Resumen

VEGA Y ORTEGA BAEZ, Rodrigo Antonio. Zoological practices represented in three institutional journals of Costa Rica, 1887-1894. Rev. hist. Am. [online]. 2025, n.172, pp.137-164.  Epub 19-Ene-2026. ISSN 2663-371X.  https://doi.org/10.35424/rha.172.2025.6018.

This article examines the zoological practices implemented by eight naturalists associated with the Physical-Geographic Institute and the National Museum of Costa Rica between 1887 to 1896. It seeks to identify these practices, highlight the participation of local informants, and analyze the integration of Costa Rican scientific work into international academic networks. Five core practices are documented: exploration and specimen collection; obtaining information from popular and academic informants; taxidermy; taxonomic description and classification; and the articulation of global scientific networks. Collections were directed at both national collections and foreign museums, generating a growing dependence on the latter for species identification. Taxonomy, the most prominent activity, demonstrated the preeminent authority of foreign scientific centers, while Costa Rican naturalists assumed a primary role in fieldwork but a secondary role in academic validation. International networks contributed to legitimizing local science, although they reinforced the asymmetry in the production and control of knowledge. Unlike studies focused on institutional history or biographies, this analysis addresses the concrete practices of knowledge production, revealing dynamics of collaboration and hierarchy between local and foreign actors.

The research enriches the understanding of nineteenth-century zoological work in Costa Rica, highlighting the role of informants and the tension between in situ exploration and international recognition. The study is based on twelve writings -five catalogues, three monographs and four exploration reports- published in Anales del Museo Nacional de la República de Costa Rica (1887), Anales del Instituto Físico-Geográfico y del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (1889-1891) and Anales del Instituto Físico-Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica (1892-1896), complemented by historiographic literature on science and naturalists in the country.

Palabras llave : Zoology; Press; Costa Rica; Science; Expedition.

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