 In April 1876 Reiss returned to Germany from Rio de Janeiro, with Stübel continuing scientific investigations in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.From 1885 to 1887 he was director of the "Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin" (Society for Geography in Berlin), and in 1888 became director of the "Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte" (Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory).In 1892 he moved to Könitz, near the town of Saalfeld, where he died on 29 September 1908.