Person

Macintosh, Neil William George (Mac) (1906 - 1977)

Born
27 December 1906
Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia
Died
27 November 1977
Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Academic and Anthropologist

Summary

Neil Macintosh was an anatomist and anthropologist whose research focused on the antiquity, migrations and place in human history of the indigenous people of Australia. Working on osteology, blood groups, fingerprints, forensic medicine and several other fields, he made important contributions to the study of variations in Aboriginal culture and migratory arrivals over time. In his extensive examination of significant ancient bones and artefacts he discovered or documented several of major significance. Macintosh was noted for his extensive and tenacious fieldtrips. He established the geological context of the fossilised Talgai skill, discovered in 1886, and used modern techniques to date it to c.14,000 years. At Lake Nitchie, New South Wales, he examined burial remains that indicated the practice of burial rites. Later research on the dingo showed the modern animal to be morphologically unchanged for 3,000 years. As consultant to the Criminal Investigation Branch of the New South Wales Police he was involved in the investigation of a number of bizarre murders.

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Details

Chronology

1933
Education - MB BS, University of Sydney
1934 - 1935
Career position - Neurosurgical Registrar, Lewisham Hospital, Sydney
1936 - 1937
Career position - Medical Superintendent, Lewisham Hospital, Sydney
1939 - 1942
Career position - Active service with the Royal Australian Naval Reserve
1943 - 1945
Career position - Demonstrator, Department of Anatomy, University of Sydney
1945 - 1947
Career position - Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, University of Sydney
1948 - 1949
Career position - Senior Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, University of Sydney
1950
Education - Diploma in Anthropology, University of Sydney
1950 - 1955
Career position - Reader, Department of Anatomy, University of Sydney
1951
Career position - President, Anthropological Society of New South Wales
1955 - 1973
Career position - Challis Professor of Anatomy, University of Sydney
1961 - 1977
Career position - Member, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
1963
Career position - Foundation Member and President, Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand
1966 - 1974
Career position - Chairman, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
1966 - 1977
Career position - Associate Editor, Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania
1967 - 1973
Career position - Chairman, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
1970
Award - Anthropos Medal, Moravian Museum, Brno, Czechoslovakia
1970
Award - Hrdlicka Medal, City of Humpolec, Czechoslovakia
1971
Award - Honorary Fellow, Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons
1971
Career position - Life Member, Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand
1972
Award - Honorary Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1973
Life event - Retired

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Stone, Jonathan, 'Macintosh, Neil William George (1906-1977), Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 15: 1940 - 1980 Kem-Pie, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2000), pp. 228-230. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150269b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Elkin, A. P., 'N. W. G. Macintosh and his work', Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania, 13 (2/3) (1978), 85-142. Details
  • Howells, W. W., 'Obituary: Neil William George Macintosh, 1906 - 1977', Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania, 14 (1) (1979), 78-80. Details
  • Lowenthal, John, 'N. W. G. Macintosh', Medical Journal of Australia, 1979 (2) (1979), 138-9. Details

Resources

See also

Helen Cohn

Last modified: 3 April 2017

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"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260