OA

‘Exotische’ lichamen verbeeld

‘Exotic’ bodies imagined. Ethnology in popular anatomical museums in the Low Countries, nineteenth – early twentieth century

Fairground spectacles of the ‘exotic’ ranged from exhibited peoples to the display of ethnological models in popular anatomy museums. Various studies have analysed how these museums disseminated the ‘modern body’, however, ethnological models have received less attention. Despite lacking live performers, these museums were part of the same racist discourse as ‘human zoos’. I argue that while live exhibitions contained an element of friction, ethnological models closely embodied a racial imaginary, legitimizing physical anthropology as an empirical science alongside anatomy. Due to their continued presence on the fairground, these museums require a place in the broader history of European imperialism.