Elio Modigliani (13 June 1860 – 6 August 1932) was an Italian anthropologist,

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

, and

plant collector Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting i ...

Biography

The son of a Florentine banker, he first made his name in the Italian scientific community at the age of 20, when he explored a cave near

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, discovering

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

remains of exceptional value. He thus was introduced to eminent scientists and explorers such as

Odoardo Beccari Odoardo Beccari (16 November 1843 – 25 October 1920) was an Italian botanist famous for his discoveries in Indonesia, particularly New Guinea, and Australia. He has been called the greatest botanist to ever study Malesia. His author abbrev ...

(who had explored Malaysia and Sumatra in 1872),

Giacomo Doria Marquis Giacomo Doria (1 November 1840 – 19 September 1913) was an Italian naturalist, botanist, herpetologist, and politician. He was the founder of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genoa in 1867, and director from then until his d ...

, and Arturo Issael. Modigliani was also a disciple of Cesare Lombroso, an eminent anthropologist, criminologist and jurist, who was the Italian herald of

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...

Travels to the Indonesian archipelago

Between 1886 and 1894, Modigliani explored Sumatra and a number of islands off its western coast. His first trip, in 1886, was to the island of

Nias Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, ...

, of which he explored the southern region (Nias Salatan), travelling among

head-hunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in hi ...

tribes. He came back unscathed, and wrote his first book, ''Un viaggio a Nias''. Nias Salatan at the time was forbidden territory for all foreigners, and Dutch military and naval expeditions had failed time and again to impose colonial rule in this region, populated by redoutable head hunters. Moreover, the head hunters' villages were at war with each other at the time of his visit, and Modigliani was travelling with the sole company of four Javanese tracker hunters, i.e., virtually undefended; and he personally clashed with high-ranking members of Nias society, including the redoutable Siwa Sahilu, who commanded some 2,000 warriors out of his village of Hili Simaetano. Yet, Elio Modigliani managed to save his own head and that of his men, and bring back a formidable collection of Nias artefacts for the Ethnographic Museum of Florence, where they are presently on display. During his exploration, Modigliani was faced on several occasions with highly dangerous situations, and yet he never had to fire a shot nor even to level his weapons against a warrior. He managed to resolve any conflict through a mixture of psychological warfare and empathy. Likewise, his main opponent, Chief Siwa Sahilu, was a subtle strategist and his equal at this game. Their dueling was reconstructed through the research of Vanni Puccioni, who in 2010 collected the memories of the warriors' descendants in Nias Salatan. Modigliani visited

Enggano Island Enggano Island is about 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia, though it can also be considered a barrier island of Sumatra. Enggano is about long from ea ...

between April 25 and July 13, 1891. He detailed the apparently dominant role of women in Enggano culture in ''L'Isola delle Donne'' (''The Island of Women''), first published in 1894.

Legacy

Elio Modigliani is honored in the scientific names of five species of Indonesian reptiles: '' Cnemaspis modiglianii'', '' Draco modiglianii'', '' Harpesaurus modiglianii'', '' Pseudorabdion modiglianii'', and '' Sphenomorphus modiglianii''. A Sumatran frog is named for him: '' Huia modiglianii''.

Biography

Travels to the Indonesian archipelago

Legacy

References

Further reading