Commission on Anthropology

The Anthropology Commission constitutes one of the oldest groupings of scholars at PAU. It was formed in 1873 – in the same year as the Academy of Arts and Sciences (AU) – as the Anthropological Commission of the AU. It was intended in its origins to synthesise the totality of research into humans and to provide a forum for discussing the findings of the precursors of folklore studies, for scholars interested in the biological variation of human populations, and for prehistorians oriented towards collaboration with naturalists. In this way, the founders of PAU Anthropology sought to involve the Kraków scientific community in the debate on evolutionism that divided European society in the second half of the nineteenth century. The lasting results of the commission’s activities during this period include its enormous publishing legacy (especially the journal Zbiór Wiadomosci do Anthropologii Krajowej [National Anthropology Bulletin], which was published from 1877 and later became Materiały Antropologiczno-Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne [Anthropological, Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials]), the creation of important museum collections (the prehistoric collections, which are central to the Kraków Archaeological Museum, and the rich osteological collections now gathered at the Natural Education Centre of the Jagiellonian University) and, above all, the creation of an environment in which a nucleus of specialists building academic physical anthropology, ethnography, and archaeology – in Kraków and beyond – was able to develop.
When all of the PAU agencies were taken over by PAN in 1952, PAU Anthropology was brought into the PAN structure and began operating there. On the initiative of a group of anthropologists, including prof. Krzysztof Kaczanowski of the Jagiellonian University, and in agreement with the Kraków Branch of PAN, the commission requested that it be transferred to PAU. By a resolution passed in 2010, the PAU Council established an anthropology commission within its structure.
It began operating on 16 March 2012. The primary aim of the revived commission is to integrate scientific communities dealing with man in the biocultural dimension. including biological and cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, ethnologists, and specialists in psychology, medicine, and physical education.
Its core activities involve organising symposia, lectures, talks, and conferences, as well as interdisciplinary panel discussions, during which members and guests share their research results, which are derived from a variety of disciplines, and so provide a holistic view of the uniqueness of our species.

Commission Members