Alfonso Caso y Andrade

Alfonso Caso y Andrade (born February 1, 1896 in Mexico City ; † November 30, 1970 ibid) was a Mexican archaeologist and rector of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He made a name for himself in the field of pre-Columbian research in his homeland and was of the opinion that the systematic study of pre-Columbian civilization was important for understanding Mexico's cultural roots.

biography

Caso, who belongs to the " Generation of 1915 ", first studied at the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia , graduated there in 1918 in philosophy and was a lawyer from 1919 , after further studies at the Escuela Nacional de Altos Estudios in 1925, an archaeologist.

Beginning in 1918, he also taught various subjects at these universities or with their assignment as faculties of the UNAM and the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH), from 1918 to 1928 epistemology and until 1939 legal philosophy , from 1929 to 1943 Mexican archeology and from 1930 to 1933 general ethnology . Among other things, he was director of the Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales from 1930 , from 1933 to 1934 head of the Departao de Arqueología, Historia y Etnografía and from 1939 to 1944 director of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). On April 8, 1943 he became a member of the Colegio Nacional . From 1944 to 1945 he was Rector of UNAM. Under his leadership, the University Council passed the Organic Law ( Ley Orgánica ), with which the autonomy of the university was consolidated. From 1947 to 1949 he was Minister for National Goods and Administrative Inspection . He was a co-founder of the Instituto Nacional Indigenista , the predecessor institution of the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas , and headed the institute as director from 1949 to 1970.

From 1931 to 1943 Caso directed the archaeological research in the region around Monte Albán . He succeeded in discovering grave 7, whose rich additions can be seen in the National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico) . He published several works on the Mesoamerican indigenous people and was awarded the national science prize. In 1943 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and in 1952 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1968 he became a corresponding member of the British Academy .

Works (selection)

• El teocallí de La Guerra Sagrada (monograph, 1927)
• Las estelas zapotecas (1928)
• La Religón de los aztecas (1936)
• Las exploraciones de Monte Albán , (3 volumes, 1931–1937)
• Calendario y escritura de las antiguas culturas de Monte Albán (1947)
• El mapa de Teozacoalco (1949)
• El Pueblo del Sol (1953)
• Interpretación del Códice Gómez de Orozco (1954)
• Urnas de Oaxaca (1956)
• Los calendarios prehíspánicos (1967)
• El tesoro de Monte Albán (1969)
• Reyes y reinos de la Mixteca (2 volumes, 1977–1979)

literature

Miguel León-Portilla : Alfonso Caso 1896-1970 (Orbituary and Bibliography) . In: American Anthropological Association and affiliated societies (Ed.): American Anthropologist . 75, No. 3, Arlington, VA, June 1973, pp. 887-885. doi : 10.1525 / aa.1973.75.3.02a00170 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Alfonso Caso y Andrade in the catalog of the Ibero-American Institute of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Berlin

Individual evidence

1. ^ Deceased Fellows. British Academy, accessed May 12, 2020 .