Thomas Hastie Bryce (1862-1946)--a lesson in the power of observation.

Abstract

Thomas Hastie Bryce was Regius Professor of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow from 1909 to 1935. In Anatomy, he is remembered as an embryologist and as an editor of the 11th edition of Quain's Elements of Anatomy. His most-lasting scientific contribution, however, was in archaeology where he defined the Clyde Group of Neolithic cairns in south-west Scotland. He showed that the Neolithic people of Arran were of short stature and were dolichocephalic, distinct from those of the Bronze Age. Also, Bryce was the first to appreciate the importance of pottery in analyzing the movement of ancient peoples across Europe, and defined Beacharra ware, a class of Neolithic pottery unique to the west of Scotland. As in anatomy, archaeological discoveries are made by study of morphology and relationships with careful attention to detail and a sound knowledge of the literature.