Agassiz’s daguerreotypes illustrated polygenesis, the separate-creation theory

Evidence

I was sickened but continued reading. The daguerreotypes were Agassiz’s attempt to illustrate his support of the “polygenesis” theory. I learned from the article that in 1850, when the photo was taken, there was a belief among white Europeans that all people were descended from Adam and Eve. This was called monogenesis. Polygenesis was the theory of “multiple, separate creations for each race as distinct species that became the hallmark of the American School of Ethnology.” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 164

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the rival monogenesis vs. polygenesis theories, showing what Agassiz’s photographs of Renty and Delia were meant to evidence.