German Inner Africa Research Expeditions
[5] Frobenius has been described as the "pioneering German comparative ethnographer of Africa" and a "master of the general survey" and was in the development of anthropology in Germany.
His subsequent conclusions about the development of African civilisations from pre-existing non-African cultures have proved controversial and are not supported by modern writers.
[10] Frobenius' wife Editha was in charge of organising the movements of the expedition and managing supplies of food, water and medicine.
[9] Frobenius carried out archaeological excavations at the ancient Yoruba city of Ife in Nigeria and published his findings in twelve volumes between 1921 and 1928.
[11][14][15] Frobenius theorised that the intricate bronze and terracotta sculptures he discovered at Ife were relics from the mythological city of Atlantis.
[15] Frobenius led the 1912 fifth expedition to Kordofan in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan with the objective of locating the mines of Hophrat-en-Nahas in the Kingdom of Kush.
[16] Upon returning to Germany he found his fame had earned him an audience with Wilhelm II (the German emperor) who agreed to sponsor his future expeditions.
[18] It served as a front for a German military espionage mission to Ethiopia, and was intended to persuade Emperor Lij Iyasu to support the Central Powers in the First World War and provide assistance to an uprising in the Sudan.
[19] This could have threatened British and Italian colonies in Eastern Africa and possibly the vital supply route of the Suez Canal.
[1] The party crossed the Red Sea in a sambuk but were discovered by the Italian authorities soon after their arrival in Eritrea and had no opportunity to enter Ethiopia.
[7] It recorded a large quantity of indigenous rock art, which helped Frobenius to build one of the most important collections of such work, some of which was sold to South African museums.
[20][21] It also investigated ancient ore mines and provided samples for some of the first metallographic and chemical analysis of southern African indigenous metals.
[9] Jensen struggled to raise money in war-devastated Frankfurt but managed to secure funding for an expedition to Ethiopia.
