Max Uhle: biography of this German archaeologist

Archeology is the science that deals with studying ancient civilizations through different methods and objects, such as works of art, utensils, monuments, various documents ...

Like all science, archeology is full of relevant figures who stood out for some contributions or others; is the case of Max Uhle, German archaeologist who worked extensively in the lands of South America, especially in Peru, and that he is considered the father of Peruvian scientific archeology.

For many, Max Uhle is considered the father of Peruvian scientific archeology. Uhle was especially known for studying the pre-Columbian cultures of Peru. On the other hand, one of the cultures that Uhle studied in depth was that of Tiahuanaco, at the end of the 19th century.

Thus, the works of Max Uhle had a special impact in South American countries such as Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia. These works covered the period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

On the other hand, Max Uhle became known for starting scientific archeology in Peru (and because of this, he is considered the founder or father of this field). Uhle also revalued the importance of the pre-Inca past, and spread his knowledge about it, since Until then, these types of civilizations were considered of little importance in the field of archeology.

In this article we will see a short biography of Max Uhle through his biography and his most relevant contributions to this field of knowledge.

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Biography of Max Uhle

Max Uhle (1856-1944), full name Friedrich Maximilian Uhle Lorenz, was a prominent German archaeologist born in Saxony (Kingdom of Saxony, Germany) on March 25, 1856. He was the son of Friedrich Ernst Uhle and Anna Kunigunde Lorenz. After finishing his compulsory school education, Uhle entered the University of Leipzig (Germany) in 1875.

He did his military service and later entered the University of Gottingen, where he stayed for a year, to end up returning to Leipzig. There he studied philosophy and obtained his doctorate, specifically in the year 1880. His thesis addressed the subject of ancient Chinese grammar.

After finishing his thesis, Max Uhle started working at the Saxony Museum of Ethnology, where he assisted the director of the same. There he worked for seven years, from 1881 to 1888. Later, he worked the same, this time at the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin. At that time, the museum was being transformed into a center for Americanist studies.

As relevant data of his career, we also add that Uhle was, during the VII International Congress of Americanists held in Berlin, in 1888, as assistant secretary of the same.

Finally, he passed away in Upper Silesia (Poland), on May 11, 1944, at the age of 88.

Archeology

In the area of ​​his career in archeology, The excavations carried out in Pachacámac stand out, located in the valley of Lurín (south of Lima). There he used the stratigraphic method for the first time in America, which we will comment on later.

After the excavations were completed, Max Uhle traveled to Philadelphia to analyze the results found. As a result of these excavations, Max Uhle published the work Pachacámac (1903). This work was highly valued at the time, and is still used today as a study text for South American archeology.

Three years after this publication, in 1906, Uhle was appointed director of the Archaeological section of the Historical Museum of Lima. Six years later, in 1912, he moved to Chile, where he was appointed Director of the Museum of Ethnology and Anthropology of Santiago.

Once installed in Chile, Uhle focused on carrying out excavations in the north of Chile, specifically in Arica, Pisagua, Calama and Tacna. Years later, in 1917, Max Uhle scientifically described the Chinchorro mummies; This fact was important because he was the first to do this work.

It is worth mentioning that the Chinchorro culture was made up of a group of fishermen who inhabited the coast of the Atacama desert between 7020 and 1500 BC. C. This time, the results of his findings and investigations were published in his works: The aborigines of Arica (1917) and Archeology of Arica and Tacna (1919).

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Relevant contributions

We find different contributions made by Max Uhle to the field of archeology, which can be classified in these categories.

1. Stratigraphic method

Max Uhle also stood out as an archaeologist for being the first to apply, in 1896, a method typical of archeology, specifically, of stratigraphy, which is the study of the superposition of layers or strata of the earth.

Well, Uhle applied the stratigraphic method to the excavations of Pachacámac, an archaeological site located in the district of Lurín (Peru), near the Pacific Ocean.

At a technical level, the stratigraphic method, specifically, what allows is to evaluate the age of the remains in relation to others, based on their position in the analyzed strata.

Evolution of Peruvian culture

In addition to being the first to use this method, Max Uhle perfected the stratigraphic method of dating, which allowed him to configure a sequence that would describe the evolution of Peruvian cultures. This evolution was divided into five stages:

• The primitive fishermen (Ancín, Supe, Pachacamac and Arica)
• The coastal cultures of Central American origin (Proto-Chimú, Proto-Nazca and Proto-Lima)
• The beginning of the megalithic period in Peru or Tiahuanaco
• The epigonal styles originated in Tiahuanaco
• The Inca period, with two sub-periods: legendary and historical

2. Tiahuanaco iconography

Another contribution of Uhle to archeology, was an observation that he made and that originated the theory of the tiahuanacota empire; This observation consisted in noting that the iconography of Tiahuanaco (archaeological city) had spread from the area of ​​Lake Titicaca, to a part of current Peruvian territory.

3. Moche culture

Another of Max Uhle's contributions or contributions to the field of archeology was that of discover the Moche culture, which ended up called Proto-Chimú. The Moche culture is an original archaeological culture of Ancient Peru, which developed, in the valley of the Moche River, between the 2nd and 5th centuries.

4. Immigration theory

At a theoretical level, Uhle developed the immigration theory of the origin of Andean culture. This theory established that the Andean culture had arisen thanks to the contributions of Mesoamerica (that is, Mexico and Central America).

5. Peruvian cultures

We have seen some contributions from Uhle in the field of Peruvian cultures, but we are going to investigate a little more. For Uhle, the oldest Peruvian populations were made up of primitive fishermen (first stage of the evolution of these cultures, already mentioned). The level jump from these cultures to the high cultures (called (Proto-Nazca and Proto-Chimú) occurred thanks to the influence of Central American cultures.

Bibliographic references:

• Basadre Grohmann, J. (2005). History of the Republic of Peru (1822 - 1933), Volume 16. Edited by the El Comercio S. TO. Lim.
• Denise Pozzi-Escot B. (2010). Ancient Peru III (500-1400). The Middle Horizon and the Regional States. History of Peru Collection, edited by the Empresa Editora El Comercio S.A. Lime.
• Kauffmann Doig, F. (2002). History and art of ancient Peru. Volume 3. Lima, PEISA Editions.
• Ruiza, M., Fernández, T. and Tamaro, E. (2004). Biography of Max Uhle. In Biographies and Lives. The Biographical Encyclopedia Online. Barcelona, ​​Spain).