Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2011) |
Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger | |
|---|---|
 Bust of Gorjanović-Kramberger inKrapina | |
| Born | October 25, 1856 |
| Died | December 24, 1936(aged 80) |
Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger(October 25, 1856, inZagreb– December 24, 1936, Zagreb) was aCroatiangeologist,paleontologist,andarcheologist.
Education[edit]
Dragutin finished his elementary education in Zagreb,Croatia,as well as two years ofpreparandija(Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb). He started studyingpaleontologyinZürich,Switzerland. Soon, he moved toMünchen,where his lecturer was Karl Zittel, a world-renowned expert in the areas ofanatomyandpaleontology.He received a doctoral degree in 1879, (Tübingen,Germany), with work related to fossilized fishes.
From 1880, he wascuratorat the Mineralogical Department of theCroatian National Museum(today theCroatian Natural History Museum) and, in collaboration with his superior,archaeologistĐuro Pilar,he started mapping MountMedvednica,(medvjed = bear, inCroatian), a mountain just north of Zagreb. In 1890 he changed hisfamily nameto Gorjanović.
Lecturing[edit]
His lecturing career started in 1883 at theFaculty of Philosophyof theUniversity of Zagreb,where he taught paleontology ofvertebrates.In 1884 he was appointed assistant, later was associate, and finally full professor, in 1896. In 1893 he became head of the Geological-Paleontological Department of theCroatian National Museum.He was engaged inpaleontology,stratigraphy,tectonics,paleoclimatology,appliedgeology,geological mapping, andhydrography.Gorjanović-Kramberger discovered, described, classified, systemized, aged, and determined environments for numerous new species of fossilized fishes. As a young scientist at the end of the 19th century, he had already published more than fifty works in prestigious European scientific journals.
Krapina[edit]
In 1899 on Hušnjak hill, near the Croatian town ofKrapina,he discovered a very richNeanderthalsite, theKrapina Neanderthal siteof an early man today known asKrapina Man(Croatian:Krapinski pračovjek).[1]News of the discovery quickly spread all around Europe and beyond. Gorjanović continued extensive scientific research of osteological human material,fauna,ecological conditions, and the life and culture of people once living in Croatia. While analyzing the finds, he noticed unusually big variations among the bones.[2]
With time he realized thatevolutionwas the source of variability which created human individuals of different stature. His analysis and interpretation of fossil remains proved the existence of early humans which he calledHomo primigenius,[citation needed]an ancestor of modern man. Later on those finds were classified asHomo neanderthalensis.Gorjanović-Kramberger's research helped prove the theory of evolution of human species, and his theories have influenced the social view of the world.
He started the study of skeletons relating to modern humans and developed a technique that analyzes thefluorinein bones to calculate their age. In 1895 he used newly discoveredX-raysto analyze inner bone structure. Results of his research related to the finds at Krapina could be found in themonograph"O diluvijalnom čovjeku iz Krapine", (Der Diluviale Mensch von Krapinain German; "On the diluvial man of Krapina" ), which was published inWiesbadenin 1906. The publication was the most comprehensive work ever written in the area of the paleontology of man.[citation needed]
Works[edit]
In 1909, he founded the Geological Commission for Croatia andSlavonia,with the goal of carrying out geological mapping and research inpedology.The Croatian geological service became independent from the Geological Institute inBudapestand eventually became the present-dayHrvatski geološki institut(Croatian Geological Survey) in Zagreb.
Gorjanović-Kramberger published more than 230 papers in Croatian and international journals during his career. He made a couple of geological maps. He was an honorary doctor of the University of Zagreb, a member of the Association of Medical Doctors and Croatian Natural Sciences Association, and an honorary citizen of Zagreb,Karlovac,and Krapina. Gorjanović-Kramberger was a member of nine foreign scientific associations. From 1891, he was an associate member and from 1909 a full member of the thenYugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.Gorjanović-Kramberger remained active after his retirement. Between 1899 and 1929, he published 53 works related to discoveries at the Krapina site.
See also[edit]
- List of fossil sites(with link directory)
- List of hominina (hominid) fossils(with images)
Notes[edit]
- ^Krapina CArchived2007-09-27 at theWayback Machineat modernhumanorigins.net
- ^"Culturenet.hr - The World's Largest Neanderthal Finding Site".Culturenet.hr.RetrievedFebruary 8,2017.
External links[edit]
- "Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger." InBiographical Dictionary of the History of Paleoanthropology.Edited by Matthew R. Goodrum. (2016) available athttps://drive.google /file/d/12tWs2rELSqYExeDZ2zbfv_LsyczrLxBf/view
- Krapina Early Man
- Krapina Cave
- Archaeology
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1856 births
- 1936 deaths
- Croatian paleontologists
- Croatian archaeologists
- Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
- Croatian people of German descent
- University of Zagreb alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Zagreb
- University of Tübingen alumni
- Scientists from Zagreb
- Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery
- 19th-century Croatian scientists
- 20th-century Croatian people
- Geologists from Austria-Hungary