Abstract:

This article analyzes the making of a novel consciousness of historicity in Germany around 1800, one that regarded mountains as vaults of a shared and palpable past. Revisiting a paleontological debate about the origin of large mammal bones found in caves, it reads the science of Johann Christian Rosenmüller (1771–1820) as a social and political accomplishment. By attributing the fossils to an indigenous "cave bear," and communicating an elite scientific debate to a lay audience, Rosenmüller presented an account of Germany's primordial past that fed seamlessly into its present, nurturing an idea of nationhood grounded in the (sub)soil.

摘要：

本文分析了1800年左右德国对一种新的历史性意识的形成，这种意识将山脉视为共享和可触及的过去的穹顶。重新审视有关在洞穴中发现的大型哺乳动物骨骼起源的古生物学辩论，它读懂约翰·克里斯蒂安·罗森姆勒（Johann ChristianRosenmüller，1771–1820年）的科学，是一项社会和政治成就。通过将化石归因于本土的“洞穴熊”，并向非专业观众传达了一场精英科学辩论，罗森穆勒介绍了德国原始历史的描述，​​并将其无缝地融合到了现在，培育了以（次）土壤为基础的民族思想。