The Rudolf Virchow lecture was an annual public lecture delivered by an eminent researcher in the field of

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

archaeology 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 ...

in Neuwied (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). The lecture was held in honour of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 th ...

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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Rudolf Virchow and his contributions to German archaeology, whilst at the same time also honouring the outstanding accomplishments of the invited speaker. The lecture series was discontinued after 2016, when a new price, THE HUMAN ROOTS AWARD was established to recognise significant achievements that have had an outstanding impact or great influence in understanding the archaeology of human behavioural evolution.

Background

Laureates In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music dir ...

were chosen based on their contributions to the field of

Palaeolithic archaeology Palaeoarchaeology (or paleoarcheology) is the archaeology of deep time. Paleoarchaeologists' studies focus on hominid fossils ranging from 15,000,000 to 10,000 years ago, and human evolution and the ways in which humans have adapted to the environ ...

and nomination and presentation of the price were carried out by Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz, which had particularly close ties with Virchow. For many years Virchow was member of the board of directors of the museum and campaigned for its

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. It was also Virchow, who was largely responsible for the establishment of an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

, scientific archaeology. Through his efforts, disciplines such as

anthropology 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 ...

zoology 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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

, and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

were established as accepted means of inquiry within archaeology. At the same time, the liberal politician also campaigned for social equality and against

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. The Rudolf-Virchow lecture was held at the Schlosstheater Neuwied. To make the lecture accessible to a broad spectrum of the public the lecture is held in

. It was one of the most long-standing archaeological public lecture series with focus on Palaeolithic archaeology in Germany.http://web.rgzm.de/1507.html, accessed 2012-08-25 (in German)

List of Rudolf Virchow lectures

References

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External links

Official website of Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz
(in English)

(in German) Virchow, Rudolf Rudolf Virchow