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Dr ARIS N. POULIANOS BIOGRAPHY |
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Dr A. N. Poulianos is born in Ikaria, an island of the eastern Aegean (Greece), on the 23rd of July 1924. He fought during 1942-3 along with the Resistance against foreign invadors, on the side of E.L.A.S. (Greek Laical Liberating Army) and during 1948-9 on the side of Greek Democratic Army. He studied Biology in USA (Queen's College, N.Y.) and Anthropology in Moscow, where in 1961 he defended a PhD thesis on: "The origins of the Greeks". In 1956 his son Nickos was born, who also became an anthropologist. Until 1965 Dr Aris Poulianos worked in the Dep. of Anthropology of the Soviet Academy, teaching also as professor of Anthropology at the Moscow University. During same first years of the '60s he led archaeological and mainly anthropological research expeditions in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Georgia - Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In 1965 he returned to Greece where he continued with further anthropological studies (Krete, Aegean, Ionian, Thrace, Macedonia), as well as abroad (Ainou-Japan, Basques-Spain etc). These studies contributed significantly to the knowledge of the origins not only of the Balkan population, but that of Europe too. Of equal scientific importance are his palaeoanthropological excavations at the Archanthropinae Petralona cave, the Triglia open site in Chalkidiki, as well as the prehistoric elephant site at Perdikkas in Ptolemais (N. Greece). In 1966 he became member of the Foundation Committee of Patras University (Peloponnesus - W. Greece) and was elected Vice-president of the Hellenic Spelaeological Society. In 1967, because of his democratic - antifashist background, he was fired from his state job, imprisoned and exiled by the foreign-guided military regime (junta). This persecution of Dr A. N. Poulianos led to the reaction of many democratic |
anthropologists
around the world, as from France, USA, Germany etc, demanding by letters
his immediate rehabilitation in both social and scientific activities.
Although their demands were successful concerning release (he was
discharged from prison after five months and a half), his scientific
career did not have the same positive outcome. He was ousted from any state
working position until 1975. In 1968 Dr A. Poulianos was elected Vice-President
of the 8th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological
Sciences at Tokyo. In 1971 he founded the Anthropological Association
of Greece and in 1977 the Dep. of Palaeoanthropology-Spelaeology of
the Greek Ministry of Culture. During 1979, in Prague, he was appointed
President of the next (3rd) European Congress of Anthropology, which
held its works in 1982 at the Anthropological Museum of Petralona
cave. Since 1983 he becomes a target of cruel assaults by organized
unscientific and anthellenic cycles, mainly acting
through various state services. He defends himself successfully up
to now in the Greek Courts. For several decades he participates to
the works of the International Council of Anthropological and Ethnological
Sciences of UNESCO, while since 1987 he is a member of the N.Y. Academy
of Science. He has participated in more than 40 scientific congresses
around the world, announcing his discoveries and conclusions on anthropology.
He has published 5 books and more than 100 scientific papers in many
international and Greek journals. In 2006 his wife Daphne (physician)
wrote in Greek language a biography (see cover)
dedicated to her 50 years life companion. For all his life he is fighting
against any racial discriminations, writing similar articles since 1946, while since 1964
he is participating to anti-racist groups of UNESCO.
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