ENGL 335 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Cesare Lombroso, Alphonse Bertillon, Anthropometry
13 Jun 2016
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Mortimer says that alphonse bertillon is the best craniologist. At the turn of the century there was a fad for diagnosing criminal types through their bodies. For example, fingerprinting, because everyone has a unique pattern, especially around 1905. Cesare lombroso - series of books, best known for criminal man and. Murderers would have a certain kind of cranium - like elongated. So he measured earlobes, take all these measurements - how wide is their head, how short is their fifth finger, etc. Criminal propensity also has potential for race theory. Comparative anatomy about the bushman and hottentot. Compare african and australian body types to see what they will yield in terms of personality. Mortimer likes to read skulls - he examines holmes" skull. This kind of theory was used not benignly but malevolently; your body is destiny, and it will fulfill it based on detection of types.
