Fossili viventi: Prehistoric Archaeology and Colonial Ethnographic Collections in Liberal Italy

Abstract

This article offers a first survey investigating the practice of displaying objects belonging to ancient civilisations of the Italian peninsula alongside those of the peoples living in the African colonies – and beyond – during the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. I will analyse the development of the discipline known in Italy as paletnologia in close connection with the European context and how it was presented in museums through its association with artefacts belonging to the so–called present–day primitives. Finally, the article will conclude by discussing the paradigm shift happening at the time of the Fascist Empire.