Hermann Klaatsch

Born Mar. 10, 1863, in Berlin; died Jan. 5, 1916, in Eisenach. German anthropologist and anatomist.

Klaatsch’s principal works were devoted to problems of the phylogeny and evolution of man and to the comparative anatomy of modern anthropoid apes. He described several finds of the bony remains of fossil man, including those from the Combe-Capelle cave. He also worked on the methods of craniometric investigation. Klaatsch was one of the originators of the theory of polygenism, which has been subjected to sharp criticism.