Gustaf Kossinna

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Gustaf Kossinna (1907)
Gustaf Kossinna's tombstone in the Lichterfelde cemetery

Gustaf Kossinna (Kossina) (born September 28, 1858 in Tilsit ; † December 20, 1931 in Berlin ) was a prehistorian and professor of "German Archeology" at the University of Berlin. Along with Carl Schuchhardt, he was the most influential German prehistorian and developed the so-called settlement archaeological method .

Life

Gustaf Kossinna, son of a high school teacher of Masurian descent, attended the Royal Littaui Provincial School . After graduating from high school, he studied classical and Germanic philology in Göttingen, Leipzig, Berlin and Strasbourg . He was a student of Karl Viktor Müllenhoff , who won him over to Germanic and Indo-European antiquity, later he became a prehistoric researcher under the influence of Otto Tischler's writings. Even Friedrich Ratzel (ethnological Kulturkreislehre) influenced him. In Strasbourg in 1881 he was awarded a Germanic thesis on The oldest High Franconian language monuments to be Dr. phil. PhD .

From October 1, 1881, he worked temporarily as a signatory at the university library in Halle . From July 1, 1886, he worked as an assistant at the Berlin University Library . From January 1887 to 1892 he was librarian and curator at the University Library in Bonn . From 1892 he worked at the Royal Library in Berlin .

In 1896 he gave the lecture The Prehistoric Spread of the Teutons in Germany in Kassel . In May 1900 he received the personal title of professor, but it was not until 1902 that he was appointed associate professor of German archeology at the University of Berlin.

When, after Albert Voss's death in 1906, the position of director of the prehistoric department of the Royal Museums in Berlin had to be filled again, Kossinna, who had never excavated and who based his research solely on viewing collections, hoped for consideration. But Carl Schuchhardt was preferred to him, who took over the management in 1908. A conflict that lasted for decades began, which was to increasingly split German prehistoric research into two camps. In 1909, Kossinna responded to Schuchhardt's appointment and the founding of the prehistoric journal initiated by Schuchhardt as an organ of the Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory , of which Kossinna was a member, by founding the German Society for Prehistory , renamed the Society for German Prehistory in 1913 with a clearer reference to the objective . With the journal Mannus , a separate organ of the society was brought into being, which had a monographic series with the Mannus library and was used by its editor Kossinna as a mouthpiece in the dispute about German prehistory research.

On the part of Kossinnas in particular, this dispute was increasingly conducted with belittling and insulting the other side, who in his eyes were amateurs and "Romans". Kossinna, who had warned for years that prehistory research needed a representation in the Prussian Academy of Sciences , was again passed over when Schuchhardt was elected a full member in 1912 to represent the subject. Now Kossinna let himself be carried away to a step that cost him the remaining benevolence of many prehistory. When the Eberswalder gold treasure was discovered during construction work in May 1913 , the owner, Aron Hirsch, handed the find over to the prehistoric department of the Royal Museums and commissioned Schuchhardt to publish it. Kossinna came to this in the same year before by publishing the find in volume 12 of the Mannus library under the title The gold find from the brass factory near Eberswalde and the golden cult vessels of the Germanic peoples and justifying his actions with insulting statements about the alleged incompetence of Schuchhardt.

In keeping with his book The German Prehistory, published in 1911 , an outstanding national science in which Kossinna worked out “typically Germanic” properties, he also interpreted the Eberswalder Fund as “Germanic”. With the beginning of World War I , however, this conflict faded into the background.

After the end of the war he tried unsuccessfully with the results of his research to provide arguments for the state reorganization of the eastern territories of the German Reich. This leads to a break with Polish prehistoric research, which was mainly represented by his student Jozef Kostrzewski and has now been elevated to national science based on Kossinna's approaches.

With his methodological approaches, which were already highly controversial at the time, Kossinna mentally prepared National Socialist archeology. He belonged to various ethnic and anti-Semitic groups. He was a board member of the Pan-German Association . In 1928 he became a public sponsor and co-founder of the National Socialist Society for German Culture . He was also a member of the " racial " Nordic Ring , which represented the thesis that the Teutons were the elite of world culture.

"Settlement Archaeological Method"

Kossinna, who only developed a deeper interest in archeology and thus the material legacies of past cultures around 1887, pursued a completely independent methodical approach in his research in this regard. He postulated that the oldest written messages about the localization of a people define them as the bearer of the finds from this area and the corresponding time. The material legacy of a “cultural province” won in this way - in the words of Hans Jürgen Eggers , a “geographical area in which one could repeatedly identify the same types of equipment, the same question forms, and the same settlement forms” - was now valid in its spatial area Tracking change through time. As far as a form development of a certain type of find could be traced in the past, the prehistory of the culture-bearing people was identifiable. This methodological approach became known under the catchy term "settlement archaeological method".

"Sharply delimited cultural provinces coincide at all times with very specific peoples or ethnic groups." This statement by Kossinna, the so-called lex Kossinna , forms the basis of his settlement archaeological method. Unlike the modern settlement archeology of Jankuhn , it did not refer to the individual settlements or settlement landscapes , but to the ethnic interpretation of archaeological cultural groups. Especially interested in the development of the Germanic past, Kossinna was of the opinion that archaeological sources indicated the settlement areas of the Germanic peoples more clearly than "... the murky, at least always indefinite information that the ancient sources ... can offer us." Another axiom of the lex Kossinna stated that - in contrast to the south-north expansion of cultural phenomena which did not imply a change in the culture bearer - "to regard the transplantations of connected cultures or characteristic parts thereof, directed from north to south, as the result of peoples' movements are. " in this way, he believed, to trace and the history of the Germans to the Bronze age a direct connection to the great Indo-Europeans to manufacture. Their spread, the spread of the “white race”, as it was widespread in the ethnic definition of its time and also represented by Oscar Montelius , for example , he saw starting from northern and western central Europe north of the Alps.

Critical reception

Kossinna's approach was already exposed to criticism during his lifetime. Due to the political importance of his research in National Socialism and the enormous influence of his successor Hans Reinerth , there was initially no critical reappraisal even after his death in 1931. 1941 published Ernst Wahle or 1944 Oscar Paret some critical remarks in 1959 dealt Hans Jürgen Eggers in his introduction to the history of intensive and critical of the method advocated by Kossinna ethnic interpretation of archaeological findings. Egger's main points of criticism are:

  • no clear explanation of the method
  • no definition of "people" and "ethnic groups"
  • no definition of cultural province (see also cultural area )
  • Cultures are seen as homogeneous, even monolithic blocks (different types / ornaments, anthropological elements, grave customs / burial custom)
  • insufficient justification for the equability of archaeological province and ethnic unity: The early historical examples cited by Kossinna are often not tenable.
  • Continuity is a prerequisite
  • inconsistent use of one's own method - argumentation with individual types (despite claims to the contrary), sometimes no consideration of excavation findings
  • arbitrary distinction between trade and "migration"
  • no investigation of the causes of (assumed) migrations
  • sometimes no material template (e.g. distribution maps only drawn over a large area)
  • failure to take into account conditions of preservation and delivery
  • Inadmissible mixing of different disciplines: methodologically inadequate combination of archeology and linguistics / anthropology
  • nationalist and partly racist prejudices, which were politically exploited, especially under National Socialism.

Heinz Grünert classifies Kossinna as a "pioneer of the National Socialist ideology".

Publications (selection)

  • The German prehistory, an outstanding national science. Curt Kabitzsch Verlag, Leipzig 1912.
  • The origin of the Teutons. On the method of settlement archeology (= Mannus Library. Volume 6). Kabitzsch, Würzburg 1911.
  • The gold find from the brass works near Eberswalde and the golden cult vessels of the Germanic peoples (= Mannus library. Volume 12). Kabitzsch, Würzburg 1913.
  • The German Ostmark, a homeland of the Teutons. Berlin 1919.
  • The Weichselland. An ancient homeland of the Teutons. [AW Kafemann], [Danzig] 1919.

literature

Festschriften
  • on his 60th birthday: Festschrift, dedicated to Gustaf Kossinna on his 60th birthday (= Mannus. Volume 10, 1918). Curt Kabitzsch, Leipzig 1918.
  • for his 70th birthday: Festive gift for 70 year old Gustaf Kossinna from friends and students (= Mannus supplementary volume 6). Curt Kabitzsch, Leipzig 1928.
Obituaries
  • Alfred Götze : Gustav Kossinna's life and work. In: Mannus. Volume 24, 1932, pp. 7-10.
  • Martin Jahn : Gustaf Kossinna. In: News sheet for German prehistoric times. Volume 7, 1931, pp. 225-227.
  • Hans Seger : Gustaf Kossinna. In: Prehistoric Journal. Volume 22, 1931, pp. 293-295.
Secondary literature
  • Ernst Wahle : On the ethnic interpretation of prehistoric cultural provinces. Limits of early historical knowledge 1. In: Meeting reports of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. Philological-historical class. 2. Dep. 1940/41. Heidelberg 1941.
  • Leo S. Klejn: Kossinna every 40 years. In: Yearbook for Central German Prehistory. Volume 58, 1974, pp. 7-55.
  • Heinrich Härke : All Quiet on the Western Front? Paradigms, Methods and Approaches in West German Archeology. In: Ian Hodder (Ed.): Archaeological Theory in Europe. The Last Three Decades. Routledge, London / New York 1991, pp. 187-222.
  • Heinz Grünert : Gustaf Kossinna (1858–1931). From Germanist to prehistoric. A scientist in the German Empire and in the Weimar Republic (= prehistoric research. Volume 22). Publishing house Marie Leidorf, Rahden / Westphalia 2002, ISBN 3-89646-504-X .
  • Heinz Grünert: Gustaf Kossinna. A pioneer of the National Socialist ideologue. In: Achim Leube (Ed.): Prehistory and National Socialism: The Central and Eastern European Prehistory and Early History Research in the Years 1933-1945. Synchron Wissenschaftsverlag der Authors, Heidelberg 2002, pp. 307-320.
  • Herbert Jankuhn :  Kossinna, Gustaf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-428-00193-1 , pp. 617-619 ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 332.
  2. ^ Heinz Grünert: Gustaf Kossinna (1858-1931): from Germanist to prehistoric. A scientist in the German Empire and in the Weimar Republic. Rahden / Westfalen 2002, p. 18.
  3. ^ Heinz Grünert: Gustaf Kossinna (1858-1931): from Germanist to prehistoric. A scientist in the German Empire and in the Weimar Republic. Rahden / Westfalen 2002, p. 133 u. 140 f.
  4. ↑ On the conflict and the development presented below, see Heinz Grünert: Ur- und Frühgeschichtsforschung in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions (= publications of the Historical Commission in Berlin. Vol. 82, publications of the Section for the History of Berlin. ). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, ISBN 3-11-012841-1 , pp. 118-121; J. Laurence Hare: Excavating Nations: Archeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2015, ISBN 978-1442648432 , pp. 107-109.
  5. ^ Heinz Grünert: Prehistory and Early History Research in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, p. 119.
  6. ^ Heinz Grünert: Prehistory and Early History Research in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, p. 120.
  7. ^ Heinz Grünert: Prehistory and Early History Research in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, p. 121.
  8. ^ Gerhard Baader and Michael Hubenstorf, Medical History and Social Criticism , Matthiesen 1997, p. 344
  9. ^ Hans Jürgen Eggers: Introduction to the prehistory. Piper, Munich 1959, p. 213.
  10. ↑ Gustaf Kossinna: The origin of the Germanic peoples. On the method of settlement archeology. Kabitzsch, Würzburg 1911, p. 3; quoted by Heinz Grünert: Prehistory and Early History Research in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, p. 114.
  11. ↑ Gustaf Kossinna: About decorated iron lance tips as a hallmark of the East Germans. In: Journal of Ethnology . Volume 37, 1905, p. 394.
  12. ↑ Gustaf Kossinna: The Indo-European question answered archaeologically. In: Journal of Ethnology. Volume 34, 1902, p. 162; Heinz Grünert: Prehistory and early history research in Berlin. In: Reimer Hansen, Wolfgang Ribbe (ed.): History in Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. Personalities and institutions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1992, p. 114 f.
  13. ↑ Gustaf Kossinna: The prehistoric spread of the Germanic peoples in Germany. In: Journal of the Association for Folklore. Volume 6, 1896, pp. 1-14.
  14. ↑ Gustaf Kossinna: The Indo-European question answered archaeologically. In: Journal of Ethnology. Volume 34, 1902, pp. 161-222; See also J. Laurence Hare: Excavating Nations: Archeology, Museums, and the German-Danish Borderlands for the inclusion of Kossinna's theories in the professional world . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2015, p. 107 f.
  15. ^ Hans Jürgen Eggers: Introduction to the prehistory. Piper, Munich 1959, pp. 199-255.
  16. ^ Heinz Grünert: Gustaf Kossinna. A pioneer of the National Socialist ideologue . in: Achim Leube [Ed.]: Prehistory and National Socialism: The Central and Eastern European Prehistory and Early History Research in the years 1933-1945 , Synchron Wissenschaftsverlag der Authors, Heidelberg 2002, pp. 307-320.

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personal data
SURNAME Kossinna, Gustaf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German prehistorian
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Tilsit
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 1931
Place of death Berlin