The Photographs from Aleš Hrdlička’s Siberian-Mongolian Expedition

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2026-2/360-378

Authors

Keywords:

Aleš Hrdlička, Theodor A. Fjelstrup, photography, Siberia, Nikolai Vasilievich Fedorov

Abstract

Aleš Hrdlička, being responsible for creating the Anthropological Department of the future Panama-California Exposition, went on an anthropological expedition to Siberia and Mongolia in 1912. In 1915, his assistant interpreter Theodor A. Fjelstrup managed to visit this World Exhibition in San Diego. The materials collected by A. Hrdlička and his team were added to the US National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History in Washington) collection. These included cranial and osteological collections, anthropometric measurement forms, anthropological photographs, etc. A selection of ethnographic photographs taken by Hrdlička in Mongolia are stored in the Scientific Archives of the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Hrdlička sought to discover Americanoid anthropological types among the indigenous population of Siberia and hoped to meet personally the descendants of the Yeniseian-speaking peoples. He also assigned this task to his Russian colleagues. The article covers the history of the photographic materials ordered by A. Hrdlička for the exhibition from the Minusinsk photographer N. V. Fedorov in 1912. The correspondence between A. Hrdlička and Th.A. Fjelstrup in 1912–1927 covers aspects of international cooperation of scientists in laying the foundations for anthropological and ethnographic research, and highlights the contribution of Siberian regional historians. Recommendations from A. Hrdlička introduced the student Th. A. Fjelstrup to the circle of outstanding anthropologists and ethnographers, and the journey to Siberia and Mongolia had a great influence on his personality. Th. A. Fjelstrup chose ethnography as his profession, specialized in Turkology, dedicated much of his time to the field research and prepared Russian ethnographic expeditions to Central Asia in the 1920s and 1930s.

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 Archival Department, Scientific Archive, 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. 2026.  The Photographs from Aleš Hrdlička’s Siberian-Mongolian Expedition. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 2: 360–378.

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Published

11.06.2026

Issue

No. 2 (2026): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Archival and Historical Legacy