Eduard Seler
| Prof. Dr Eduard Seler | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Born | 1849 | ||||||
| Died | 1922 | ||||||
| Residence | Kaiser-Wilhelmstr., 3, Steglitz, Berlin | ||||||
| Occupation |
anthropologist linguist academic | ||||||
| |||||||
Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
enemy fellow
1908.12.08 The following were nominated as Honorary Fellows, to be balloted for at the next meeting of Council (Under the By Law only three can be elected); Dr Hoernes, Dr Schwalbe, Dr Seler, Prof. Ripley
1909.12.14 The following were nominated for election: Dr Durkheim and Dr Seler
death reported in Report of the Council for 1922
Notes From Elsewhere
Eduard Georg Seler (December 5, 1849 – November 23, 1922) was a prominent German anthropologist, ethnohistorian, linguist, epigrapher, academic and Americanist scholar, who made extensive contributions in these fields towards the study of pre-Columbian era cultures in the Americas. He is most renowned for his foundational studies concerning the ethnography, documents and history of Mesoamerican cultures, for which he is regarded as one of the most influential Mesoamericanist scholars active around the turn of the 20th century.[1] Seler laid many fundamentals in understanding and deciphering the aztec pictorial script. A main contribution was the re-discovery and analysis of the basic aztec calendar system: the existence of two aztec calendars, a 365-day solar profane (everyday use) resp. a 263-day lunar religious calendar. He also noted from the sources, that the ceremonial killing victim figures alleged by Spanish priests and military (10.000s or even 100.000s, repeatedly) in their chronicles were most probably vastly exaggerated propaganda. Much later, that was confirmed by excavations end of the 20th century.
Being poor and of ailing health, he was helped and supported for decades by his wife Cäcilie (Cecilia) Seler-Sachs (1855–1935, financially (she was the daughter of Dr Sachs, a wealthy MD), physically (during their long, hard, and insecure travels), and intellectually. Her photos of Aztec temples and pyramids are still useful to scientists, and after her husband's death she went on verifying his works, and publishing them. On the spot, the Selers were helped by Mexican scholar and historian Antonio Peñafiel.[2]
Eduard Seler was born in Crossen/Oder in the Brandenburg region in 1849. From 1876 onward he worked as a secondary school teacher in Berlin, but retired from this profession due to health problems.
Eventually Seler studied Mathematics, Mineralogy, Botany and Paleontology. He graduated with a Ph D thesis on Mayan Languages in Leipzig in 1887. The same year he undertook his first research trip to Mexico, which was followed by five further journeys to this country until 1910. Accompanied and strongly supported by his wife Caecilie Seler-Sachs, he established a large collection of botanical, linguistic and archaeological material throughout these years.
In 1892 Seler became assistant of the head chairman of the Ethnological Museum (formerly: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde) in Berlin. Two years later he completed his habilitation thesis on Mexican Pictoral Manuscripts and began lecturing.
In 1899 Seler took up a professorship for American Languages, Anthropoloy and Antiquity Studies. He furthermore became head of the Department for America at the Berlin Ethnological Museum (formerly: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde) in 1903. In 1910/11 Seler also chaired the International Archaeological Institute in Mexico.
In 1919 Seler became honorary member of the Berlin Society of Anthropology, Ethnology and Early History (Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, BGAEU). He died in Berlin three years later.
Seler was among the first to dedicate his scientific life to the research on ethnographical, historical and religious aspects of both Ancient American and Mesoamerican cultures. He can thus be regarded as one of the most influential founding figures of this discipline in the early 20th century.
Publications
External Publications
in the original German :- Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen Sprach- und Alterthumskunde. 5 vols. Berlin : A. Asher, 1902-1923.
translated (by Charles P. Bowditch & Frank E. Comparato) into English :- Collected Works in Mesoamerican Linguistics and Archaeology. Culver City (CA) : Labyrinthos, 1990-1998.