Alison Hingston Quiggin (1874—1971) was a British anthropologist at the University of Cambridge and the author of the much reprinted ''A Survey of Primitive Money: The Beginnings of Currency'' (London, 1949).

Education and career

Hingston studied at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, from 1899 to 1902. She went on to become a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Cambridge University.

Personal life

As a student she founded the secret Leaving Sunday Dinner Society (LSDS), members of which would on Sunday evenings cook for one another in a rented room off the college grounds, where they could smoke and otherwise ignore college rules. Of the idea that young women at the university were there to find husbands, she later said "We didn't take much interest in the men and they were certainly terrified of us."Alison Quiggin, "Students May Ride the Bicycle", in ''A Newnham Anthology'', edited by Ann Phillips (Cambridge University Press, 1979), pp. 45-46. Later, in 1907, she married the linguist

Edmund Crosby Quiggin Edmund Crosby Quiggin (23 August 1875 – 4 January 1920) was a British linguist and scholar. Born in Cheadle, Staffordshire, he was educated at Kingswood School in Bath. In 1893 he matriculated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Universit ...

Publications

''A Survey of Primitive Money'' (first edition 1949) is considered her classic work; she argued that money arose as a tool for tracking and managing debt, not facilitating barter, as sometimes claimed. She also authored ''Primeval Man: The Stone Age in Western Europe'' (Macdonald and Evans, 1912), ''Trade Routes, Trade, and Currency in East Africa'' (Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, 1949), and was a contributor to the 14th edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' (1929–30). She also collaborated with Alfred Cort Haddon on his ''History of Anthropology'' (London, 1910) and on the revision of

Augustus Henry Keane Augustus Henry Keane (1833–1912) was an Irish Roman Catholic journalist and linguist, known for his ethnological writings. Early life He was born in Cork, Ireland.George Grant MacCurdy, James Mooney and A. B. Legía - Antonio Flores, ''Anthrop ...

's ''Man, Past and Present'' (Cambridge University Press, 1920; first edition 1899), and later wrote his biography, ''Haddon the Head-Hunter'' (Cambridge University Press, 1942).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quiggin, Alison Hingston 1874 births 1971 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Cambridge British anthropologists British women anthropologists