From the Caves of Tenerife to the Stores of the Peabody Museum

Abstract

In the preface to Earnest A. Hooton's The Ancient Inhabitants of the Canary Islands, the book which established Hooton's career in the field of physical anthropology, Hooton explains how Alexander Baillon, a British resident of Tenerife, helped him to locate Guanche burial caves in the south of the island. Hooton also explains that the skeletal remains taken from the caves were prohibited from being sent from Tenerife to the United States by the Spanish government. Nonetheless, the Guanche relics did reach the Peabody Museum of Harvard University after Hooton returned to the United States from his expedition to Tenerife. The explanation of how the Guanche relics reached the Peabody Museum is revealed in an excerpt from the unpublished memoirs of the late Alexander Baillon (1880-1963). The memoirs, which were uncovered during a recent research expedition to Tenerife, indicate that Baillon was solely responsible for removing the Guanche relics from Tenerife and for sending them to the Peabody Museum. Earnest Albert Hooton (1887-1954) was the most important man in the history of physical anthropology in the United States. Although others may lay claim to more significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in physical anthropology, and some may dispute the validity of some of the theoretical implications drawn by Hooton from his research, none will argue the fact that Hooton was the person most responsible for the growth of physical anthropology in the United States. His influence was felt through his teaching and his writing, especially his teaching. Almost every significant contributor to the field of physical anthropology in the United States today either studied with Hooton or studied with one of Hooton's students. Hooton, who received his Ph.D. in clas