Anthropological Journey of A. Hrdlička and Th. A. Fjelstrup to Mongolia in 1912

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2025-3/402-420

Authors

Keywords:

Aleš Hrdlička, Theodore A. Fjelstrup, anthropology, expedition, Mongolia, photographs, Panama-California Exhibition

Abstract

The history of the expedition of Aleš Hrdlička, the first curator (since 1903) of the Department of Physical Anthropology (DPA) of the US National Museum, to Siberia and Mongolia in 1912 is little known. Theodore A. Fjelstrup, a student of Saint Petersburg University, accompanied A. Hrdlička as interpreter and assistant. The expedition aimed to collect anthropological material for the US National Museum and the future Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, to conduct anthropometric measurements and to take anthropological photographs of the indigenous population. The article reveals the history of several Mongolian photographs that A. Hrdlička sent to Th.A. Fjelstrup in 1913. They are now stored in the Scientific Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology. The correspondence reveals that Fjelstrup later also carried out Hrdlička’s orders and requests and maintained contacts with Siberian counterparties. Thus, Fjelstrup became involved in the circle of outstanding foreign and Russian natural scientists and acquired invaluable experience in travel and field work under difficult conditions. Fjelstrup was involved in sending Hrdlička's materials to the United States until his departure on an expedition to South America in April 1914. During his stay in San Diego in 1915 he visited the Exhibition and saw these collections there.

Author Biographies

  • Elena Soboleva, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences

    Soboleva, Elena S. — Ph.D. in History, Senior Researcher, Department of Ethnography of South and South-West Asia, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). E-mail: soboleva@kunstkamera.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6137-0476

  • Valeriya Sliskova, the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology

    Sliskova, Valeriya V. — Head of the Scientific Archival Department, the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (Moscow, Russian Federation). E-mail: valeriya.sliskova@mail.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1724-184X

    For citation: Soboleva, E. S., and V. V. Sliskova. 2025. Anthropological Journey of A. Hrdlička and Th. A. Fjelstrup to Mongolia in 1912. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 3: 402–420.

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Published

23.09.2025

Issue

No. 3 (2025): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Persons in Science