Dactyloscopists versus papiloscopist: Technical and personal disputes about newborn identification in Chile, 1928-1956

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the tensions and conflicts in the Chilean Identification Bureau around the identification of newborns. This conflict had two sides: the dactyloscopists and the papiloscopists; the former were defenders of dactyloscopy, originated in La Plata, Argentina, and the latter, papiloscopy, created by Humberto Orrego Gauthier, a new system that would guarantee an integral solution to the issue of human identification. Through Institutional Magazines, specialized books, and previously unseen documents, we will show that the idea of identification, as an institutional practice, brought tensions and rivalries among their technical staff.