Podcast appearances and mentions of samuel george morton

Just a few weeks after we released the What Remains series, news broke that the Penn Museum discovered additional remains of 1985 MOVE bombing victims in the museum.How did this happen? And what's next for the thousands of other human remains still in their possession?Producer Felix Poon knew just the person to talk to for answers.Featuring Rachel Watkins. MORE ABOUT “WHAT REMAINS”Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they've helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity's shared past. But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites.Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. In this series from Outside/In, producer Felix Poon takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next?LINKSRead the Penn Museum's statement about the latest discovery of additional MOVE remains at the museum.Listen to WHYY's news report, Penn Museum discovers another set of human remains from the MOVE bombing.You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalog, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org. 

A scholar and an activist make an uncompromising ultimatum. A forgotten burial ground is discovered under the streets of New York City. In Philadelphia, two groups fight over the definition of “descendant community.” Featuring Michael Blakey, Lyra Monteiro, Chris Woods, aAliy Muhammad, Wendell Mapson, and Aja Lans.  MORE ABOUT “WHAT REMAINS”Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they've helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity's shared past. But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites.Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. Outside/In producer Felix Poon has informally gained a reputation as the podcast's “death beat” correspondent. He's visited a human decomposition facility (aka, “body farm”), reported on the growing trend of “green burial,” and explored the use of psychedelic mushrooms to help terminal cancer patients confront death.In this three-episode series from Outside/In, Felix takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next?  LINKSArchival tape of protests for the African Burial Ground came from the documentary The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery (1994).Learn more about the African Burial Ground National Monument.A recently published report, co-authored by bioarchaeologist Michael Blakey for the American Anthropological Association, recommends that research involving the handling of ancestral remains must include collaboration with descendant communities.Learn more about Finding Ceremony, the repatriation organization started by aAliy Muhammad and Lyra Monteiro.Read the Penn Museum's statement about the Morton Cranial Collection and the 19 Black Philadelphians they interred at Eden Cemetery in early 2024. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Felix Poon with help from Taylor QuimbyMixed by Felix Poon and Taylor QuimbyEditing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi, Rebecca Lavoie, Katie Colaneri, Jason Moon, Daniela Allee, Todd Bookman, Justine Paradis, Marina Henke, and Kate DarioExecutive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR's Director of On-Demand Audio.Music in this episode is from Lennon Hutton and Blue Dot Sessions.The theme music for the What Remains mini-series is by Lennon Hutton.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

A classroom display of human skulls sparks a reckoning at The Penn Museum in Philadelphia. A movement grows to “abolish the collection.” The Penn museum relents to pressure. More skeletons in the closet.This episode contains swears.MORE ABOUT "WHAT REMAINS"Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they've helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity's shared past. But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. In this three-episode series from Outside/In, producer Felix Poon takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next? ADDITIONAL MATERIALThe Morton Cranial CollectionThe Penn & Slavery Project Symposium in 2019 included a presentation on the Morton Cranial Collection.aAliy Muhammad's 2019 opinion piece: “As reparations debate continues, the University of Pennsylvania has a role to play” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)Mar Portillo Alvarado's 2020 opinion piece: “The Penn Museum must end abuse of the Morton collection” (The Daily Pennsylvanian)Paul Wolff Mitchell's 2021 report: “Black Philadelphians in the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection”The Penn Museum's 2021 press release: “Museum Announces the Repatriation of the Morton Cranial Collection”The MOVE bombing and MOVE remains controversyArchival tape of the MOVE bombing came from the documentary Let the Fire Burn, and Democracy Now!She Was Killed by the Police. Why Were Her Bones in a Museum? (NY Times)In 2021-2022 three independent investigations reported on the MOVE remains controversy: one commissioned by the Penn Museum, one by the City of Philadelphia, and one by Princeton University.Lyra Monteiro's piece on Medium, "What the photos from 2014 reveal about Penn Museum's possession of the remains of multiple victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing."You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalog, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org. 

A 1,500 year old skeleton is diagnosed with tuberculosis. A visit to a modern-day bone library. A fight over the future of ethical science. MORE ABOUT "WHAT REMAINS"Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they've helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity's shared past. But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites.Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. Outside/In producer Felix Poon has informally gained a reputation as the podcast's “death beat” correspondent. He's visited a human decomposition facility (aka, “body farm”), reported on the growing trend of “green burial,” and explored the use of psychedelic mushrooms to help terminal cancer patients confront death.In this three-episode series from Outside/In, Felix takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next?  ADDITIONAL MATERIALThe Smithsonian's ‘Bone Doctor' scavenged thousands of body parts (Washington Post)Medical, scientific racism revealed in century-old plaque from Black man's teeth (Science)America's Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains (ProPublica)Read about Maria Pearson, the “Rosa Parks of NAGPRA” and how she sparked a movement. (Library of Congress Blogs)Read Olga Spekker's paper on SPF15, “The first probable case with tuberculous meningitis from the Hun period of the Carpathian Basin.”Listen to our episode about so-called body farms, “Life and Death at a Human Decomposition Facility.” SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Felix Poon with help from Taylor QuimbyMixed by Felix Poon and Taylor QuimbyEditing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi, Rebecca Lavoie, Katie Colaneri, Jason Moon, Daniela Allee, Justine Paradis, Marina Henke, and Kate DarioExecutive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR's Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, and 369The theme music for the What Remains mini-series is by Lennon HuttonOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). 

The Context of White Supremacy welcomes John S. Michael. A historian and a Research Associate with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Michael worked for government agencies for over 25 years. His professional focus is demographics largely dealing with US Census data. Earlier this year, Gus shared a report about John J. Audubon digging up non-white corpses to share skulls with his buddy Samuel George Morton. Mr. Michael has done extensive research on Morton's Racist craniology work - which posits that black people are dumb and have tiny skulls and brains. Apparently, Morton had homies around the globe ship him skulls to bolster his Racist views. We discuss the city of Philadelphia's reputation for trafficking slave corpses during the 19th century. #TheCOWS14Years INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 605.313.5164 CODE: 564943#

In 2019, Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, a community organizer and journalist, learned that the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology had a collection of skulls that belonged to enslaved people. As Muhammad demanded that the university return these skulls, they discovered that claiming ownership over bodies of marginalized people is not just a relic of the past—it continues to this day. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Resource List It's past time for Penn Museum to repatriate the Morton skull collection, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Penn Museum seeks to rebury stolen skulls of Black Philadelphians and ignites pushback, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Penn Museum owes reparations for previously holding remains of a MOVE bombing victim, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad City of Philadelphia should thoroughly investigate the MOVE remains' broken chain of custody, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Black Philadelphians in the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection , by Paul Wolff Mitchell Some skulls in a Penn Museum collection may be the remains of enslaved people taken from a nearby burial ground, by Stephan Salisbury Remains of children killed in MOVE bombing sat in a box at Penn Museum for decades, by Maya Kassutto The fault in his seeds: Lost notes to the case of bias in Samuel George Morton's cranial race science, by Paul Wolff Mitchell She Was Killed by the Police. Why Were Her Bones in a Museum?, by Bronwen Dickey Corpse Selling and Stealing were Once Integral to Medical Training, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby Medicine, Racism, and the Legacies of the Morton Skull Collection, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby Final Report of the Independent Investigation into the City of Philadelphia's Possession of Human Remains of Victims of the 1985 Bombing of the MOVE Organization, prepared by Dechert LLP and Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, for the city of Philadelphia The Odyssey of the MOVE remains, prepared by the Tucker Law Group for the University of Pennsylvania Move: Confrontation in Philadelphia, film by Jane Mancini and Karen Pomer Let the Fire Burn, film by Jason Osder Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Records, archival collection at Temple University's Urban Archives

El termino clasismo es una de las grandes corrientes de la discriminación, siendo algo muy contemporaneo aún hoy en dia. El racismo viene de tiempos coloniales donde comienza este espíritu de superioridad respecto al resto. El racismo tiene varios hitos influyentes en la historia, un ejemplo de esto es el médico estadounidense Samuel George Morton que fue muy reconocido en el área de craneometría (disciplina que estudia el tamaño y volumen del cráneo) donde él afirmaba que las personas caucásicas tienen el cerebro más grande y por ende que esto podía determinar la capacidad intelectual de una raza simplemente por su tamaño craneal. El racismo va pasando por sucesos que van marcando la historia y que tienen “base científica” que son las hipótesis con las cuales se intenta entender o justificar ciertos comportamientos racistas. Desde la perspectiva de la genética y herencia no existe el término de raza. En el año 2000 se realizó una investigación donde se tomaron 3 a 4 muestras de varias “razas” que estaban diferenciadas por Samuel Morton y se encontró que prácticamente no había ninguna diferencia. Esto nos da a entender que el término de raza es un constructo social y la ciencia actual no reconoce a los humanos divididos por raza, solo es la raza humana en general. Todos tenemos estos constructos sociales que vamos integrando desde pequeños pero, lo único que existe es una diversidad biológica que es solamente física porque al final todos estamos hechos de lo mismo, por lo que esa raza de la cual se habla es solo una raza discriminada ya que todos somos seres humanos y esa es la única raza que existe. Chile en los últimos años ha recibido a muchos inmigrantes, por lo que se han multiplicado las diferentes nacionalidades, teniendo esto aspectos negativos y positivos. Los inmigrantes son grupos humanos desprovistos muchas veces de humanidad, han vivido pobreza, discriminacion por su color de piel, apariencia, acento, entre otras. Para muchas personas los inmigrantes son percibidos como sujetos de peligro ya que vienen a quitar oportunidades. Lo que realmente nos muestra la inmigracion son personas que están en busca de oportunidades para vivir una vida mejor, y si estos grupos humanos no las pudieron encontrar en su país de origen probablemente si las puedan encontrar en otros lados. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-melton-foundation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-melton-foundation/support

Dr. Samuel George Morton was a pioneer of American anthropology and the father of American invertebrate paleontology, but he was also a compulsive skull collector whose measurements and conclusions were used to justify enslavement and eventually racial cleansing.  George Robbins Gliddon taught Americans more about ancient Egypt than anyone up to his time, but he got caught up in Morton's scientific racism, as well as the thrill of robbing graves for their heads and mummified remains.  James Ernst Worrell Keely was either a supergenius whom science has not caught up with more than 120 years after his death, or one of the great hucksters of the nineteenth century.  Morton and Gliddon are interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery, while Keely is a permanent resident at West Laurel Hill.  All three have astonishing stories. 

In this episode we talk with Paul Wolff Mitchell, of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, about the skull measurements of 19th century founding father of the American School of Anthropology, Samuel George Morton. Morton used his skull measurements to provide scientific support for polygenism (multiple origins of human races), slavery, and the ranking of races (as we discussed in earlier episodes: Monogenism and Polygenism and Morton and Gould--Polygeny Side B). Mitchell has analyzed Morton’s handwritten notes in an attempt to shed further light on the issue of Morton’s bias which was initially raised by Stephen Jay Gould in his 1978 article (Gould, 1978) and elaborated in his book, The Mismeasure of Man (Gould, 1981, 1996). Mitchell uses Morton’s contemporary, Friedrich Tiedemann, as an exemplar of someone using cranial measurements to come to the exact opposite conclusion, that the races were equal (Tiedemann, 1836). Here are some resources about this controversy: Publications by Mitchell: Mitchell, P. W. (2018). The fault in his seeds: Lost notes to the case of bias in Samuel George Morton’s cranial race science. Plos Biology, 16(10), e2007008. Mitchell, P. W., & Michael, J. S. (2019). Bias, Brains, and Skulls: Tracing the Legacy of Scientific Racism in the Nineteenth-Century Works of Samuel George Morton and Friedrich Tiedemann. In E. August, B. R. Furrow, K. Richter, K. K. Thomason, D. Costello, J. S. Michael, P. W. Mitchell, & U. Bettray (Eds.), Embodied Difference: Divergent Bodies in Public Discourse (pp. 77-98). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Gould’s paper and book: Gould, S. J. (1978). Morton's ranking of races by cranial capacity. Unconscious manipulation of data may be a scientific norm. Science, 200(4341), 503-509. doi:10.1126/science.347573 Gould, S. J. (1981). The mismeasure of man. New York: WW Norton. Gould, S. J. (1996). The mismeasure of man (Revised and Expanded ed.): WW Norton & Company. Other reconsiderations of the Morton and Gould argument: Kaplan, J. M., Pigliucci, M., & Banta, J. A. (2015). Gould on Morton, Redux: What can the debate reveal about the limits of data? Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 52, 22-31. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.01.001 Lewis, J. E., DeGusta, D., Meyer, M. R., Monge, J. M., Mann, A. E., & Holloway, R. L. (2011). The mismeasure of science: Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on skulls and bias. PLoS Biol, 9(6), e1001071. Michael, J. S. (1988). A New Look at Morton's Craniological Research. Current Anthropology, 29(2), 349-354. doi:10.1086/203646 Michael, J. S. (2012, June 14, 2013). Personal Commentary on Morton & Gould Part 1. Retrieved from http://michael1988.com/?page_id=424 Weisberg, M. (2014). Remeasuring man. Evolution & Development, 16(3), 166-178. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/ede.12077 Morton’s work: Morton, S. G. (1844). Crania Aegyptiaca: or, Observations on Egyptian ethnography, derived from anatomy, history, and the monuments (Vol. 9): J. Pennington. Morton, S. G. (1849). Catalogue of Skulls of Man and the Inferior Animals, in the Collection of Samuel George Morton: Merrihew & Thompson, printers. Morton, S. G., & Combe, G. (1839). Crania Americana; or, a comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of North and South America: to which is prefixed an essay on the varieties of the human species: Philadelphia: J. Dobson; London: Simpkin, Marshall. Tiedemann on skulls: Tiedemann, F. (1836). XXIII. On the Brain of the Negro, Compared with That of the European and the Orang-Outang. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London(126), 497-527. Our episode about Thugee Skulls and phrenology: Phrenology, Race, and Thug Heads

Découvrez notre deuxième podcast sur le racisme scientifique. Dans cet épisode, nous évoquerons le XIXe siècle, en France et aux Etats-Unis, à travers l'étude des travaux de scientifiques tels que George Cuvier, Samuel George Morton, Paul Broca et Armand de Quatrefages.  Prenons l'exemple de Broca, scientifique bien connu dans le domaine des Neurosciences, puisque c'est à lui que l'on doit la découverte de l'aire de Broca, associée au langage. Cependant, ce grand théoricien de l'anthropologie crâniale se référa à des pseudo-sciences connues aujourd'hui comme étant du racisme scientifique...

Recently, Hyperallergic reported that the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania will be removing a cranial collection from display in a basement classroom. The group of crania, which was donated by a 19th-century Philadelphia-born and UPenn-educated physician named Samuel George Morton, includes many skulls of enslaved Black people. The collection is a product of racist, pseudoscientific "race science" that Morton and his peers perpetuated. Members of the UPenn community actively denounced its display at the institution for many years prior to the museum’s recent decision.Hyperallergic's news editor Jasmine Weber and reporter Hakim Bishara join me to discuss this story and what Police Free Penn, a group consisting of UPenn students and local activists, is demanding the museum abolish the collection.The music this episode is an instrumental version of "Begin Again" by Kill the Alarm.Hyperallergic continues to be on top of the biggest stories in the art community during the pandemic. Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay up to date.Subscribe to Hyperallergic’s Podcast on iTunes, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

In this episode we go back into the 19th century to talk about the dispute between scientists who thought that all humans came from the same origin (monogenists) and those who were convinced that each race had a separate origin (polygenists). The latter group appear to still have an influence on racial attitudes in the U.S. pushing notions of difference rather than similarity between the races. We see this today especially in ideas about race and athleticism. We focus on Samuel George Morton, Josiah Clark Nott, George Gliddon, and Louis Agassiz. Here are some links that expand on this episode: Cambridge Whipple Library — Morton’s Crania Americana: https://youtu.be/mMVzPCOut1w Types of Mankind (1854): https://archive.org/details/typesmankindore01pattgoog Commentary on Types of Mankind from an Egyptology perspective: http://chnm.gmu.edu/egyptomania/scholarship.php?function=detail&articleid=37 Erik’s chapter on Nott: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F978-1-349-95139-0_2 Louis Agassiz’s travels in Brazil 1850s: http://mirrorofrace.org/machado/

In this side B, cut from the last episode, we talk about 20th and 21st century discussions of Morton’s work focusing on the critique by Stephen Jay Gould. As you can hear, we have continuing confusion about this, just as many folks less well versed in the study of race. Here are some of the relevant citations and links: Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1981) and Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man: Revised and Expanded, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996). Lewis, Jason E., David DeGusta, Marc R. Meyer, Janet M. Monge, Alan E. Mann, and Ralph L. Holloway. “The mismeasure of science: Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on skulls and bias.” PLoS Biology 9, no. 6 (2011): e1001071. John Michael’s blog series on the controversy: Stephen Jay Gould and Samuel George Morton: A Personal Commentary Michael, John S. “A new look at Morton's craniological research.” Current Anthropology 29, no. 2 (1988): 349-354. Weisberg, Michael. “Remeasuring man.” Evolution & development 16, no. 3 (2014): 166-178.

On display at the Whipple Library, Cambridge, is a book described as the 'most important book in the history of scientific racism' Current research into this book is revealing how racist ideas travelled between the United States and Europe in the 19th century. Crania Americana, published in Philadelphia in 1839 by Samuel George Morton, is being studied by Cambridge University PhD student James Poskett at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. His research has uncovered, for the first time, just how influential this book was in scientific circles that included the likes of Charles Darwin and James Cowles Prichard. www.hps.cam.ac.uk/library/Fpage.html

On display at the Whipple Library, Cambridge, is a book described as the 'most important book in the history of scientific racism' Current research into this book is revealing how racist ideas travelled between the United States and Europe in the 19th century. Crania Americana, published in Philadelphia in 1839 by Samuel George Morton, is being studied by Cambridge University PhD student James Poskett at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. His research has uncovered, for the first time, just how influential this book was in scientific circles that included the likes of Charles Darwin and James Cowles Prichard. www.hps.cam.ac.uk/library/Fpage.html

Watch the full interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oE_mV... Samuel George Morton, a 19th-century physician and physical anthropologist, best known for his measurement of human skulls, has long been held up as a prime example of scientific misconduct. According to the late Stephen Jay Gould, one of the world's preeminent evolutionary biologists and scientific historians, Morton skewed his data about cranial size to fit his preconceived and racist notions about human variation. But a team of six anthropologists has taken another look at Morton's collection of skulls (which include 1,200 in the original collection, and 2,000 in total) and has determined that Morton did not manipulate his data to support his controversial ideas, as Gould claimed. The authors write that Morton took measurements of the skulls to determine whether human populations were separate species from multiple divine creations or a single species created once, a central question in pre-Darwinian science. Photos of the Skull Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/universi...

Samuel George Morton, a 19th-century physician and physical anthropologist, best known for his measurement of human skulls, has long been held up as a prime example of scientific misconduct. According to the late Stephen Jay Gould, one of the world's preeminent evolutionary biologists and scientific historians, Morton skewed his data about cranial size to fit his preconceived and racist notions about human variation. But a team of six anthropologists has taken another look at Morton's collection of skulls (which include 1,200 in the original collection, and 2,000 in total) and has determined that Morton did not manipulate his data to support his controversial ideas, as Gould claimed. The authors write that Morton took measurements of the skulls to determine whether human populations were separate species from multiple divine creations or a single species created once, a central question in pre-Darwinian science. Photos of the Skull Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/universityofpennsylvania/set... Video by Kurtis Sensenig