Heine-Geldern, Robert Von

Heine-Geldern, Robert Von 

Born July 16, 1885, in Grube, Austria; died May 25, 1968, in Vienna. Austrian archaeologist and ethnologist; researcher in the problems of the origin, settlement patterns, and art forms of the peoples of southeast Asia.

Heine-Geldern proposed a number of controversial but interesting theories, including that southeast China (Yünnan) was the protohomeland of the Indonesians, that Indian forms of culture and art were received by the peoples of Indochina through (“deriwat”) Indonesia, and that three types of stone axes were the chief determinants of archaeological cultures and ethnological strata in southeast Asia.

WORKS

“The Archaeology and Art of Sumatra.” In E. M. Loeb, Sumatra, Its History and People. Vienna, 1935.
“Prehistoric Research in the Netherlands Indies.” In Science and Scientists in the Netherlands Indies. New York, 1945.
“Some Problems of Migration in the Pacific.” In Kultur und Sprache. Edited by W. Koppers. Vienna, 1952.
“Research on Southeast Asia: Problems and Suggestions.” American Anthropologist, April 1946.

G. G. STRATANOVICH