ABSTRACT
In 1899, Professor Sir William Turner Published The First Of A series of four articles in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, charting the craniological characteristics of the ‘People of the Empire of India’. A distinguished anatomist and scientist, he was from 1867 for 36 years the professor of anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, a post he held until becoming the principal and vice-chancellor in 1903. This chapter explores the circulation between India and the University of Edinburgh of skulls collected across the 19th and early part of the 20th century. Skull collecting was central to the formation of anatomy, phrenology and physical anthropology and was a key component of the anatomists’ work. The skulls at the University were housed in cabinets in a purpose-built skull room, completed in 1884 by Sir William Turner. Accessible today in the Anatomy department, its aesthetic is striking.
