Lehmann-Nitsche, Robert (1872-1938)

Robert Lehmann-Nitsche was a German anthropologist. In 1894 Lehmann-Nitsche was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy for the thesis “Über die langen Knochen der Reihengräber Bevölkerung” and a Doctor of Medicine with a dissertation on “Beiträge zur prähistorischen Chirurgie nach Funden aus deutscher Vorzeit” in 1897. From 1897 to 1930 Lehmann-Nitsche lived and worked as a researcher in Argentina, where he held several posts, such as director of the Anthropological Department at the Museo General de La Plata (today’s Museo de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata). As a professor for (physical) anthropology at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, he played a key role in establishing the discipline of anthropology at institutional level in Argentina. On his expeditions to Chaco, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, he conducted numerous ethnological studies, focusing on the mythology, linguistics and physical anthropology of the indigenous populations. He also examined the cultural hybridization and transformation processes triggered by increasing urbanization in Argentina and shaped by immigration from Europe and migration of indigenous people to cities. His studies on the Gaucho and Criollo cultures of the La Plata region are an important part of his legacy, as are his collections of material items related to popular culture. Lehmann-Nitsche was also one of the first scientists to carry out systematic field research in the urban centers of Buenos Aires and La Plata.

Material:

• 111 cases: extensive materials on the history of science, anthropology, ethnology, ethnolinguistics and visual anthropology.
• Robert Lehmann-Nitsche’s Biblioteca Criolla – his collection of popular literature from Argentina – is available in the IAI library.
• 49 manuscripts
• 3 notebooks
• 3 vocabulary books
• approx. 6,000 letters, postcards and telegrams
• personal documents
• official documents
• approx. 2,200 photographs and postcards
• various collections
• a collection of over 600 calling cards
• newspaper clippings

Inventory (external link, opens in a new window)

Keywords: Argentina, relations between Germany and Latin America, ethnolinguistics, ethnology, history of photography, institutions, travelogues, history of science

Link to the papers and manuscripts of Lehmann-Nitsche´s wife Juliane Dillenius (external link, opens in a new window)
Miradas Alemanas (external link, opens in a new window)
Formal Indexing of Robert Lehmann-Nitsche’s Papers (external link, opens in a new window)

Lehmann-Nitsche in the Digital Collections IAI (external link, opens in a new window)

Materials en other institutions

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