Graebner, Fritz

Graebner, Fritz

▪ German ethnologist
in full  Robert Fritz Graebner  
born March 4, 1877, Berlin, Ger.
died July 13, 1934, Berlin

      German ethnologist who advanced the theory of the Kulturkreise (Kulturkreis), or culture complex, which postulated diffusions of primitive culture spheres derived from a single archaic type. His scheme launched the culture-historical school of ethnology in Europe and stimulated much field research.

      While a research assistant at the Royal Museum of Ethnology, Berlin (1899–1906), Graebner classified the South Seas collection and collaborated with Bernhard Ankermann, a specialist in African ethnology. Graebner sought to interpret the history of Oceania from the geographical study of cultural traits. From cartographic plotting of these traits, he discovered patterns of trait clusters that indicated a chronological sequence for the spread (or diffusion) of distinctive cultures. In 1907 Graebner joined the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, where he served as director from 1925 to 1928. His systematic treatise on processes of diffusion, Methode der Ethnologie (1911; “Method of Ethnology”), offered guidelines for the study of cultural affinities and became the foundation of the culture-historical approach to ethnology.

      On the eve of World War I, Graebner visited Australia at government invitation, only to be interned there as an enemy alien for the duration of the war. During his internment he made a comparison of Indo-European, Hamito-Semitic (now Afro-Asiatic), Mongolian, and Polynesian myths and studied various calendrical systems in an attempt to apply the principles of Kulturkreise to larger areas. These efforts culminated in Das Weltbild der Primitiven (1924; “The World View of the Primitives”), in which he described a single archaic “advanced culture” that had spread throughout much of the world. Though dismissed by later scholars, Graebner's theories influenced Wilhelm Schmidt and were extended by the British anthropologists Elliot Smith and W.J. Perry.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Graebner — is a surname, and may refer to:* Carole Caldwell Graebner * Clark Graebner * Fritz Graebnersurname …   Wikipedia

  • GRAEBNER (F.) — GRAEBNER FRITZ (1877 1934) Fondateur, avec le père Wilhelm Schmidt, de l’école diffusionniste de Vienne, Graebner précéda néanmoins son collaborateur dans la formulation des principes majeurs de la nouvelle théorie. Il exposa sa thèse en 1911… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Graebner — Gräbner beziehungsweise Graebner ist der Name folgender Personen: Carole Caldwell Graebner (1943–2008), US amerikanische Tennisspielerin Daniel Gräbner (* 1975), deutscher Filmregisseur und Filmproduzent Franz Adolf Gräbner (1944–2004), deutscher …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fritz Graebner — Robert Fritz Graebner (* 4. März 1877 in Berlin; † 13. Juli 1934 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Ethnologe. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Wirkung 3 Werke 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fritz Graebner — Robert Fritz Graebner (March 4, 1877 July 13, 1934) was a German ethnologist best known for his theory of the Kulturkreis, or culture circle.The ethnologist, Graebner, advanced a theory of diffusion of culture (Kulturkreise) which became the… …   Wikipedia

  • Schilling & Graebner — Die Dresdner Christuskirche Die Dresdner Firma Schilling Graebner war ein gemeinsames Architekturbüro der miteinander assoziierten Geschäftspartner Rudolf Schilling und Julius Graebner. Unter der Führung dieser beiden Architekten existierte es… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Schilling & Graebner — Das Dresdner Unternehmen Schilling Graebner war ein gemeinsames Architekturbüro der miteinander assoziierten Geschäftspartner Rudolf Schilling (1859–1933) und Julius Graebner (1858–1917). Unter der Führung dieser beiden Architekten existierte es… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Paul Graebner — Karl Otto Robert Peter Paul Graebner (* 1871 in Aplerbeck; † 1933 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Botaniker. Leben Nach dem Schulbesuch absolvierte er ein Studium und promovierte zum Dr. phil.. In den 1890er Jahren botanisierte er unter anderem im… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Gra — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • totemism — totemistic, adj. /toh teuh miz euhm/, n. 1. the practice of having totems. 2. the system of tribal division according to totems. [1785 95, Amer.; TOTEM + ISM] * * * Complex of ideas and practices based on the belief in kinship or mystical… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”