to be smaller, as the number of authors of articles ranges between one and eight.Based on this, a table has been compiled about the distribution of articles per number of authors.The second part of the overview presents, as Tables, the distribution of articles according to their first authors by years and the distribution of articles between the authors from Tartu and Tallinn, and from the institutions of these towns. We also add the list of co-authors and the numbers of their participation in the articles of the Yearbooks.Based on the overview, it can be said that the five Yearbooks of the Estonian Anthropometric Register published from 1998–2002, their 125 publications and 56 researchers as first authors and their 77 co-authors, thus a total of 133 authors have a definite and constant role and significance in the preservation and development of Estonian as a language of research in this period.The question arises whether there is any other branch of research in Estonia, the representatives of which would have done anything similar in these years or earlier for the preservation and development of Estonian as a research language in their area, not only published articles in English

On the significance of Karl Ernst von Baer’s doctoral thesis On Estonians’ Endemic Diseases (1814) for Estonian anthropology

In the second chapter of his first research paper, the doctoral dissertation written in Latin and defended at the University of Tartu (the former Imperial University of Dorpat) in 1814, K.E. von Baer, the future natural scientist of world renown, characterised the body build and mentality of Estonians (men, women and children), in a considerably more detailed way than the previous brief overviews. Therefore, this paper is considered the beginning of research of Estonians from the viewpoint of physical anthropology.The current overview will deal with the role of Juhan Aul, Professor of Zoology at the University of Tartu, in giving an anthropological assessment to Baer’s doctoral thesis.This is followed by a discussion on whether Baer’s thesis belongs to the area of medical topography (geography). Our examination shows that Baer’s medical geographical thesis might be called an anthropological medical geographical paper.Finally, the question is posed whether the material presented in Baer’s doctoral thesis on the relations between Estonians’ health, well-being, culture, society and environment corresponds to the characteristics of the notion “medical anthropology” that has been in use since 1963, so that it could be considered the beginning of Estonian medical anthropology

On Prof. Daniel Georg Balk (1764–1826), supervisor of Karl Ernst Von Baer's doctoral thesis On Estonians' Endemic Diseases

On Prof. Daniel Georg Balk (1764–1826), supervisor of Karl Ernst Von Baer's doctoral thesis On Estonians' Endemic Disease

On research of Estonian school students’ physical development in diploma theses of the Department of Zoology at Tartu State University, 1958–1970

The article provides an overview of ten diploma theses written under the supervision of Professor of Zoology Juhan Aul at the University of Tartu from 1958–1970. The theses deal with physical development of Estonian school students in two Estonian towns (Tartu and Pärnu) and nine districts (Tartu, Elva, Põlva, Räpina, Rapla, Keila, Pärnu, Võru, Harju) according to the then existing administrative division. The theses are based on the anthropological material collected from 1956–1966.The first part of the article briefly describes the period of nearly 202 years during which the scholars related to the University of Tartu have conducted various physical anthropological studies on Estonians. These years can conditionally be divided as follows: the first period, 1814–1927 – the period from Baer to Aul, the second period, 1927–1993 – the Aul period, the third period, from 1993 to the present – the period of the Centre for Physical Anthropology.The article describes some of the options the students had for participating in anthropological research. An overview is given of the beginning of anthropological research of children and school students in Estonia and in the world. The article acquaints the reader with the whole of the so-called Aul period and the diploma theses on Estonian school students’ physical development supervised by him.The second part gives an overview of the diploma theses