Pere Bosch-Gimpera (1891 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

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– 1974 in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

) was a

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-born Mexican

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 ...

and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

. He went into exile in

, with many other intellectuals, after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. He became a Mexican citizen in 1971.

Career

Although he began studying Law, he changed to Philology, in which he obtained a doctorate in 1911. With the aim of becoming professor of

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he also obtained a doctorate in History in 1913. From 1911 to 1914 he studied Greek Philology, Prehistory and Ancient History in

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, with the aid of a scholarship. Once there, the advice of Wilamowitz-Moellendorf made him change course and he moved from Greek language and literature to prehistoric archaeology. From 1916 to 1939, he was chair of Ancient and Medieval History at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

. At the same time he served as director of the Archaeological Research Service of the “

Institut d'Estudis Catalans The Institute for Catalan Studies ( ca, Institut d'Estudis Catalans, ), also known by the acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalon ...

”. From the publication in 1919 of ''Prehistòria Catalana'', he strongly advocated the use of

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in scientific publications. Between 1916 and 1931, he led the archaeological section of the museums of

; from 1931 to 1933, he was dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology; between 1933 and 1939, he was president of the University of Barcelona. Involved in Catalan politics, he was Minister of Justice of Catalonia in the Government of

Lluís Companys Lluís Companys i Jover (; 21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was a Catalan politician who served as president of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War. Companys was a lawyer close to labour movement and one of the most prominent l ...

. After the events of 6 October 1934, he was made prisoner along with other members of the Catalan Government on the ship ''Uruguay'', which aroused international complaints. After the Spanish Civil War he went into exile in Mexico, together with many intellectuals. Subsequently, he suffered from a vilifying campaign at the University of Barcelona. He acquired Mexican nationality in 1971. He also taught at the universities of Berlin (1921), Edinburgh (1936), Oxford (1939–1941), Paris (1961) and Heidelberg (1966), among other European universities. From 1941, he was professor at the Autonomous University and the School (Escuela General) of Archaeology at the University of Mexico City, positions he held until his death in 1974. He was also a professor at the University of Guatemala (1945–1947), director of the Division of Philosophy and Humanities of UNESCO (1948–1953), and secretary general of the Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (1953–1966)

Honorary memberships

The most important: * Honorary member of the ''Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'' * Honorary member of the ''Society of Antiquaries'' of London * Honorary member of the ''Institut d'Estudis Catalans'' of Barcelona * Honorary member of the ''Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut'' of Berlín * Honorary member of the ''Hispanic Society of America'' of

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* Correspondent member of the ''Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres'' of

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* Correspondent member of the ''Pontificia Academia Romana di Archeologia'' of

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* Correspondent member of the ''Archaeological Society'' of Jutland

Main works

*''Prehistòria Catalana: edats de la pedra i dels metalls, colonització grega, etnografia'' (1919) *''La arqueología preromana hispánica'' (1920) *''Etnología de la Península Ibérica'' (1932) *''El poblamiento antiguo y la formación de los pueblos de España'' (1945) *''El problema indoeuropeo'' (1960) *''El Próximo Oriente en la Antigüedad'' (1964) *''La Universitat i Catalunya'' (1969) *''Historia de Oriente'' (1971) *''La América precolombina'' (1971) *''Las raíces de Europa'' (1974) *''La América prehispánica'' (1974)

External links

*
Biography
at the Universidad de Michoacán
Special Collection: Pere Bosch Gimpera
(University of Barcelona Library) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosch-Gimpera, Pere 1891 births 1974 deaths People from Barcelona Mexican people of Catalan descent Scientists from Catalonia Spanish scientists Mexican anthropologists Mexican archaeologists Anthropologists from Catalonia Archaeologists from Catalonia Prehistorians Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico 20th-century archaeologists