Karl von den Steinen (born March 7, 1855 in Mülheim, died November 4, 1929 in

Kronberg im Taunus Kronberg im Taunus is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy was absorbed into Prussia. Kronberg lies at t ...

) was a German

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner ( Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through t ...

(with emphasis in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psychi ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

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 author of important

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

work, which is particularly to the study of Indian cultures of Central Brazil, and the art of the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. He laid the permanent foundations for Brazilian ethnology.

Exploration

* 1879-1881: A journey around the earth * 1882-1883: First German International Polar Year Expedition to

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

* 1884: The first expedition to the

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; pt, Rio Xingu, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Byti'', ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. ...

region of Brazil (see

Xingu Indigenous Park The Xingu Indigenous Park (, pronounced ) is an indigenous territory of Brazil, first created in 1961 as a national park in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Its official purposes are to protect the environment and the several tribes of Xingu in ...

) * 1887-1888: Second Expedition into the Xingú region (Brazil) * 1897-1898: expedition to the South Sea Islands (

)

Works

* ''Durch Central-Brasilien: Expedition zur Erforschung des Schingú im J. 1884'' (''Through Central-Brazil: expedition to explore the Xingú in the year 1884''). Brockhaus, Leipzig 1886; Reprint: Fines Mundi, Saarbrücken 2006 * ''Die Bakaïrí-Sprache: Wörterverzeichnis, Sätze, Sagen, Grammatik; mit Beiträgen zu einer Lautlehre der karaïbischen Grundsprache'' (''The Bakairi language: vocabulary, sentences, stories, grammar, phonetics, with contributions to a basic language of the Caribs''). Koehler, Leipzig 1892 * ''Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens'' (''Among the primitive peoples of Central Brazil'') Reiseschilderungen und Ergebnisse der zweiten Schingú-Expedition 1887–1888 (''Travel accounts and results of the second Schingú Expedition 1887-1888''). Geographic Verlagsbuchhandlung von Dietrich Reimer, Berlin 1894, Reprint: Fines Mundi, Saarbrücken 2006 * ''Die Marquesaner und ihre Kunst: Studien über die Entwicklung primitiver Südseeornamentik nach eigenen Reiseergebnissen und dem Material der Museen'' (''The Marquesas and their Art: studies on the evolution of primitive Südseeornamentik results according to travel and material of the museums''), 3 volumes, Reimer, Berlin 1925–1928; Reprint: NY 1969; Reprint: Fines Mundi, Saarbrücken 2006 ** ''Volume 1 Tattooing: a history of the island group and a comparative introduction to the Polynesian custom'', 1925 ** ''Volume 2 Plastic: with an introduction on "Material Culture" and an appendix "Ethnographic additions'', 1928 ** ''Volume 3, The library'', 1928

External links

*
Erland Nordenskjöld: ''Nécrologie de Karl von den Steinen.'' in Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 1930, Numero 22-1, Page 220-227, on persee.fr

Fines Mundi
- publisher of reprints
Adorning the world: art of the Marquesas Islands
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Karl von den Steinen {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinen, Karl Von Den 1855 births 1929 deaths People from Mülheim German psychiatrists German ethnologists German explorers German anthropologists Explorers of Amazonia

Exploration

Works

See also

External links