Phrenology

In our search for the Phrenology busts use and what it is we used google to find a scholarly article on the bust and its creator. The bust itself actually originated with Franz J. Gall in Germany in 1796 and eventually came to the United States. The Fowler brothers took this to the US and expanded it into a primitive nueroanatomy study. Our group found this knowledge by using terms in the scholarly article and google searching them. We also used knowledge that we had observed during our visit up to the bust. We would then discuss ideas about how people would have used this during the time period and how it was or wasn't related to science. My research proved to be better when I used key words and more specific ideas related to Phrenology or the Fowler's. The time period also depended on what physiologist you searched in combination with the terms.

After this exerscise we debated whether it was primary or secondary source. It could have been either, but in the context of our research it was secondary. If the time period had been set to when replicas were being made and its use to collectors it could have been a primary source. An important part to all of this was provenance. Provenance is origin, and the earliest known history about the object like the owner and where it was manufactured/created.