MAX UHLE: BIOGRAPHY, THEORIES AND WORKS - HISTORY - 2025

Max Uhle (1856-1944) was a German archaeologist who developed most of his work in Latin America. His major contributions were related to the pre-Columbian cultures of Peru, although many of his conclusions were refuted by later studies.

The archaeologist, known to Latin Americans as Federico Max Uhle, made his first trip to Peru after the Dresden museum, where he worked, published an article on the Ancón necropoli. After some time in Berlin, Uhle went on a journey that took him to Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.

Max Uhle - Source: Unknown, 19th century / Public domain

Many experts consider Uhle as the father of scientific archeology in Peru. His work served to disseminate and enhance the past before the Incas, which had always been considered of little interest. He was also the first to use the stratigraphic method and to understand the relationship between the Tiahuanaco iconography with others existing in other parts of the country.

The data collected in his research led Uhle to propose the so-called immigration theory about the origin of Andean culture. According to his hypothesis, this had arisen from the contributions of the inhabitants of Mesoamerica. However, this theory was discarded after the work carried out by Julio C. Tello.

Biography

Friedrich Maximilian Uhle Lorenz, the archaeologist's full name, was born on March 25, 1856 in Dresden, a German city that was then part of the Kingdom of Saxony.

At the age of 13, Uhle began studying at the Königlich Siichsische Fürsten-und Landesschule school, St. Afra bei Meissen. After graduating in 1875 he entered the University of Leipzig.

The following year he transferred for a year to the University of Göttingen, but returned to Leipzig to complete his training and doctorate in linguistics in 1880.

First jobs

Only a year after earning his doctorate, Uhle found his first job at the Royal Museum of Zoology, Anthropology and Archeology in Dresden. The future archaeologist remained in this institution until 1888. During this stage, his work was highly focused on anthropology.

One of the events that would influence Uhle's future employment occurred while he was working in this museum. It was the publication of a work on an excavation in Peru, specifically in the Andean area. Its title was The Necropolis of Ancón in Peru.

In 1888, it was clear to Uhle that he wanted to focus his work on Andean anthropology. After resigning from his job in Dresden, he began a new phase at the Berlin Museum of Ethnology.

Transfer to Berlin

The Berlin Museum of Ethnology, under the direction of Adolf Bastian, was becoming one of the reference centers for American studies. In his first year at the museum, Uhle, in addition to his usual job, assumed the secretariat of the VII International Congress of Americanists, held in the city.

Uhle's interest in Latin American archeology, especially Peruvian archeology, grew during these years. At that time, German museums had quite a few pieces from Peru, and that many collectors had sold their collections to save them from the effects of the Pacific War.

First trips

The Ethnological Museum and the German government itself sent Uhle to Latin America to carry out various studies. His first destination was Argentina, where he investigated the area of ​​diffusion of the Quechuas. From there he went to Bolivia with the intention of excavating in the ruins of Tiahuanaco, although he did not obtain the necessary authorization.

The result of these first explorations was the publication of The Ruins of Tiahuanaco in the highlands of Ancient Peru, a work that Uhle made with the photographer B. von Grumbkow. The experts have cataloged this work as the first of a scientific nature on this site.

During the same trip, the German archaeologist investigated the Uros on Lake Titicaca and later moved to Cuzco. This journey resulted in a new essay: The sphere of influence of the country of the Incas.

U.S

Max Uhle's next destination was Philadelphia, in the United States. There he began to work at the University of Pennsylvania, where he stayed for several years. It was in that American city where he married Charlotte Grosse.

While working at the university, Uhle did not stop preparing new expeditions to Peru. The sponsorship of the Philadelphia American Exploration Society and that of Phoebe Hearst, mother of magnate William Randolph Hearst, allowed her to make her next project a reality.

Expedition to Peru

Uhle arrived in the Peruvian capital, Lima, in 1896. His first excavations took place in Pachacámac, located in the Lurín Valley. At that site, the archaeologist became the pioneer in the use of the stratigraphic method in America, a technique that calculates the age of some remains according to their position in the analyzed strata.

Upon completing these studies, Uhle returned to Philadelphia to explain the results obtained, which became the basis for one of his most prestigious books: Pachacámac.

Uhle was the first to confirm the expansion of the Tiahuanaco culture throughout Peru. The claim was based on their findings of ceramic and textile remains from that culture on the coast.

Mission of the University of California

A new expedition, this time organized by the University of California, took Uhle back to the Peruvian coast in 1898. His mission was to explore the deposits in the area, among which were the Moche-style Hollow of the Moon. His dating works in the Moche valley were fundamental to understanding pre-Inca chronology in Peru.

After these works, the archaeologist directed excavations in Marcahuamachuco, Wiracochapampa and Cerro Amaru. The results were published in 1900 in the newspaper La Industria and signified the first cultural sequence in Moche.

Third trip to Peru

In 1901, Max Uhle returned to the United States with the material obtained during the excavations. For a time, he served as a professor at the University of California. The support of this center led him to organize his third trip to Peru, in 1903.

On this occasion, his team carried out excavations in Ancon, Huaral Viejo, Supe, Cerro Trinidad and San Nicolás. These works increased his prestige and the Historical Museum of Lima appointed him director of its archeology section in 1906, a position he held until 1912.

Some disagreements with the Peruvian government led Uhle to abandon his post and go to Chile. There he was hired as director of the Archaeological and Anthropological Museum. Likewise, it carried out excavations in Tacna, Pisagua, Calama and Arica.

In 1917 he became the first researcher to scientifically describe the Chinchorro mummies.

Ecuador

In 1919, Max Uhle changed country again. His new destination was Ecuador, where he investigated the remains found in Tumibamba or Loja, among other places.

The archaeologist remained in Ecuador until 1933, when he returned for a time to Germany. With him he carried a large volume of information about the excavations carried out over 40 years.

Last years

Uhle still had time to go back to Peru once more. This trip took place in 1939, when he participated in the XXVII International Congress of Americanists held in Lima. During that meeting, Uhle presented his theories on the origin and provenance of ancient American civilizations.

The archaeologist stayed in Peru for a time due to the start of World War II in Europe. When Peru declared its support for the allies, Uhle ran the fate of other Germans residing in the country and was deported.

A few years later, on May 11, 1944, Max Uhle passed away in Loeben, Poland.

Theories

Max Uhle was the author of important discoveries about the pre-Columbian societies of South America. His works were not limited only to archeology and anthropology, but also dealt with linguistics.

Immigration theory

The main theory developed by Max Uhle was the immigrationist. For the considered founder of scientific archeology in Peru, the high ancient Peruvian cultures came from Mesoamerica, more specifically from the Mayan culture.

The archaeologist was based on several factors, such as the greater antiquity of the cultures of the coast compared to those of the mountains. For Uhle, that Mesoamerican influence would have reached Peru both by sea and by land.

This theory was refuted by Julio César Tello, the discoverer of the Chavín culture. His excavations proved that Uhle was wrong and that the indigenous Peruvian cultures had developed independently.

Plays

Kultur und Industrie südamerikanischer Völker

Uhle published this work divided into two volumes between 1889 and 1890. The work contains an analysis of the ethnographic and archaeological collections of South America. The importance of this work has survived to this day, as it is a benchmark for understanding the culture of the indigenous peoples of the continent.

The Ruins of Tiahuanaco

In 1892, Uhle published "Die Ruinenstätte von Tiahuanaco" (The Ruins of Tiahuanaco) was published in 1892. It is a work that describes and analyzes the data obtained by Stübel after his excavations in Tiahuanaco.

One of the contributions of this work was to establish that the style of the Tiahuanaco culture was prior to the Inca. This fact was the basis for, later, developing a chronology of archaeological remains in Latin America.

Works on the arica

During the years 1918 and 1919, Max Uhle published several books on the Aricas. The first of them saw the light in the Historical Review of Peru, under the title of Los aboriginal arica.

Later, the archaeologist published The aborigines of Arica and the American man, this time in the Chilean Journal of History and Geography.

Within this theme, the author also published The Archeology of Arica and Tacna and, in 1922, a text entitled Ethnic and Archaeological Foundations of Arica and Tacna.

Pachacamac

Pachacamac was possibly the most outstanding work among all those published by Uhle. To write it, he used all the data collected in various expeditions.

Pachacamac was published in 1903 and was made in a language accessible even to non-professionals. For this reason, the work marked a turning point in the dissemination of the archeology of the Andes.

Main works

• Die Ruinen von Tiahuanaco (1892), in collaboration with Alphons Stübel.
• Pachacámac (1903).
• The sphere of influence of the country of the Incas (1908).
• The prehistoric relations between Peru and Argentina (1912).
• The origins of the Incas (1912).
• Die Ruinen von Moche (1913).
• Die Muschelhügel von Ancón (1913).
• The Inca fortresses of Incallajta and Machupicchu (1917)
• The archeology of Arica and Tacna (1919).
• Ethnic and archaeological foundations of Arica and Tacna (1922).
• The principles of ancient Peruvian civilizations (1920).
• The principles of civilizations in the Peruvian highlands (1920).
• The ancient civilizations of Peru versus the archeology and history of the American continent (1935).

References

1. Biographies and Life. Max Uhle. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
2. Original towns. Friedrich Max Uhle. Obtained from pueblosoriginario.com
3. Archeology of Peru. Max Uhle. Obtained from arqueologiadelperu.com
4. Revolvy. Max Uhle. Retrieved from revolvy.com
5. Hirst, K. Kris. Chinchorro Culture. Retrieved from thoughtco.com
6. WikiMili. Max Uhle. Retrieved from wikimili.com
7. Pedagogical Folder. Immigration Theory. Obtained from folderpedagogica.com