Arturo Issel (
Genoa April 11, 1842 –
Genoa November 27, 1922) was an
Italian geologist,
palaeontologist,
malacologist and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, born in
Genoa. He is noted for first defining the
Tyrrhenian Stage in 1914. Issel was also renowned at the time for his work on codifying information within anthropology and ethnology, for which he is still remembered.
[Puccini, Sandra (1988) "Elio Modigliani: Esplorare, osservare, raccogliere nell'esperienza di un etnografo dell'Ottocento" ''La Ricerca Folklorica'' No. 18 (subtitled: ''A sud dell'occidente. Viaggi, missioni e colonie della vecchia Italia'') pp. 25-40, pp. 27-28]
In 1865, he was searching for the presence of
Neanderthal man in Malta. During one of his excursions in Dalam Valley (''Wied Dalam''), he came across a cave,
Għar Dalam
Għar Dalam ("Cave of Dalam" (a fifteenth century family name), ) is a 144 metre long phreatic tube and cave, or cul-de-sac, located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta. The cave contains the bone remains of animals that were stranded and ...
, half filled with soil and used as a cattle-pen. Issel thought that an excavation at the site could prove fruitful. He dug a trench in the cave’s loose soil and found prehistoric human remains (from approximately 5000 to 4100 BC), and a burnt
hippopotamus bone.
Issel participated in several expeditions to
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
, including one led by
Orazio Antinori and
Odoardo Beccari in 1870. He was appointed professor of Geology at the
University of Genova in 1866. Issel was a close correspondent with anthropologist
Elio Modigliani, and helped promulgate Modigliani's ideas.
Issel's son, Raffaele Issel, followed in his footsteps and was appointed professor of
zoology at the
University of Genova in 1923.
The Issel Bridge, an
undersea ridge separating parts of the
Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Issel Seamount were named in Arturo Issel's honor. The mineral
isselite is also named in his honor.
Bibliography
* Issel A. (1874)
''Molluschi Borneensi'' Genova, Tipografia del R. Instituto Sordo-Muti
* Issel A. (1869)
''Malacologia del Mar Rosso. Ricerche zoologiche e paleontologiche'' Pisa, pp. I-XI, 1-387, Plates I-V
*
Giglioli E. H. & Issel A. (1884)
''Pelagos, saggi sulla vita e sui prodotti del mare'' Genova, Tipografia del R. Istituto de' Sordo-Muti
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Issel, Arturo
1842 births
1922 deaths
Archaeologists from Genoa
19th-century Italian geologists
19th-century Italian zoologists
Italian malacologists
Italian paleontologists
19th-century archaeologists
20th-century Italian geologists
20th-century archaeologists