Gustaf Kossinna
| Gustaf Kossinna | |
|---|---|
 Prof. Dr. phil. Gustaf Kossinna, 1928 | |
| Born | 28 September 1858 Tilsit, East Prussia, Province of Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation |
| Died | 20 December 1931 (aged 73) Berlin, German Reich |
| Fields | Philology, archaeology |
| Institutions | Humboldt University of Berlin |
| Known for | Theories on settlement archaeology |
Gustaf Kossinna (sometimes also Gustav and Kossina; 28 September 1858 – 20 December 1931) was a German philologist and archaeologist who was Professor of German Archaeology at the University of Berlin. Along with Carl Schuchhardt, director of the prehistoric department of the Berlin Ethnological Museum, he was the most influential German prehistorian as well as researcher of the history of the Germanic tribes of his day, and was creator of the techniques of settlement archaeology.
Life
- Birth: Born on 28 September 1858 in Tilsit, East Prussia (then Kingdom of Prussia), as the son of a secondary-school teacher.
- School: Attended the Königliche Litthauische Provinzialschule (Royal Lithuanian Provincial School) in Tilsit, a classical Gymnasium where he received a thorough humanistic education, including Latin.
- University studies: From 1877 onward, he studied classical philology and especially Germanic philology at several universities: Göttingen, Leipzig, Berlin (Humboldt-Universität), and Strasbourg. His principal academic influence came from Karl Müllenhoff in Berlin.
- Doctorate (Dr. phil.): Obtained his doctorate in 1887 at the University of Strasbourg (some sources list Berlin, but the dissertation was defended in Strasbourg, Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen) with a thesis on the early linguistic records of the High Frankish (or related early Germanic) language / Old Prussian language elements.
- From 1 October 1881, he worked temporarily as a signatory at the University Library in Halle, and from 1 July 1886, as an assistant at the University Library in Berlin. In 1896, his ideas were expressed in his lecture "The Pre-Historical Origins of the Teutons in Germany". From January 1887 to 1892, he was a librarian and curator at the University Library in Bonn. From 1892, he worked at the Royal Library in Berlin. During this time Kossinna read widely and published a number of scientific papers on the ancient history of Germany.
- Professorship: He received the personal title of professor in May 1900. He was then appointed as extraordinary professor (außerordentlicher Professor) for German Archaeology (Deutsche Archäologie) at the University of Berlin in 1902 — a chair specially created for him. He held this position until his death on 20 December 1931 in Berlin.
Memberships
- Member of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte)
- Member of the Pan-German League (Alldeutscher Verband)
- Member of the Danish Society for Nordic Antiquities
- Member of the Finnish Antiquities Society
- Member of the Vitterhets Academy in Stockholm
- Member of the Militant League for German Culture (Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur, KfdK)
Legacy
Though politically discredited after World War II due to anti-German sentiment, Kossinna's methodological approach has greatly influenced archaeology up to the present day. Kossinna occupies a key position in the emergence of prehistory as an academic discipline. His methodology formed an essential step in the process of transformation from an evolutionary into a culture-historical paradigm, which through the work of V. Gordon Childe and others dominated archaeology until long after World War II.
Writings (excerpt)
- Über Die Ältesten Hochfränkischen Sprachdenkmäler: Ein Beitrag zur Grammatik des Althochdeutschen, Straßburg 1881 (Dissertation)
- Arminius deutsch?, 1891
- Die vorgeschichtliche Ausbreitung der Germanen in Deutschland, 1896
- Die indogermanische Frage archäologisch beantwortet, 1902
- Zur Archäologie der Ostgermanen, 1905
- Die Grenzen der Kelten und Germanen in der La Tène-Zeit, in: "Korrespondenz-Blatt der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte", 1907, pp. 57 ff.
- Die Herkunft der Germanen – Zur Methode der Siedlungsarchäologie, Würzburg 1911
- Der germanische Goldreichtum in der Bronzezeit, Leipzig 1913
- Die deutsche Vorgeschichte – eine hervorragend nationale Wissenschaft, 2nd Edition, 1914
- 6th Edition: 1934
- 7th Edition: 1939
- Das Weichselland – ein uralter Heimatboden der Germanen, Danzig 1919
- Altgermanische Kulturhöhe – Ein Kriegsvortrag, Jena 1919
- Die Indogermanen – Ein Abriß, Leipzig 1921
- Ursprung und Verbreitung der Germanen in vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Zeit, Part 1, 1920
- Altgermanische kulturhöhe – Eine Einführung in die deutsche Vor- und Frühgeschichte, 1927
- Germanische Kultur im 1. Jahrtausend nach Christus, Leipzig 1932
- 2nd Edition: Germanische Kultur in 1. Jahrtausend, 1939
Translations
- Trevor Sutcliffe: The Origin of the Germanics – On the Method of Settlement Archaeology, 2023
- This first ever English translation of any work by Gustaf Kossinna is of the second and final edition of Kossinna's seminal 1911 opus which established Kossinna's Law: “sharply delimited archaeological cultural provinces coincide at all times with very specific ethnic groups or ethnic tribes.” Kossinna introduces his settlement archaeological method, defends it against contemporary detractors, and then provides an example of its application by tracing of the origin of the Germanics, taking the reader on an archaeological voyage back through time and into the deep prehistory of Northern and Central Europe. Included are 9 maps and a detailed table, all of which had been added to or reworked for this edition, and which have been carefully digitally processed and feature English text formed from the original lettering.
- Trevor Sutcliffe: The Indo-Germanics – An Outline, 2025
