Oetteking, Bruno (1871-1960)

Bruno Oetteking (1871-1960) was a German-born physical anthropologist who worked in the United States. His monograph Craniology of the North Pacific Coast (1930) was based on his study of crania collected during the famous Jesup North Pacific Expedition led by Franz Boas between 1897-1902. Oetteking taught courses in physical anthropology and evolution at Columbia University Extension, curated the Physical Anthropology Department at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, and was later employed at the Chiropractic Institute of New York. Author of the textbook, Human Craniology (1957), he is a forgotten, if not obscure figure, one of the last craniologists in the history of physical anthropology.

Keywords: Physical anthropology | Germany | United States of America | Craniology | Franz Boas | American Museum of Natural History | Robert Lehmann-Nitsche | Jesup North Pacific Expedition | Museum of the American Indian Heye Foundation | Chiropractic Institute of New York