Dr. T. Tóth szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 17. Budapest, 1981)
ANTHROPOLOGIA HUNGARIC A XVII. 1960-1981 P. 109-121 The Anthropological Department in the history of Hungarian anthropology By T. TÓTH (Received May 22, 1981) Abstract: On the occasion of the Centenary of the foundation (1881) of the Anthropological Institute of Budapest University author gives a short rewiev of the scientiflcal work done by the Anthropological Department. In connection with the Centenary (1881) of the Anthropological Institute of the Budapest University we have to commemorate the historical events and advances of the whole field of the anthropology in Hungary. And although in our country during the last centuries again and again an interest was taken in Man by our scientists, the first beginnings of the anthropology as a systematica^ cultivated science are strongly connected with the foundation of the Anthropological Institute of the Budapest University. In the comprehensive scientific activity of the founder of the Institute, Professor Aurél TÖRÖK (1842-1912) played craniological investigations a great part, and this led to the establishment of a rich collection. His craniological collection originated mainly from the contemporary cemeteries of our capital (XVin-XDC centuries). It was Lajos BARTUCZ who started with the systematical collectings of paleoanthropological series from the postglacial millennia of the human society and over a period of 20 years (19201940) he has established in the Anthropological Laboratory of Central Ethnographical Museum (Budapest) a collection consisting of four thousand crania (NEMESKÉRI 1961, TŐTH 1974). This rich collection was later transferred to our Department and from 1945 under the direction of the head Dr. NEMESKÉRI it increased further and till the year 1971 has grown threefold (TOTH 1971). At present our Department contains a craniological collection from the postglacial millennia excavated on more than sixhundred localities. Systematical, well organized collectings of postcranial finds started only in 1945 after the establishment of the Anthropological Department in the Natural History Museum (Budapest). The finds also rich in international comparisons have enabled the systematical activity of our scientific staff and contributed to the increasing of the results of Hungarian anthropology . The intensive publication activity of the scientific staff of our Department during the last three decades may be seen from the appendix. As the finds from the Avar Period and Arpadian Age amount to 50 percent of the craniological collection the publication activity concentrated mainly on the investigations carried out on the series of the two above mentioned periods. From the beginning of the scientific research work in our Department (i.e. from 1945) up to the present following research workers participated in it: J. NEMESKÉRI (1945-1965) x , S. WENGER (1945-1978), M. MALÄN (1948-1962), P. LIPTÁK (1949-1960), E. BÂTAI (1951-1953), M. DEÁK (1951-1955), T. TŐTH (1958- ), A. THOMA (1960-1964), Gy. DEZSŐ (1960-1968), K. ÉRY (1962-1970), O. BOTTYÁN (1965T1975), ZB. TAJTI (1970-1971), E. LOTTERHOF (1971-1977), I. PAP (1975- ), M. FERENC Z (1977- ), E. F. KIS (1978- ). The data in parentheses indicate the chronological interval of the scientific activity of mentioned research worker.
