Mapmaker: Hammond
(World-Thematic) Map of Mankind
1946
(World) Map of Mankind, Hammond, 1946
"It is a Fascinating Chart With Duotone Illustrations of 96 Members of Living Races of People From All Over the World". Meant to illustrate the diversity of humanity in conjunction with a large sculptural study funded by Dr Field, this simplistic overview became a huge point of controversy. Well prior to the genetic understanding of humans, this project made the terrible mistake of thinking phenotype and genotype were the same. For a century or so prior, there had been attempts to categorize humans by skin color and culture, some 19th century school geographies would show 5 types of humans, or perhaps it was stages of development, the articulation mostly remained unclear. This map was a kind of culmination, and end of this racial distinguished thinking.
But later, the great poet and activist, Amiri Baraka, was incensed by the map and
rightly debunked it as a work of white pseudo science in a letter to Field Museum. The director of the time had to agree that it was both “scientifically indefensible and socially objectionable,”. It would be removed from circulation.
Not until the Human Genome Project of the late 1990's and early 2000's would
we get an accurate and data driven understanding of human diversity and the infinitesimally small differences that separate us. This map and booklet are an
ornament of a failed world view.
Condition is very good and includes the map booklet which includes numerous
thematic maps. Image size is approximately 23 x 30 (inches).
"It is a Fascinating Chart With Duotone Illustrations of 96 Members of Living Races of People From All Over the World". Meant to illustrate the diversity of humanity in conjunction with a large sculptural study funded by Dr Field, this simplistic overview became a huge point of controversy. Well prior to the genetic understanding of humans, this project made the terrible mistake of thinking phenotype and genotype were the same. For a century or so prior, there had been attempts to categorize humans by skin color and culture, some 19th century school geographies would show 5 types of humans, or perhaps it was stages of development, the articulation mostly remained unclear. This map was a kind of culmination, and end of this racial distinguished thinking.
But later, the great poet and activist, Amiri Baraka, was incensed by the map and
rightly debunked it as a work of white pseudo science in a letter to Field Museum. The director of the time had to agree that it was both “scientifically indefensible and socially objectionable,”. It would be removed from circulation.
Not until the Human Genome Project of the late 1990's and early 2000's would
we get an accurate and data driven understanding of human diversity and the infinitesimally small differences that separate us. This map and booklet are an
ornament of a failed world view.
Condition is very good and includes the map booklet which includes numerous
thematic maps. Image size is approximately 23 x 30 (inches).