- Source: Anthropological Society of the Island of Cuba
The Anthropological Society of the Island of Cuba (Spanish: Sociedad Antropológica de la Isla de Cuba) or The Cuban Anthropological Society was a learned society for anthropology in the 1870s. The Cuban Anthropological Society was founded by Dr. Juan Santos Fernández in 1877 in Havana, Cuba. Its purpose was to promote the study and advancement of the Natural history of Man and related sciences in Cuba.
History
The Anthropological Society of the Island of Cuba was founded by Dr. Juan Santos Fernández in Havana, Cuba. It was modelled as the Cuban chapter of the Anthropological Society of Madrid, established by Dr. Pedro González de Velasco in the 1860s.
Dr. Santos Fernández, having received permission from the Spanish colonial government of Joaquín Jovellar y Soler, went on to establish the Society. The inaugural session was hosted in his apartments on Paseo del Prado, where the Society's foundations were laid. On September 16, 1877, the Cuban Anthropological Society elected its new governing board for the 1877–1878 term.
Some of the founding members include Luis Montané Dardé, a former pupil of Paul Broca, and Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey. Monté presided over the Cuban Anthropological Society in 1877, before that, the Anthropology section of the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Havana (now Cuban Academy of Sciences). Enrique José Varona was also once chairman of the Society.
The first publication of its bulletin in Havana took place in 1885. The director issued a publication on behalf of the Members of the Society seeking Indian relics, notably aboriginal endocranium and authentic bones. In November 1885, the paper Les Crânes dits Déformé was presented to the Society in Havana, arguing that artificial cranial deformation was never practiced in the West Indies or on the continent.
See also
Anthropological Society of Madrid
Anthropological Society of London