Scientific Expeditions

I am contributing this preliminary assessment of an under-utilized research resource in the study of Indonesian material culture in order to encourage readers, who may be familiar with particular areas where Abbott worked, to consider taking up part of the task of publishing the extensive notes, photographs, and collections that remain from Abbott 's over-romantic but ploddingly documented search for the "primitive" in Indonesia. The potential value of Abbott ' s collection today lies not only in the artifacts themselves , but especially in the photographs and detailed field notes Abbott kept about the places he visited, and in his precise documentation of every object collected. Though Abbott considered himself a poor observer of human cultures, he carefully tried to document each kind of collection in the ways specialists of the time required. Otis T. Mason, Head Curator of the Department of Anthropology at the U.S. National Museum during Abbott 's Indonesian collecting period, wrote that "[t]he Abbott collections are of greatest scientific value as types, because after studying the wants of the Museum he labeled each specimen carefully according to the latest requirements" (Mason 1908:1).
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Citation: Taylor, Paul Michael. 1985. The Indonesian Collections of William Louis Abbott (1860-1936):  Invitation to a Research Resource at the Smithsonian Institution.  Council for Museum Anthropology Newsletter 9(2):5-14.

The abstract is not part of the thesis, but rather work in progress.

In this paper, I compare two theories regarding natural language. One theory has been proposed by David Lewis, the other by Noam Chomsky. Lewis's theory consists of two parts, one part explains how a language is sustained within a population by means of convention. The other part concerns languages as abstract semantic systems. Chomsky proposes a theory where language is an internal biological property of an organism. The capacity to use language is based on an a physically realized procedure within the mind/brain of an individual. I first show that Lewis and Chomsky regard there respective theories as conflicting. While Lewis's is sceptical about the possibility to determine properties of the physically realized procedure and regards conventions as necessary, Chomsky argues that Lewis's account is fundamentally flawed. He argues that Lewis cannot possible explain essential properties of language. Thus, his theory cannot be adequate. I evaluate the controversy within a strict empirical framework. I argue that Chomsky's theory is strongly confirmed by empirical evidence. Thus, his theory describes the linguistic structure of natural language. The part of Lewis's theory that deals with the social and psychological facts is inadequate. Furthermore, a core concept of his metasemantic theory, the part that deals with languages as abstract semantic systems, is falsified by empirical evidence. On the other hand, while the metasemantic part is not justified, it's application to the analysis of the logical structure of natural language yields robust results. This fact is best explained by assuming that natural language has logical structure. If this is so, then Chomsky's theory cannot explain the logical structure, because his theory does not contain the necessary concepts, truth conditions and entailment, to describe the logical structure. Thus, I defend the following thesis: Neither Lewis's nor Chomsky's theory can fully explain what language is, how it works and why things are the way there are and not elsewise. I argue that if we want to find a unifying theory, we should follow the model of theoretical linguistics and try to find simple underlying principles that allows for the derivation of both the linguistic and logical structure of natural language. I do not try to find such a principle in this paper, instead I show that my thesis follows form my argument. To do this, I adopt a strictly empirical framework where the concepts and principles of a given theory must yield consequences that correspond exactly to the facts as they are. Such a theory can be found by reducing the complex visible phenomena to simple underlying principles. This program has lead Chomsky to the claim that language consists of an optimally designed core system that interacts with the thought systems. The externalisation utilises an ancillary system and the complexities of the different languages is due to this secondary system. The core system is extremely simple and apparently uniform across the human population. I then turn to Lewis's theory and show that he cannot explain linguistic competence and the infinity of language, because his account presupposes detectable regularities that sustain a set of sound meaning pairs. Since this set has to be infinite and any individual can grasp any expression within that set without prior exposure, Lewis's account that this set is somehow sustained by a mutual interest in communication, based on a finite number of interactions is inadequate. I then show that a fundamental concept of Lewis's metasemantic theory allows for the consequence that there has to be a one-to-one relation between linguistic entities and aspects of the physical world. I show that this relation does not exists (contrary to wide spread belief). I then proceed to argue that although the metasemantic part of his theory is not justified, the application of similar theories shows robust results. The best explanation for this is to assume that language has logical structure. Since the analysis of the logical structure requires at least the concept of truth conditions and entailment, I argue that Chomsky's theory does not contain the relevant concepts. Hence, the theory cannot be used to explain the logical structure. Thus, my claim is established. I then provide a brief outlook, indicating that we might find a unifying theory if we look at the cores system and ask if we can find the relation between words and the world by looking at so-called third property factors, i. e. laws of nature that directly determine properties of the core system.

Finnish-Mongolian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition to Mongolia in 2019!

Our expedition will be re-tracing in the summer 2019 the trail of the 1909 Finnish Mongolia expedition, 110 years after the original expedition by Finnish linguist G.J. Ramstedt and archaeologist Sakari Pälsi.

Researchers: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan (National Museum of Mongolia) and Oula Seitsonen (University of Helsinki / University of Oulu, Finland).

The expedition is generously funded by the Nordenskiöld-samfundet (Finland).

In the second half of the 19th century, the world is explored and mapped by European colonial powers bent on expanding their political and economic influence overseas. At the heart of such "geographical" activities there are geographical societies, also known as private clubs, where businessmen, politicians, military officers and intellectuals get together to discuss official or unofficial possibilities for national expansion. Despite the lack of a colonial empire, Switzerland is among the first countries in the world to found geographical societies. In what ways do these societies allow us to identify the presence of Swiss imperialism? This issue is discussed in this article – in french.

L’Expédition d’Égypte marque un point de départ dans la construction de
l’archéologie égyptienne. Elle pose les fondations d’une discipline qui n’existe pas encore, par sa cartographie et son repérage de sites, par les notes collectées mais aussi  par  ses  conséquences  politiques. L’influence française dans la naissance des institutions archéologiques égyptiennes peut y être indirectement rattachée. Les collections d’antiquités égyptiennes de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
comprennent des papyri et des objets provenant ou repérés lors de l’Expédition, comme  le  Livre  des  Morts de Ouahibrê et le Papyrus Cadet,  le zodiaque de Dendara... La conférence sera l’occasion de revenir sur cette période charnière et d’y associer l’histoire des collections de la Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Resumen:
El presente artículo pretende analizar la obra de Maria Sibylla Merian: artista, entomóloga, ecóloga y expedicionaria que vivió a caballo entre los siglos XVII y XVIII. El objetivo consiste en investigar y exponer los éxitos significativos de Merian tanto en el arte como en las ciencias naturales. Su gran maestría en el dibujo, trasladando su técnica al grabado de índole realista, confirió a la representación botánica y entomológica uno de los mayores logros en la Edad Moderna en cuanto a precisión y verismo. También fue una temprana botánica, clasificando las plantas y sus habitantes, por lo que es la primera entomóloga en interesarse por la ecología, especialmente en las relaciones
tróficas entre insectos y plantas. Al tener en cuenta el ciclo vital de los insectos, también es la precursora de la biología del desarrollo. Su viaje a Surinam la convierte en la primera expedicionaria que visita la nación con un propósito científico y a través de una misión comercial. Además, se trata de una de las primeras mujeres exploradoras que descubrió numerosas especies de plantas y animales, destacando sus aportaciones en herpetología y aracnología.

Abstract: This article analyze the work of Maria Sibylla Merian: artist, entomologist, ecologist and expeditionary who lived between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The objective is to investigate and expose the significant successes of Merian in both art and natural sciences. His great mastery in drawing, transferring his technique to engraving of a realistic nature, gave the botanical and entomological representation one of the greatest achievements in the Modern Age in terms of precision and verism. It was also an early botany, classifying plants and their inhabitants, so it is the
first entomologist to be interested in ecology, especially in the trophic relationships between insects and plants. By taking into account the life cycle of insects, it is also the forerunner of developmental biology. Her trip to Suriname makes her the first expeditionary to visit Suriname with a scientific purpose and through a commercial mission.

Resumo: O relato de viagem referente à expedição realizada por Francis de Castelnau na América do Sul é recorrentemente citado em estudos históricos, em análises dedicadas aos mais diversos temas. Em função do extenso leque de informações que o relato apresenta acerca da então Província de Goiás, esse texto continua sendo uma referência de apropriação importante para a historiografia goiana. Com base em uma análise comparada entre os tomos do relato editados originalmente no século XIX, a partir de 1850, e a tradução brasileira publicada por meio da Coleção Brasiliana em 1949, este artigo analisa algumas das categorias científicas e conceitos mobilizados nas publicações de Castelnau, notadamente em referência a "raça", "civilização" e "progresso", de modo a demonstrar em que medida a leitura e a apropriação desse relato de viagem podem seguir gerando contribuições profícuas para a história e a historiografia goiana. Para tanto, também traz apontamentos acerca de alguns usos do relato de Castelnau em estudos históricos, bem como acerca de questões historiográficas, metodológicas e teóricas referentes ao estudo de relatos de viagem. Palavras-Chave: Expedições Científicas. Província de Goiás. Raça. Negritude. Branquitude. Francis de Castelnau revisited: Province of Goiás and scientific racism in the travel account "Expédition das les Parties Centrales de l'Amérique du Sud" Abstract: The travel account devoted to the expedition carried out by Francis de Castelnau in South America is a recurrent reference in historical studies regarding a wide scope of themes. Due to the wide scope of information regarding the Province of Goiás-as it was called throughout most of the 19th Century-, that text remains an outstanding reference for appropriation to historiography in Goias. By making a comparison between the volumes of the account which were published in the 19th Century and the Brazilian translation that was published as part of the Coleção Brasiliana in 1949, this article aims at analyzing some of the scientific categories and concepts mobilized in Castelnau's writings, specially concerning "race", "civilization" and " progress", in order to show to which extent the reading and appropriation this travel account can keep providing frutiful contributions to history and historiography in Goiás. In order to do so, this article also brings remarks on some uses of the Castelnau's account in historical work, as well as some historiographical, methodological and theoretical questions concerning travel writing.

En 1829, le Péloponnèse, alors champ de bataille meurtri par le feu et l’acier, et nourri par le sang de nombreux belligérants, est transformé en un champ de recherches variées sous l’impulsion de troupes et de scientifiques français. L’expédition de Morée, à la fois scientifique et militaire, marque d’une grande ampleur le pays, de part le changement géopolitique dont elle signe l’aboutissement et le renouveau de l’esprit scientifique qui en découle.
Cette expédition se déroule durant l’achèvement de ce qui fut, de 1821 à 1832, la Guerre d’indépendance grecque. Alors que l’Empire ottoman est l’« homme malade de l’Europe », comme le surnomma le tsar Nicolas Ier, en décadence depuis le XVIIIe siècle, le recul de son pouvoir sur ses provinces européennes s’accélèrent dès l’ouverture du XIXe siècle. Plus que de l’intérêt pour les grandes puissances européennes, la déliquescence de l’Empire du sultan Mahmoud II, éveille l’espoir des peuples chrétiens balkaniques. Ceux-ci doivent endurer la domination turque qui leur interdit un certains nombre de liberté, dont, le droit de posséder des terres, de monter à cheval ou de constituer des armées. La frustration et les nombreuses révoltes, surtout serbes, agitent la rébellion des Grecs qui se soulèvent contre les Turcs en 1821, proclamant en janvier 1822, à Epidaure, leur indépendance. Cependant, en l’absence d’aide extérieure et par l’affaiblissement des insurgés due à leur divisions internes, les Turcs reprennent l’initiative. Avec l’appui du sultan égyptien Méhémet-Ali, l’insurrection des indépendantistes grecs est réprimée, le Péloponnèse ravagé et des populations sont massacrées, comme à Chio en avril 1822.
Sous le regard indifférent des grandes puissances européennes, bien trop occupées à respecter l’esprit de la Sainte-Alliance qui soutient le droit des souverains légitimes et non le droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes, un mouvement philhellène traverse le Vieux continent. L’opinion publique se range peu à peu derrière les Grecs. Malgré cela, les puissances européennes ne compte toujours pas agir. C’est alors que contre toute attente, une opération navale anglo-franco-russe coule la flotte égyptienne à Navarin en 1827. L’intervention des puissances européennes est décisive et la Grèce, par le traité d’Andrinople, est déclarée indépendante en 1829. La France a durant cette guerre une place importante : elle intervient en Morée contre les forces turques. Cette expédition en Morée, comme nous l’avons évoquée précédemment, n’a pas qu’une fonction militaire. Aux forces armées s’ajoutent divers savants de disciplines variées, allant des sciences dites « dures » à l’étude de l’art, en passant par les sciences humaines.
L’expédition, apparaît alors comme un tournant. L’historien avide de l’étudier, à l’aide de sources notamment littéraires comme des témoignages écrits ou des comptes-rendus scientifiques, peut alors se demander pourquoi l’expédition de Morée, plus qu’un événement qui serait somme toute anodin à l’échelle de l’histoire du XIXe siècle, est en réalité un symbole d’une rupture et d’un renouveau du rapport qu’entretiennent les Européens avec leur monde présent et leur monde passé ?