Juhan Aul – 125 years from the birth of the founder of Estonian anthropology

Abstract

On 15 October 2022, 125 years passed from the birth of Juhan Aul (1897–1994), the founder of Estonian anthropology. The article gives a brief overview of the versatile scientist’s contribution to the history of science and anthropology. Some aspects that have been particularly emphasized in his works, presentations and manuscripts and the importance of the anthropological data throughout the ages are highlighted. As a further development of the data collected by Juhan Aul, Markus Valge’s doctoral thesis was published in the year of his 125th birthday.

Head size and academic performance

“…Last year (2022), 30 years passed from the publication of the first issue of the journal. That year included several remarkable dates concerning the great figures in Estonian anthropology: in 2022, Prof. Helje Kaarma departed this life [15]; 125 years passed from the birth of Juhan Aul, the founder of Estonian anthropology [18], 100 years from the birth of paleoanthropologist and somatologist Karin Mark, Juhan Aul's first student in anthropology [10]. All of them made great contributions to Estonian national culture and science in the area of physical anthropology.…”