Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
459 documents - page 1 of 23

Sheath For Scalp Knife

Collector:
Dr A. J. Comfort  Search this
Donor Name:
Army Medical Museum  Search this
Length - Object:
27 cm
Culture:
Sioux (Oceti Sakowin) (?)  Search this
Northeast Indian (?)  Search this
Great Lakes Indian (?)  Search this
Object Type:
Knife Sheath
Place:
Fort Sisseton, Marshall County, South Dakota, United States, North America
Accession Date:
18 Feb 1869
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
416140
USNM Number:
E8654-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3b18a8d0a-5385-479c-88bc-709481e70160
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8483842
Online Media:

Knife Sheath, Ornamented

Donor Name:
Dr. Franklin B. Hough  Search this
Culture:
Iroquois (Haudenosaunee), Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka)  Search this
Object Type:
Knife Sheath
Place:
Oka, Quebec, Canada, North America
Accession Date:
1875
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
004245
USNM Number:
E18814-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3d3c10aa6-d049-4541-9431-4743c00622b5
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8353557
Online Media:

Knife Sheath

Donor Name:
No Information  Search this
Culture:
Huron (Wendat), Lorette  Search this
Object Type:
Knife Sheath
Place:
United States (not certain) / Canada (not certain), North America
Accession Date:
1991
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
999999
USNM Number:
ET10721-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/35332a42f-d5c7-4be6-bfb1-acd5d184a8f7
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8492872
Online Media:

Sheath, Knife

Donor Name:
No Information  Search this
Culture:
Huron (Wendat), Lorette  Search this
Object Type:
Knife Sheath
Place:
United States (not certain) / Canada (not certain), North America
Accession Date:
1991
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
999999
USNM Number:
ET7373-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/37d4056db-e7fb-4e21-a667-dd9a1a293ed6
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8499462
Online Media:

Part 4: Vaccines and Society

Creator:
National Museum of Natural History  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2020-08-26T13:47:38.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Natural History  Search this
See more by:
smithsonianNMNH
Data Source:
National Museum of Natural History
YouTube Channel:
smithsonianNMNH
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_WYzht6C1c6M

The diffusion of culture by G. Elliot Smith

Author:
Smith, Grafton Elliot 1871-1937  Search this
Subject:
Taylor, Edward Burnett Sir 1832-1917  Search this
Physical description:
x, 244 pages illustrations 21 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1933
Topic:
Anthropology--History  Search this
Civilization  Search this
Anthropologie--Histoire  Search this
Civilisation  Search this
Anthropology  Search this
civilization  Search this
Culture  Search this
Cultuurspreiding  Search this
Theorieën  Search this
Call number:
CB19 .S55 1933X
CB19.S55 1933X
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_10062

Freedomways Vol. 13 No. 1

Published by:
Freedomways Associates, Inc., American, 1961 - 1985  Search this
Edited by:
John Henrik Clarke, American, 1915 - 1998  Search this
Jack O'Dell, American, 1923 - 2019  Search this
Ernest D. Kaiser, American, born 1916  Search this
Esther Cooper Jackson, American, born 1917  Search this
John Devine  Search this
Written by:
E. C. Foster, American, born 1939  Search this
Loyle Hairston, American, 1926 - 2009  Search this
George W. Crockett Jr., American, 1909 - 1997  Search this
Kamal Boullata, Palestinian, 1942 - 2019  Search this
Michel Charlot, French  Search this
Tim Thomas  Search this
Charles B. McMillan  Search this
Illustrated by:
Leopoldo Méndez, Mexican, 1902 - 1969  Search this
Subject of:
Paul Robeson, American, 1898 - 1976  Search this
Southern University at New Orleans, American, founded 1956  Search this
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, American, 1875 - 1950  Search this
Medium:
ink on paper with metal
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 9 × 6 1/16 × 5/16 in. (22.9 × 15.4 × 0.8 cm)
Type:
magazines (periodicals)
Place printed:
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted:
Palestine, Asia
Date:
1973
Topic:
African American  Search this
Activism  Search this
Art  Search this
Black Press  Search this
Civil Rights  Search this
Education  Search this
French colonialism  Search this
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this
International affairs  Search this
Language  Search this
Literature  Search this
Poetry  Search this
Politics  Search this
Slavery  Search this
U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Maurice Jackson
Object number:
2021.20.13
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown – Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification:
Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5abe75799-9bf0-4aa9-b75b-0baf70d88a09
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2021.20.13
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View <I>Freedomways Vol. 13 No. 1</I> digital asset number 1

Artful Animals

Creator:
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2010-11-01T18:55:19.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
See more by:
sitesExhibitions
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
YouTube Channel:
sitesExhibitions
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_LoDLcnROzZE

Outcasts from evolution scientific attitudes of racial inferiority, 1859-1900 [by] John S. Haller, Jr

Author:
Haller, John S  Search this
Physical description:
xv, 228 pages illus 24 cm
Type:
Books
History
Place:
United States
États-Unis
Date:
1971
Topic:
Anthropology--History  Search this
Anthropometry  Search this
Black race  Search this
Evolution (Biology)  Search this
Race  Search this
Biological Evolution  Search this
Black People  Search this
Black People--history  Search this
Race Relations--history  Search this
Racial Groups  Search this
Anthropologie--Histoire  Search this
Anthropométrie  Search this
Évolution (Biologie)  Search this
Race noire  Search this
Anthropology  Search this
anthropometry  Search this
Black (general, race and ethnicity)  Search this
evolution  Search this
race (group of people)  Search this
Race relations  Search this
Relations raciales  Search this
Call number:
E185.61 .H185
E185.61.H185
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_8865

Frederica de Laguna papers

Creator:
De Laguna, Frederica, 1906-2004  Search this
McClellan, Catharine  Search this
Swanton, John Reed, 1873-1958  Search this
Guédon, Marie Françoise  Search this
Emmons, George Thornton  Search this
Extent:
2 Map drawers
38 Linear feet (71 document boxes, 1 half document box, 2 manuscript folders, 4 card file boxes, 1 flat box, and 1 oversize box)
Culture:
Yakutat Tlingit  Search this
Tutchone  Search this
Tsimshian  Search this
Indians of North America -- Subarctic  Search this
Tlingit  Search this
Tanana  Search this
Kawchodinne (Hare)  Search this
Ahtna (Ahtena)  Search this
Northern Athabascan  Search this
Chugach  Search this
Kalaallit (Greenland Eskimo)  Search this
Indians of North America -- California  Search this
Eyak  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America  Search this
Degexit'an (Ingalik)  Search this
Arctic peoples  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Map drawers
Field notes
Sound recordings
Place:
Alaska -- Archaeology
Aishihik (Yukon)
Angoon (Alaska)
Alaska -- Ethnology
Chistochina (Alaska)
Greenland
Copper River (Alaska)
Klukshu (Yukon)
Hoonah (Alaska)
Kodiak Island (Alaska)
Klukwan (Alaska)
Saint Lawrence River Valley
New Brunswick -- Archaeology
Yukon Island (Alaska)
Date:
1890-2004
bulk 1923-2004
Summary:
These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps. A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catherine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athabaskan languages including Atna, Tutchone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara Sue's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series X: Card Files. Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March. Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.
Scope and Contents:
These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps.

A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. Among her notable correspondents are Kaj Birket-Smith, J. Desmond Clark, Henry Collins, George Foster, Viola Garfield, Marie-Françoise Guédon, Diamond Jenness, Michael Krauss, Therkel Mathiassen, Catharine McClellan, and Wallace Olson. She also corresponded with several eminent anthropologists including Franz Boas, William Fitzhugh, J. Louis Giddings, Emil Haury, June Helm, Melville Herskovitz, Alfred Kroeber, Helge Larsen, Alan Lomax, Margaret Mead, Froelich Rainey, Leslie Spier, Ruth Underhill, James VanStone, Annette Weiner, and Leslie White.

The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catharine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athapaskan languages including Atna, Tutochone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series 10: Card Files.

Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March.

Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. The collection also contains copies of photographs from the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.
Arrangement:
Arranged in 12 series: (1) Correspondence, 1923-2004; (2) Field Research, 1947-1968; (3) Writings, 1926-2001; (4) Teaching, 1922-1988; (5) Professional Activities, 1939-2001; (6) Subject Files, 1890-2002; (7) Writings by Others, 1962-2000; (8) Personal, 1923-2000; (9) Photographs, 1929-1986; (10) Card Files; (11) Maps, 1928-1973; (12) Sound Recordings, 1904-1973
Biographical / Historical:
Frederica Annis Lopez de Leo de Laguna was a pioneering archaeologist and ethnographer of northwestern North America. Known as Freddy by her friends, she was one of the last students of Franz Boas. She served as first vice-president of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) from 1949 to 1950 and as president of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) from 1966-1967. She also founded the anthropology department at Bryn Mawr College where she taught from 1938 to 1972. In 1975, she and Margaret Mead, a former classmate, were the first women to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Born on October 3, 1906 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, de Laguna was the daughter of Theodore Lopez de Leo de Laguna and Grace Mead Andrus, both philosophy professors at Bryn Mawr College. Often sick as a child, de Laguna was home-schooled by her parents until she was 9. She excelled as a student at Bryn Mawr College, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in politics and economics in 1927. She was awarded the college's prestigious European fellowship, which upon the suggestion of her parents, she deferred for a year to study anthropology at Columbia University under Boas. Her parents had recently attended a lecture given by Boas and felt that anthropology would unite her interests in the social sciences and her love for the outdoors.

After a year studying at Columbia with Boas, Gladys Reichard, and Ruth Benedict, de Laguna was still uncertain whether anthropology was the field for her. Nevertheless, she followed Boas's advice to spend her year abroad studying the connection between Eskimo and Paleolithic art, which would later became the topic of her dissertation. In the summer of 1928, she gained fieldwork experience under George Grant MacCurdy visiting prehistoric sites in England, France, and Spain. In Paris, she attended lectures on prehistoric art by Abbe Breuil and received guidance from Paul Rivet and Marcelin Boule. Engaged to an Englishman she had met at Columbia University, de Laguna decided to also enroll at the London School of Economics in case she needed to earn her degree there. She took a seminar with Bronislaw Malinowski, an experience she found unpleasant and disappointing.

It was de Laguna's visit to the National Museum in Copenhagen to examine the archaeological collections from Central Eskimo that became the turning point in her life. During her visit, she met Therkel Mathiassen who invited her to be his assistant on what would be the first scientific archaeological excavation in Greenland. She sailed off with him in June 1929, intending to return early in August. Instead, she decided to stay until October to finish the excavation with Mathiassen, now convinced that her future lay in anthropology. When she returned from Greenland she broke off her engagement with her fiancé, deciding that she would not able to both fully pursue a career in anthropology and be the sort of wife she felt he deserved. Her experiences in Greenland became the subject of her 1977 memoir, Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology.

The following year, Kaj Birket-Smith, whom de Laguna had also met in Copenhagen, agreed to let her accompany him as his research assistant on his summer expedition to Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. When Birket-Smith fell ill and was unable to go, de Laguna was determined to continue on with the trip. She convinced the University of Pennsylvania Museum to fund her trip to Alaska to survey potential excavation sites and took as her assistant her 20 year old brother, Wallace, who became a geologist. A close family, de Laguna's brother and mother would later accompany her on other research trips.

In 1931, the University of Pennsylvania Museum hired de Laguna to catalogue Eskimo collections. They again financed her work in Cook Inlet that year as well as the following year. In 1933, she earned her PhD from Columbia and led an archaeological and ethnological expedition of the Prince William Sound with Birket-Smith. They coauthored "The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska," published in 1938. In 1935, de Laguna led an archaeological and geological reconnaissance of middle and lower Yukon Valley, traveling down the Tanana River. Several decades later, the 1935 trip contributed to two of her books: Travels Among the Dena, published in 1994, and Tales From the Dena, published in 1997.

In 1935 and 1936, de Laguna worked briefly as an Associate Soil Conservationist, surveying economic and social conditions on the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona. She later returned to Arizona during the summers to conduct research and in 1941, led a summer archaeological field school under the sponsorship of Bryn Mawr College and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

By this time, de Laguna had already published several academic articles and was also the author of three fiction books. Published in 1930, The Thousand March: Adventures of an American Boy with the Garibaldi was her historical fiction book for juveniles. She also wrote two detective novels: The Arrow Points to Murder (1937) and Fog on the Mountain (1938). The Arrow Points to Murder is set in a museum based on her experiences at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the American Museum of National History. Fog on the Mountain is set in Cook Inlet and draws upon de Laguna's experiences in Alaska. Both detective novels helped to finance her research.

De Laguna began her long career at Bryn Mawr College in 1938 when she was hired as a lecturer in the sociology department to teach the first ever anthropology course at the college. By 1950, she was chairman of the joint department of Sociology and Anthropology, and in 1967, the chairman of the newly independent Anthropology Department. She was also a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1947-1949; 1972-1976) and at the University of California, Berkeley (1959-1960; 1972-1973.)

During World War II, de Laguna took a leave of absence from Bryn Mawr College to serve in the naval reserve from 1942 to 1945. As a member of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), she taught naval history and codes and ciphers to women midshipmen at Smith College. She took great pride in her naval service and in her later years joined the local chapter of WAVES National, an organization for former and current members of WAVES.

In 1950, de Laguna returned to Alaska to work in the Northern Tlingit region. Her ethnological and archaeological study of the Tlingit Indians brought her back several more times throughout the 1950s and led to the publication of Under Mount Saint Elias in 1972. Her comprehensive three-volume monograph is still considered the authoritative work on the Yakutat Tlingit. In 1954, de Laguna turned her focus to the Atna Indians of Copper River, returning to the area in 1958, 1960, and 1968.

De Laguna retired from Bryn Mawr College in 1972 under the college's mandatory retirement policy. Although she suffered from many ailments in her later years including macular degeneration, she remained professionally active. Five decades after her first visit to Greenland, de Laguna returned to Upernavik in 1979 to conduct ethnographic investigations. In 1985, she finished editing George Thornton Emmons' unpublished manuscript The Tlingit Indians. A project she had begun in 1955, the book was finally published in 1991. In 1986, she served as a volunteer consultant archaeologist and ethnologist for the U. S. Forest Service in Alaska. In 1994, she took part in "More than Words . . ." Laura Bliss Spann's documentary on the last Eyak speaker, Maggie Smith Jones. By 2001, de Laguna was legally blind. Nevertheless, she continued working on several projects and established the Frederica de Laguna Northern Books Press to reprint out-of-print literature and publish new scholarly works on Arctic cultures.

Over her lifetime, de Laguna received several honors including her election into the National Academy Sciences in 1976, the Distinguished Service Award from AAA in 1986, and the Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. De Laguna's work, however, was respected by not only her colleagues but also by the people she studied. In 1996, the people of Yakutat honored de Laguna with a potlatch. Her return to Yakutat was filmed by Laura Bliss Spann in her documentary Reunion at Mt St. Elias: The Return of Frederica de Laguna to Yakutat.

At the age of 98, Frederica de Laguna passed away on October 6, 2004.

Sources Consulted

Darnell, Regna. "Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." American Anthropologist 107.3 (2005): 554-556.

de Laguna, Frederica. Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology. New York: W.W. Norton Co, 1977.

McClellan, Catharine. "Frederica de Laguna and the Pleasures of Anthropology." American Ethnologist 16.4 (1989): 766-785.

Olson, Wallace M. "Obituary: Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." Arctic 58.1 (2005): 89-90.
Orthography:
This finding aid uses Ahtna as the primary term when referring to the Ahtna people. However, de Laguna consistently used the term Atna in her research and writings. The physical folder titles using de Laguna's own descriptions have not be altered.
Related Materials:
Although this collection contains a great deal of correspondence associated with her service as president of AAA, most of her presidential records can be found in American Anthropological Association Records 1917-1972. Also at the National Anthropological Archives are her transcripts of songs sung by Yakutat Tlingit recorded in 1952 and 1954 located in MS 7056 and her notes and drawings of Dorset culture materials in the National Museum of Canada located in MS 7265. The Human Studies Film Archive has a video oral history of de Laguna conducted by Norman Markel (SC-89.10.4).

Related collections can also be found in other repositories. The University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania holds materials related to work that de Laguna carried out for the museum from the 1930s to the 1960s. Materials relating to her fieldwork in Angoon and Yakutat can be found in the Rasmuson Library of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in the papers of Francis A. Riddell, a field assistant to de Laguna in the early 1950s. Original photographs taken in the field in Alaska were deposited in the Alaska State Library, Juneau. Both the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress and the American Philosophical Library have copies of her field recordings and notes. The American Museum of Natural History has materials related to her work editing George T. Emmons' manuscript. De Laguna's papers can also be found at the Bryn Mawr College Archives.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Frederica de Laguna.
Restrictions:
Some of the original field notes are restricted due to Frederica de Laguna's request to protect the privacy of those accused of witchcraft. The originals are restricted until 2030. Photocopies may be made with the names of the accused redacted.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Anthropology -- History  Search this
Genre/Form:
Field notes
Sound recordings
Citation:
Frederica de Laguna papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.1998-89
See more items in:
Frederica de Laguna papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3363424fd-e665-498b-a37c-9f4a81302a35
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1998-89
Online Media:

Oral history off the record toward an ethnography of practice edited by Anna Sheftel and Stacey Zembrzycki ; foreword by Steven High ; afterword by Alessandro Portelli

Editor:
Sheftel, Anna  Search this
Zembrzycki, Stacey  Search this
Physical description:
1 online resource (xxv, 301 pages) illustrations
Type:
Electronic resources
Electronic books
History
Date:
2013
Topic:
Oral history--Methodology  Search this
Oral history--Moral and ethical aspects  Search this
Oral history--Political aspects  Search this
Oral history  Search this
History: theory & methods  Search this
Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography  Search this
HISTORY--Study & Teaching  Search this
Oral history--metodik  Search this
Oral history--etik och moral  Search this
Oral history--politiska aspekter  Search this
Muntliga källor  Search this
Social & cultural anthropology  Search this
History  Search this
Call number:
D16.14 .O75 2013 (Internet)
Restrictions & Rights:
Non-linear
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1147760

Trouillot remixed the Michel-Rolph Trouillot reader Michel-Rolph Trouillot ; edited by Yarimar Bonilla, Greg Beckett, and Mayanthi L. Fernando

Title:
Michel-Rolph Trouillot reader
Author:
Trouillot, Michel-Rolph  Search this
Editor:
Bonilla, Yarimar  Search this
Beckett, Greg 1975-  Search this
Fernando, Mayanthi L., 1975-  Search this
Physical description:
1 online resource (x, 443 pages) illustrations
Type:
Electronic resources
Electronic books
History
Place:
Caribbean Area
Caraïbes (Région)
Date:
2021
Topic:
Anthropology--Philosophy  Search this
Ethnology--Philosophy  Search this
Political science--Anthropological aspects  Search this
Anthropologie--Philosophie  Search this
Ethnologie--Philosophie  Search this
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social  Search this
HISTORY / Caribbean & West Indies / General  Search this
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural  Search this
Civilization  Search this
Politics and government  Search this
History  Search this
Histoire  Search this
Politique et gouvernement  Search this
Call number:
F2175 .T76 2021 (Internet)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1158214

William C. Sturtevant papers

Topic:
Handbook of North American Indians
Creator:
Sturtevant, William C.  Search this
Names:
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)  Search this
Six Nations  Search this
Extent:
220 Linear feet (The total extent of the collection is 191.41 linear feet (consisting of 473 document boxes and 2 record boxes) plus 254 sound recordings, 94 computer disks, 42 card file boxes, 85 oversize folders, 9 rolled items, 18 binder boxes, and 3 oversize boxes. Of the total extent, 4.79 linear feet (14 boxes) are restricted.)
Culture:
Indians of North America -- Southeast  Search this
Indians of North America  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Seminole  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Realia
Research
Notes
Office files
Theses
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings
Exhibition catalogs
Field notes
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Microfilms
Newsletters
Manuscripts
Memorandums
Articles
Card files
Books
Artifacts
Negatives
Date:
1952-2007
Summary:
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and other professional activities. The collection is comprised of books, sound recordings, research and field notes, realia, artifacts, clippings, microfilm, negatives, slides, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, memorandums, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, and bibliographies.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and his involvement in various professional activities. The collection is comprised of research and field notes, sound recordings, realia, clippings, negatives, slides, prints, published and unpublished writings, correspondence, memorandums, conference papers and meeting notes, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, bibliographies, student files such as class notes and papers from Sturtevant's years as an anthropology student, teaching materials including lecture notes and exams, daily planners, passports, military records, artwork including prints and lithographs, maps, and computer files.

The materials in this collection document Sturtevant's career as a preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, university professor, his role as General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, and his contributions to the field of Anthropology. From his early work with the Seminole Indians of Florida to his forays into Burma, and his decades-long study of how Native Americans have been depicted in artistic and popular culture, Sturtevant's diverse intellectual interests are represented in his research files. A copious note taker, Sturtevant captured his observations and opinions of everything from meetings with colleagues to museum exhibits. Sturtevant's commitment to the anthropological profession can be found in the notes and programs of the many conferences, symposiums, and lecture series he attended and at which he presented. He also held numerous leadership positions in various professional associations and sat on the board of directors/trustees for several cultural organizations including Survival International and the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation. Sturtevant was respected for his vast knowledge of indigenous peoples and he received a voluminous amount of correspondence from colleagues who often included copies of their papers and grant proposals. He kept many of these works, which, it appears he used as reference material. Sturtevant's own work is reflected in his writings; he published over 200 scholarly papers, articles, and books.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized in 14 series: 1. Correspondence, 1951-2008; 2. Research Files, 1851, 1860s, 1880s, 1890, 1939-2006; 3. Writings, 1952-2006; 4. Professional Activities, 1952-2006; 5. Smithsonian, 1954-2008; 6. Handbook of North American Indians, 1971-2007; 7. Biographical Files, 1933-2007; 8. Student Files, 1944-1985; 9. Subject Files, 1902-2002; 10. Photographs, 1927-2004; 11. Artwork, 1699-1998; 12. Maps, 1949-1975; 13. Sound Recordings, 1950-2000; 14. Computer Files, 1987-2006.
Biographical/Historical note:
William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007), preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, and university professor, was best known for his contributions to Seminole ethnology, as curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, and for his work as the general editor of the Handbook of North American Indians.

Sturtevant's passion for studying Native peoples began at a young age. In third grade "after a class on American Indians, he asked his father what kind of people study Indians, and his father replied, 'Anthropologists.' Sturtevant decided then that he would make anthropology his career" (Merrill 11). After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1949, Sturtevant went on to Yale University to complete his graduate work in anthropology. When it came time to decide on what area of North America he should focus his research, one of his faculty members at Yale, Irving Rouse, "suggested he consider the Seminoles of south Florida. By the end of his first fieldwork season, Sturtevant was convinced that the dearth of ethnographic information about these Seminoles and their status as one of the least acculturated of all North American Indian societies justified ethnographic research among them and offered the possibility of making an important contribution to North American ethnology" (Merrill 13). Sturtevant spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 conducting preliminary fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole and in 1952 he took up temporary residence at Big Cypress Reservation to undertake research for his dissertation, "The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices." This work focused on Seminole medicine, but also included Sturtevant's analysis of Seminole worldview, religion, history, inter-ethnic relations, material culture, economy, kinship, language, and social organization.

In 1954, while he was finishing his dissertation, Sturtevant made the transition from student of anthropology to professional anthropologist. He was hired as an instructor in Yale's Anthropology Department and began his career in museum work as an assistant curator of anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum. After receiving his PhD from Yale in 1955, Sturtevant moved on to the Smithsonian Institution, where he accepted a position as a research anthropologist at the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE). This position afforded Sturtevant the chance to continue to explore his many research interests in ways that a full time professorship or museum curatorship could not. Over the next ten years he studied the Catawba in South Carolina; the Seneca and Cayuga nations of the Iroquois League in New York, Oklahoma, and Ontario; continued his work with the Seminole; visited European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture; and spent a year in Burma. In 1963, Sturtevant and his wife, Theda Maw, the daughter of a prominent Burmese family, took their three young children to Burma so that they could visit with Maw's family. Sturtevant took this as an opportunity to branch out from his Native American research and spent the year visiting neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examining archival materials, studying the Burmese language, learning about Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, and taking photographs. He also collected 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian.

When Sturtevant returned from Burma, he found the BAE had been dissolved. In 1965, he was transferred from the now-defunct BAE to the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), where he became curator of North American Ethnology, a position he held for the next forty-two years. During his tenure at NMNH Sturtevant oversaw all the North American ethnology collections, planned exhibitions, served on committees, and sponsored interns and fellows. One of Sturtevant's primary duties at NMNH was serving as the General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, "a major multi-volume reference work summarizing anthropological, linguistic, and historical knowledge about native peoples north of Mexico" (Jackson). Each volume was designed to represent a geographic or topical area of Americanist study. As General Editor, Sturtevant selected volume editors, chapter authors, oversaw office staff, and proofread manuscripts over the course of production.

Besides focusing on the Handbook, much of Sturtevant's time was taken up by responsibilities he held outside the Institution. Sturtevant was extremely involved in professional anthropological associations and held many leadership positions. Fresh out of graduate school, he began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1957. He later became a member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society, served as book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist from 1962-1968, was a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums and was both vice president and president of the committee once it became the Council for Museum Anthropology, was on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives, served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation from 1976-1982 and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986, and sat on the Board of Directors of Survival International from 1982-1988. He was President of the American Society for Ethnohistory, the American Ethnological Society, the American Anthropological Association, and the Anthropological Society of Washington. Sturtevant also taught classes at Johns Hopkins University as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, served as a consultant on exhibits at other museums, and reviewed manuscripts for scholarly publications.

Sturtevant remained active in the profession throughout his later years. After divorcing Theda Maw in 1986, he married Sally McLendon, a fellow anthropologist, in 1990 and they undertook several research projects together. Sturtevant was recognized for his dedication and contributions to the field of anthropology in 1996 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Brown University, and in 2002 when his colleagues published a festschrift in his honor, Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant.

Sturtevant died on March 2, 2007 at the Collingswood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rockville, MD after suffering from emphysema.

Sources Consulted

Estrada, Louie. 2007. William C. Sturtevant; Expert on Indians. Washington Post, March 17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602273.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Jackson, Jason Baird. 2007. William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007). http://museumanthropology.blogspot.com/2007/03/william-c-sturtevant-1926-2007.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Merrill, William L. 2002. William Curtis Sturtevant, Anthropologist. In Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant. William L. Merrill and Ives Goddard, eds. Pp. 11-36. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

1926 -- Born July 26 in Morristown, NJ

1944 -- Entered the University of California at Berkeley as a second-semester freshman

1944 -- Attended summer school at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City where he took courses on Mexican archaeology and South American ethnology

1945 -- Drafted into the United States Navy

1946 -- Received an honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of pharmacist's mate third class and returned to UC Berkeley

1947 -- Attended the University of New Mexico's summer field school in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

1949 -- January: Received his Bachelor's degree with honors in anthropology from UC Berkeley

1949 -- Began graduate studies at Yale University

1950-1951 -- Spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 in Florida conducting fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole

1951 -- Conducted his first research study of the Iroquois, a classification of Seneca musical instruments, their construction and use, with Harold Conklin

1952 -- May: Moved to Big Cypress Reservation in Florida to conduct research for his dissertation. He focused on Seminole medicine, but also collected physical anthropological data such as blood-type frequencies, handedness, and color blindness

1952 -- July 26: Married Theda Maw

1954 -- Hired by Yale University as an instructor in the Department of Anthropology and as an assistant curator of anthropology in the Yale Peabody Museum

1955 -- Received PhD in anthropology from Yale University

1956 -- Joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) as a research anthropologist

1957 -- Began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1957 -- Traveled to Rock Hill, South Carolina to collect linguistic data from Sam Blue, the last member of the Catawba tribe to have maintained some proficiency in the Catawba language. While there, he made a small collection of Catawba pottery for the United States National Museum

1957-1958 -- Spent seven weeks continuing his research among the New York Seneca

1959 -- Returned to Florida to study Seminole ethnobotany. He also collected ethnographic materials, especially objects made for the tourist market, which he deposited in the United States National Museum

1959-1960 -- Member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society

1960 -- July and August: Visited 17 European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture

1961-1962 -- Spent the summers of these years conducting ethnographic fieldwork among the Seneca-Cayuga in Oklahoma

1962 -- October: Visited the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada to conduct fieldwork among the Seneca and Cayuga there

1962-1968 -- Book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist

1963 -- October: Spent the year in Burma; visited neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examined photographs in several archives, studied the Burmese language, and read extensively about the country's history and culture. Assembled notes on Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, took hundreds of photographs, and made a collection of 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian

1964 -- Visited Inle Lake in the Southern Shan States southeast of Mandalay, where he examined local approaches to artificial island agriculture

1964-1981 -- Became a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums, which became the Council for Museum Anthropology in 1974. Sturtevant was the Council's first vice president, serving two terms between 1974 and 1978, and was its president from 1978 to 1981

1965 -- Became curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History after the dissolution of the BAE

1965-1966 -- President of the American Society for Ethnohistory

1966 -- Named the editor of the Handbook of North American Indians

1967-1968 -- Fulbright scholar and lecturer at Oxford University's Institute of Social Anthropology

1969 -- Began serving on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives

1974-1989 -- Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University

1976-1982 -- Served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986

1977 -- President of the American Ethnological Society

1980-1981 -- President of the American Anthropological Association

1981 -- Spent part of the spring semester at the University of California Berkeley as a Regents Lecturer

1982-1988 -- Board of Directors of Survival International

1986 -- Divorced Theda Maw

1986-1987 -- Smithsonian Fellow at Oxford University's Worcester College

1990 -- Married Sally McLendon

1992 -- President of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1996 -- Awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters at Brown University

2007 -- Died March 2 in Rockville, MD
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to William C. Sturtevant at the National Anthropological Archives are included in the following collections:

Manuscript 4504

Manuscript 4595

Manuscript 4806

Manuscript 4821

Manuscript 4972

Manuscript 7045

Photo Lot 59

Photo Lot 79-51

Photo Lot 80-3

Photo Lot 81R

Photo Lot 86-68 (6)

Photo Lot 86-68 (7)

American Society for Ethnohistory records

Committee on Anthropological Research in Museum Records

Handbook of North American Indians records

Records of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History

Gordon Davis Gibson Papers, Sound Recordings

SPC Se Powhatan Confederacy Mattapony BAE No # 01790700

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913800

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913900

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04914000

Negative MNH 1530

Negative MNH 1530 B

Sturtevant is listed as a correspondent in the following NAA collections:

Administrative file, 1949-1965, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology

John Lawrence Angel Papers

James Henri Howard Papers

Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers

John Victor Murra Papers

Records of the Society for American Archaeology

Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers

Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers

Copies of sound recordings made by William C. Sturtevant can be found at The California Language Archive at UC Berkeley in two collections, The William Sturtevant collection of Creek/Seminole sound recordings, which includes 31 minutes of Northern Muskogean linguistic field recordings from 1951, and The William Sturtevant collection of Mikasuki sound recordings, which includes 33 minutes of Mikasuki linguistic field recordings from 1951. Two sound tape reels of Seminole music Sturtevant recorded in Florida in 1951 can be found at Wesleyan University's World Music Archives. Folk songs on these recordings include "Scalping Sickness," "Bear Sickness with blowing," "Bear sickness without blowing," "Lullaby," "Feather Dance," "Snake Dance," and "Crazy Dance." Performers include Josie Billie, Lee Cypress, Harvey Jumper, Boy Jim, Charlie (Johnny?) Cypress, Little Tiger Tail, Billy Ossiola, and Charlie Billy Boy.
Separated Materials:
One video tape, "Seminole History and Tradition", was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. Series 2.2, Tukabahchee Plate: Glass negative of spectrogram from FBI (Box 135), removed for storage with other glass plate negatives.
Provenance:
These papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.
Restrictions:
Files containing Sturtevant's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. Restricted files were separated and placed at the end of their respective series in boxes 87, 264, 322, 389-394, 435-436, 448, 468, and 483. For preservation reasons, his computer files are also restricted. Seminole sound recordings are restricted. Access to the William C. Sturtevant Papers requires an apointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Botany  Search this
Anthropology  Search this
Archaeology  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this
History  Search this
Linguistics  Search this
Genre/Form:
Realia
Research
Notes
Office files
Theses
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings
Exhibition catalogs
Field notes
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Microfilms
Newsletters
Manuscripts
Memorandums
Articles
Card files
Books
Artifacts
Negatives
Citation:
William C. Sturtevant papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.2008-24
See more items in:
William C. Sturtevant papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3b2223e72-e872-41c5-ae7b-abd0b27eaf6a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-2008-24
Online Media:

Guide to the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution / James R. Glenn

Author:
National Anthropological Archives  Search this
Glenn, James R  Search this
Subject:
National Anthropological Archives Catalogs  Search this
Physical description:
xvi, 314 p. ; 28 cm
Type:
Catalogs
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
1992
Topic:
Anthropological archives--Catalogs  Search this
Anthropology--History--Sources--Bibliography--Catalogs  Search this
Photograph collections  Search this
Call number:
Z5119 .N27g 1992
Z5119.N27g 1992
Z1209.N27 1992
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_436930

Creatures of Cain the hunt for human nature in Cold War America Erika Lorraine Milam

Author:
Milam, Erika Lorraine 1974-  Search this
Physical description:
xiii, 398 pages illustrations, map 25 cm
Type:
Books
History
Place:
United States
États-Unis
USA
Date:
2019
20th century
20e siècle
Topic:
Human behavior  Search this
Humanity  Search this
Sociobiology  Search this
Violence--History  Search this
Cold War--Social aspects  Search this
Human evolution  Search this
Evolution (Biology)  Search this
Science--Philosophy  Search this
Philosophical anthropology--History  Search this
Behavior  Search this
Comportement humain  Search this
Humanité (Morale)  Search this
Sociobiologie  Search this
Violence--Histoire  Search this
Guerre froide--Aspect social  Search this
Homme--Évolution  Search this
Anthropologie philosophique--Histoire  Search this
human behavior  Search this
Violence  Search this
Social aspects  Search this
Philosophical anthropology  Search this
Evolution  Search this
Verhalten  Search this
Mensch  Search this
Menschheit  Search this
Forschung  Search this
Darwinismus  Search this
Humanethologie  Search this
Humanität  Search this
Soziobiologie  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1161428

L'art de cour d'Abomey le sens des objets Gaëlle Beaujean

Author:
Beaujean-Baltzer, Gaëlle  Search this
Physical description:
483 pages illustrations (some color) 24 cm
Type:
Books
History
Place:
Benin
Date:
2019
Topic:
Art objects--History  Search this
Art, Beninese--History  Search this
Ceremonial objects  Search this
Anthropology  Search this
Art, Beninese  Search this
Art objects  Search this
Kings and rulers--Art patronage  Search this
Kings and rulers  Search this
Art patronage  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1115677

MS 3619 Listings of research projects and field notes of James Mooney, presumably prepared by himself

Creator:
Mooney, James, 1861-1921  Search this
Extent:
23 Pages
Culture:
Kiowa  Search this
American Indian -- Southern Plains  Search this
Cherokee  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents: "Ethnological Material of James Mooney." Washington, 1894, 13 pages, typed. "Ethnologic Material of James Mooney--Cherokee, South Atlantic, Kiowa and Southern Plains, Synonymy, Miscellaneous." Washington, January, 1903, 10 pages typed.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 3619
Topic:
Anthropology -- History  Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 3619, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS3619
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw303dd956c-9d0a-4c05-8966-ec7c6b8fc668
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms3619
Online Media:

Thomas Dale Stewart Papers

Creator:
Stewart, T. D. (Thomas Dale), 1901-1997  Search this
Names:
American Association of Physical Anthropologists  Search this
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)  Search this
National Geographic Society (U.S.)  Search this
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Anthropology  Search this
Angel, J. Lawrence (John Lawrence)  Search this
Collins, Henry B. (Henry Bascom), 1899-1987  Search this
Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943  Search this
McKern, T. W.  Search this
Extent:
65 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Alaska
Shanidar Cave (Iraq)
Virginia
Maryland
Delaware
Mexico
Peru
Guatemala
Chaco Canyon (N.M.) -- Archeology
Date:
1875-1991, bulk 1931-1991
bulk 1927-1991
Summary:
Thomas Dale Stewart was a physical and forensic anthropologist and worked at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History from 1931 until his death in 1997. He worked under Ales Hrdlicka until 1943, became the head curator in 1960, director of the museum in 1962, and retired in 1971. Stewart's research interests included physical and forensic anthropology and archaeology, mostly in North and South America. He also worked with the F.B.I. frequently to aid in homicide investigations, and worked extensively with the U.S. Army to identify skeletal remains from the Korean War in Operation Glory. The Thomas Dale Stewart Papers primarily deal with his life and career at the Smithsonian, particularly his research projects and publications between 1931 and 1991. Materials consist mainly of correspondence, photographic material, dossiers based on writings and research projects, and administrative files.
Scope and Contents:
The Thomas Dale Stewart Papers document his research and professional activities from 1931 to 1991 and primarily deal with his anthropological and archaeological research in North and South America. There is also significant material related to ancient human skeletal remains found in Egypt and the Middle East, Stewart's work identifying skeletal remains for the U.S. Army (Operation Glory), and the history of physical and forensic anthropology. Material documenting Stewart's work with Ales Hrdlicka and other colleagues are also represented in this collection. The collection consists of correspondence, writings and research files, project data, skeletal data punch cards, photographic and illustration materials, and administrative and financial papers.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 9 series: Series 1. Biographical and Background, 1937-1983; Series 2. Correspondence, 1931-1990; Series 3. Writings and Research, 1875, 1902-1990; Series 4. Operation Glory, 1954-1957; Series 5. Professional Organizations, 1930-1990; Series 6. Trip Files, 1945-1985; Series 7. Teaching and Lectures, 1950-1970; Series 8. Exhibit Material, 1961-1969; Series 9. Photographs, 1928-1979.
Biographical note:
Thomas Dale Stewart was a curator of physical anthropology at the Smithsonian specializing in anthropometry, early man, and forensic anthropology. He worked in the Department of Anthropology for over seventy years. Born in Delta, Pennsylvania in 1901, Stewart moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a degree at George Washington University. While attending school, he also began working at the Smithsonian in 1924 as a temporary substitute for John Baer, a family friend from Delta. After Baer died during conducting research in Panama, Stewart was invited to stay on as assistant to Ales Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthropology. Hrdlicka was impressed by Stewart's abilities and quickly took him on as a student. Promised that he would succeed Hrdlicka one day if he obtained an M.D., Stewart enrolled at The Johns Hopkins University and graduated in 1931. After graduating, Stewart was rehired by the Smithsonian as an assistant curator.

Stewart rose through the ranks of the Department of Anthropology quickly, being promoted to associate curator in 1939 and curator in 1943 after the death of his mentor Hrdlicka. Stewart was appointed head curator of the department in 1960 and director of the Natural History Museum in 1962. He continued to work at the Smithsonian well after he retired in 1971, conducting research and producing a stream of publications well into his 90s. He died in 1997 at the age of 96. Many of Stewart's early research interests matched those of his mentor: a focus on dental caries, separate neural arch and spondylolisthesis, ossuary excavation, cranial deformations, and other examinations of archaeological remains throughout North America. While Hrdlicka was alive, Stewart provided support for many of his research projects and publications. After Hrdlicka died, Stewart expanded his interests to include forensic topics and analysis of other archaeological remains.

Anthropometry was prominent in a great deal of his work. He was the first to describe Tepexpan Man from Mexico and Midland Man from Texas. He also studied the remains of Neanderthal specimens that Ralph S. Solecki, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, had uncovered at Shanidar Cave in Iraq. In forensic work, as Hrdlicka's heir, Stewart assumed work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement officials. Moreover, Stewart devised new methods and published books and articles concerning forensic analysis, including his Essentials of Forensic Anthropology. In closely related work during 1954-1955, the United States Army engaged Stewart to go to Japan to examine skeletal remains repatriated after the Korean War in a project called "Operation Glory."

In terms of his areal specialization, Stewart was essentially an Americanist. In North America, he worked in Alaska with Henry B. Collins in 1927, and in subsequent years he excavated several ossuaries and other sites in the Washington, D.C., vicinity. These included a site on Potomac Creek in Virginia, Piscataway sites in Maryland, and the Townsend site in Delaware. He also carried out laboratory studies and prepared reports on skeletal remains uncovered by Smithsonian colleagues. In the 1940s and 1950s, Stewart conducted field work at archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru.

He was awarded the Viking Medal in Physical Anthropology in 1953, the Joseph Henry Medal of the Smithsonian Institution in 1967, and an award from the physical anthropology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 1981.

Sources: Ubelaker, Douglas H. "Thomas Dale Stewart, A Biographer Memoir," National Academy of Sciences, 2006.

Pace, Eric. "T. Dale Stewart Dies at 96; Anthropologist at Smithsonian," The New York Times, 1997.

Chronology

1901 -- Born in Delta, Pennsylvania.

1922-1927 -- Moved to Washington, D.C. and attended George Washington University.

1924 -- Began working at the Smithsonian Institution.

1927 -- Sent by Ales Hrdlicka to Alaska to collect skeletal remains with Henry Collins.

1931 -- Graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with an M.D.

1931 -- Appointed assistant curator at the Smithsonian under Hrdlicka.

1939 -- Promoted to associate curator.

1939 -- Field work in Mexico.

1941 -- Field work in Peru.

1943 -- Taught at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

1943 -- Promoted to curator after Hrdlicka dies.

1943 -- Began working on forensic cases for the F.B.I.

1945 -- Field work in Mexico.

1949 -- Field work in Peru.

1947, 1949 -- Field work in Guatemala.

1954-1955 -- Traveled to Japan to assist in the identification of skeletal remains from the Korean War (Operation Glory).

1957-1967 -- Taught at the George Washington University School of Medicine.

1960-1962 -- Served as head curator of the Department of Anthropology.

1962-1965 -- Served as the director of the National Museum of Natural History.

1964 -- Assisted in the production of Smithsonian exhibits on physical anthropology.

1966 -- Retired from administrative duties and appointed senior scientist.

1971 -- Retired from the Smithsonian.

1997 -- Died in Bethesda, Maryland.
Related Materials:
The following manuscripts related to Stewart and his work can be found at the NAA:

NAA MS 1615- Excavations in Mancos Canyon, Colorado September 1943.

NAA MS 4669- The Townsend Site Near Lewes, Delaware 1962 by Henri Omwake.

NAA MS 4843- Report by T. Dale Stewart on Human Skeletal Material Excavated by W.M. Walker at Cedar Grove Cave, Arkansas and Natchitoches, Louisiana.

NAA MS 7025- A Tentative Closing Report on the Willin Site, Eldorado, Maryland September 1, 1952.

NAA MS 7121- "Memories from Half a Century at the Smithsonian January 11, 1978" recording.

NAA MS 7223- The Townsend Site January 1950.

NAA MS 7264- Documents Concerning Preserved Paleolithic Human Remains Found in the Vicinity of Cueva, Spain 1969-1972.

NAA MS 7357- Material Relating to Dermatoglyphics of Mayan Groups ca. 1947-1949.

NAA MS 7358- Personal Identification in Mass Disasters December 9-11 1968.

NAA MS 7359- T. Dale Stewart on the Identification of Human Remains April 6, 1970.

NAA MS 7474- Sketches of Burials at Ossuary 2, Juhle Site ca. 1971-1972.

Additional material T. Dale Stewart created while assisting Ales Hrdlicka is located at the National Anthropological Archives, The Papers of Ales Hrdlicka, ca. 1887-1943.

Many objects and artifact materials collected by T. Dale Stewart throughout his career are also held by the Smithsonian Department of Anthropology. These include skeletal remains and other materials from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq, forensic anthropological material including bone casts from Operation Glory, archaelogical materials from excavations in Maryland and Virginia including the Nanjemoy and Potomac Creek sites, and skeletal remains and other related materials from Stewart's 1927 expedition to Alaska with Henry Collins. Contact Anthropological Collections for more information.
Provenance:
Materials were transferred from T. Dale Stewart to the National Anthropological Archives in multiple accretions between 1975 and 2000 under accessions 1981-52, 1981-59, 1986-04, 1988-15, 1988-33, 1995-04, 1998-61, and 2000-46.The bulk of materials in this collection were transferred to the NAA from the Department of Anthropology in 1994 (1995-04).
Restrictions:
The Thomas Dale Stewart papers are open for research.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Physical anthropology  Search this
Operation Glory  Search this
anthropometry  Search this
Physical anthropology -- Eskimo  Search this
Physical anthropology -- American Indian  Search this
Americans  Search this
Aging  Search this
Anthropology -- Exhibits  Search this
Fossil hominids  Search this
Early man -- Neanderthal  Search this
George Washington University  Search this
Forensic anthropology  Search this
Anthropology -- History  Search this
Archaeology  Search this
Physical anthropology -- Early man  Search this
Primates  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Thomas Dale Stewart Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NAA.1988-33
See more items in:
Thomas Dale Stewart Papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw39eaa4784-50aa-40db-84d5-481a455cd42c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1988-33

Alfred Kroeber; a personal configuration

Author:
Kroeber, Theodora  Search this
Physical description:
xi, 292 pages illustrations, portraits 24 cm
Type:
Biography
Biographie
Biographies
collective biographies
Place:
United States
Date:
1970
Topic:
Anthropology--history  Search this
Anthropologists  Search this
Einfluss  Search this
Ethnologie  Search this
Call number:
GN21.K93 K93
GN21.K93K93
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_4624

The origins of cool in postwar America Joel Dinerstein

Author:
Dinerstein, Joel 1958-  Search this
Physical description:
1 online resource (541 pages) illustrations
Type:
Electronic resources
Electronic books
History
Place:
United States
États-Unis
Date:
2017
20th century
20e siècle
1945-1970
Topic:
Popular culture--History  Search this
Cool (The English word)  Search this
Culture populaire--Histoire  Search this
Cool (Le mot anglais)  Search this
POLITICAL SCIENCE--Public Policy--Cultural Policy  Search this
SOCIAL SCIENCE--Anthropology--Cultural  Search this
SOCIAL SCIENCE--Popular Culture  Search this
Manners and customs  Search this
Popular culture  Search this
Social life and customs  Search this
Mœurs et coutumes  Search this
Call number:
E169.12 .D566 2017 (Internet)
Restrictions & Rights:
1-user
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1163007

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By