Lehmann-Nitsche, Robert (1872-1938)

Robert Lehmann-Nitsche (1872-1938), a German anthropologist with a background in philosophy and medicine, was appointed head of the anthropological section of the Museo de La Plata in Buenos Aires in 1897. For 30 years, his research covered a wide range of sub-disciplines, from physical anthropology to folklore, from linguistics to ethnology, comprising both indigenous populations and immigrants and other urban communities. He undertook numerous field missions in Argentina and other South American regions. Marked by various influences, he was in search of a mythical Pan-American stock, without refraining from making universal comparisons.

Keywords: Folklore | Physical anthropology | Archaeology | Linguistics | Ethnology | Ethnography | Second half of the 19^th century | First half of the 20^th century | Argentina | Paraguay | Tierra del Fuego