page_title: Egyptomania
section_title: Science
hierarchical_section_title: Egyptomania / Science
caption_attribution_description: English: King Ramses II of Egypt. Italiano: Il Re Ramsete II. Deutsch: Mumie Ramses II. Español: Momia de Ramsés II Nederlands: Mummie van Ramses II Polski: Mumia Ramzesa II Português: Múmia de Ramsés II Русский: Мумия Рамсеса II. Каир, Египетский музей.
context_page_description: Egyptomania was the renewed interest of Europeans in ancient Egypt during the nineteenth century as a result of Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign and, in particular, as a result of the extensive scientific study of ancient Egyptian remains and culture inspired by this campaign. In addition to its aesthetic impact on literature, art, and architecture, it also played a role in the discussion about race, gender, and national identity. Egyptomania is of particular importance to American culture because of the way in which the example of ancient Egypt served to create a sense of independent nationhood during the nineteenth century. However, Egypt has had a significant impact on the cultural imagination of all Western cultures.
context_section_description: Craniology is the study of the human cranium that claimed to be able to determine an individual's intelligence and even character. Egyptian mummies served as an abundant source for the object of study – skulls. Craniology was especially important with regard of the question, whether Egyptians were black or white, a debate lead in light of the justification of slavery. The key figure for this period seems to be Samuel George Morton who founded the American School of Ethnology. He put forward the theory of Polygenesis claiming that there is not one but several human races who are in a hierarchical order with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom end of the scale. Although science today disapproves of Morton's findings it still revalidated his professional status, because Morton's American School was to a large degree responsible for the development of the current professional status of the sciences and the renunciation of puritan ideas of monogenesis and the Christian, clerical worldview, common at the time.
caption: Mummy of Ramesses II
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