It was modelled as the Cuban chapter of the Anthropological Society of Madrid, established by Dr. Pedro González de Velasco in the 1860s.
[3] Dr. Santos Fernández, having received permission from the Spanish colonial government of Joaquín Jovellar y Soler, went on to establish the Society.
[3] Some of the founding members include Luis Montané Dardé, a former pupil of Paul Broca, and Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey.
[9] The director issued a publication on behalf of the Members of the Society seeking Indian relics, notably aboriginal endocranium and authentic bones.
[10] In November 1885, the paper Les Crânes dits Déformé was presented to the Society in Havana, arguing that artificial cranial deformation was never practiced in the West Indies or on the continent.