author
Aleš Hrdlička
1869–1943
A pioneering physical anthropologist who helped build the Smithsonian’s anthropology collections, he became widely known for research on human origins and migration to the Americas. His career was influential, ambitious, and remains part of the larger story of how anthropology developed in the early 20th century.
3 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Bohemia in 1869, he immigrated to the United States as a child and trained in medicine before turning to anthropology. He went on to become the founding curator of physical anthropology at the U.S. National Museum, now part of the Smithsonian, where he played a major role in establishing the field in the United States.
His work focused on human evolution, ancient populations, and the origins of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. He argued that migration from Asia helped populate the Americas, a view that became highly influential, even though some of his conclusions and dating were later revised.
He was also a prolific writer and organizer who helped shape the profession through research, collecting, and editorial work, including the founding of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Today, he is remembered both for his importance in the history of anthropology and for the need to view parts of that legacy critically.