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Catalog Data

Creator:
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Department of Anthropology  Search this
Subject:
Holmes, William Henry 1846-1933  Search this
Hodge, Frederick Webb 1864-1956  Search this
Mason, Otis Tufton 1838-1908  Search this
Hough, Walter 1859-1935  Search this
Setzler, Frank M (Frank Maryl) 1902-1975  Search this
Stewart, T. D (Thomas Dale) 1901-1997  Search this
Wedel, Waldo R (Waldo Rudolph) 1908-1996  Search this
Woodbury, Richard B (Richard Benjamin) 1917-  Search this
Riesenberg, Saul H  Search this
Evans, Clifford 1920-1981  Search this
Fitzhugh, William W. 1943-  Search this
Ubelaker, Douglas H  Search this
Kaeppler, Adrienne Lois  Search this
Ortner, Donald J  Search this
Rogers, J. Daniel  Search this
Arnoldi, Mary Jo  Search this
Rick, Torben C  Search this
Krupnik, Igor  Search this
Burgess, Laurie E  Search this
Potts, Richard 1953-  Search this
Type:
Mixed archival materials
Date:
1878
1879-
Category:
Agency History
Notes:
This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
Obituary, Donald J. Ortner, Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris, by M. L. Powell, 2012, https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13219-012-0068-4.pdf, accessed January 23, 2023
Curriculum Vitae, William W. Fitzhugh, https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/51628111/cv-national-museum-of-natural-history-smithsonian-institution, accessed January 23, 2023
National Museum of Natual History, Department of Anthropology, website, 2001-2022
Carolyn L. Rose, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_L._Rose, accessed January 25, 2023
The Bureau of Ethnology was created in 1879 to continue studies of the American Indians begun by the Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. It was renamed the Bureau of American Ethnology and placed under the Smithsonian in 1897, but it enjoyed considerable freedom of action under John Wesley Powell, its Director (1879-1902). After that time it was more closely regulated by the Smithsonian. Its concern remained research on the Indians of the Western hemisphere. After Powell its Directors (some Acting) were William Henry Holmes, 1902-1909; Frederick Webb Hodge, 1910-1918; Jesse Walter Fewkes, 1918-1928; Matthew William Stirling, 1928-1957; Frank H. H. Roberts, 1957-1964; and Henry B. Collins, 1964-1965.
The Department of Anthropology also pursued its work from the Institution's early days, and under a variety of organizational forms. Its objective was to collect anthropological specimens, and its scope was world-wide, especially in the growth of its non-Western collections after World War II. In 1965, as part of a reorganization of the National Museum of Natural History, both BAE and the Department of Anthropology were merged into a Smithsonian Office of Anthropology. By 1968 the Department of Anthropology had reappeared, and the former activities of the Bureau of American Ethnology were incorporated into its structure, most notably the National Anthropological Archives.
Head Curators and Chairs of the Department have included William Henry Holmes, 1897-1902, 1910-1920; Otis Tufton Mason, (acting) 1902-1903) and Head, 1904-1908; Walter Hough, (acting) 1908-1909, 1920-1923, and Head, 1923-1935; Frank M. Setzler, 1935-1960; Thomas Dale Stewart, 1960-1962; Waldo R. Wedel, 1963-1965; Richard B. Woodbury, 1965-1967; Saul H. Riesenberg, 1967-1970; Clifford Evans, 1970-1975; William W. Fitzhugh, 1975-1980; Douglas H. Ubelaker, 1980-1984; Adrienne Lois Kaeppler, 1985-1988; Donald J. Ortner, 1988-1992; Dennis J. Stanford, 1993-1999; Carolyn L. Rose, 2000-2002; Mary Jo Arnoldi, Acting Chair, 2002; William W. Fitzhugh, 2002-2005; J. Daniel Rogers, 2005-2010; Mary Jo Arnoldi, 2011-2014; Torben C. Rick, 2015-2018; Igor Krupnik, Co-Chair, 2019-2022; Laurie E. Burgess, Associate Chair, 2019-2022, Co-Chair, 2023- ; and Richard Potts, Co-Chair, 2023- .
For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.
Repository Loc.:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520
Topic:
Anthropology  Search this
Ethnology  Search this
Anthropologists  Search this
Local number:
SIA AH00204
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_217825