Includes letters from Sir Arthur Keith; D.M. White, American Consular Service in Java; Arthur Smith-Woodward; and Breuil as well as a map of early man sites.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Aleš Hrdlička papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The Repatriation Office, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, provided funds for the arrangement and description of the Aleš Hrdlička papers
Charts of demographic information, anthropometric data, early man sites, and other physical anthropological information.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Aleš Hrdlička papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The Repatriation Office, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, provided funds for the arrangement and description of the Aleš Hrdlička papers
The papers of Lawrence Oschinsky primarily document his research and professional activities from 1940s-1965 as an American physical anthropologist, but include some personal materials as well. The collection contains his published works, dissertations, field notes, correspondence, teaching materials, and many photographs depicting both his personal travels and his research subjects in the Canadian Arctic, Africa, Asia, and other regions.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Lawrence Oschinsky primarily document his professional life and research on the racial affinities and evolutionary characteristics of various peoples. The collection contains his published works, dissertations, field notes, correspondence, teaching materials, and many photographs depicting both his personal travels and his research subjects in the Canadian Arctic, Africa, Asia, and other regions.
Arrangement:
The Lawrence Oschinsky papers are organized into 9 series:
Series 1: Personal Information and Effects
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Education
Series 4: Research and Notes
Series 5: Published Works
Series 6: Writings
Series 7: Teaching Materials
Series 8: Photographs
Series 9: Motion picture film
Biographical / Historical:
Lawrence Oschinsky was born on April 19, 1921, to Lea Pollak Oschinsky and John Oschinsky in New York City. He received his B.A. degree from Brooklyn College in 1943, where he was first drawn to anthropology. In 1947 he received his master's degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, with the thesis entitled "Islam in Chicago: Being a Study of the Acculturation of a Muslim Palestinian Community in That City." He attended the University of Zurich from 1947-1950 pursuing graduate coursework in anthropology.
From 1950-1951 he was instructor of anatomy at Makerere College Medical School, in Kampala Uganda, studying the racial affinities of various African tribes. From 1951-1952 he was a Research Student at the University of Cambridge, England. He returned to the University of Zurich in 1952 and received his PhD in Anthropology. His doctoral dissertation, published in 1953, was entitled "The Racial Affinities of the Baganda and Other Bantu Tribes of British East Africa." In October 1953, Oschinsky returned to the United States and began his teaching and research career as an Instructor in Physical Anthropology at the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He also acted as research assistant to Dr. Wilton M. Krogman, Professor of Physical Anthropology, and took anthropometric measurements of school children for Krogman's child growth research program.
Concurrently, Oschinsky cooperated with police and other agencies in the forensic identification of unknown human remains and cases of disputed paternity. Toward the end of 1953, he obtained a position as a Research Scholar in Physical Anthropology at the United States Educational Foundation in Burma. He spent a year studying the peoples of Burma in relation to those of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaya, and the Philippines. From 1956-1957, he was an Instructor in Anatomy at Howard University Medical School in Washington, DC. During 1957-1958, he was Visiting Lecturer in Physical Anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson. In 1958, Oschinsky was offered the position of Curator of Physical Anthropology at the National Museum of Canada, in Ottawa, where he devoted himself to an intensive study of the museum's osteological collections. In 1962 he became a part-time instructor in Physical Anthropology at St. Patrick's College, University of Ottawa. In July 1963, Oschinsky became Assistant Professor, and later Associate Professor of Physical Anthropology, University of Toronto, where he taught for the rest of his career. He died on December 19, 1965.
Oschinsky wrote several scientific papers during these years, culminating in 1964 with the monograph The Most Ancient Eskimos: The Eskimo Affinities of Dorset Culture Skeletal Remains.. In this book, Oschinsky explored Eskimo prehistory via skeletal specimens.
Chronology
1921 April 19 -- Born in New York City, NY
1939-1943 -- Bachelor of Arts, Brooklyn College
1943-1947 -- Masters in Anthropology, University of Chicago
1947-1950 -- Graduate Coursework in Anthropology, University of Zurich
1950-1951 -- Anatomy instructor; studied racial affinities of African tribes, Makerere College Medical School, Uganda
1951-1952 -- Research student, University of Cambridge, England
1952-53 -- PhD in Physical Anthropology, University of Zurich
1953 -- Worked with police and other agencies in the forensic identification of unknown human remains and cases of disputed paternity
1953-1954 -- Instructor, Physical Anthropology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Research assistant to Dr. Wilton M. Krogman; took anthropometric measurements of schoolchildren for Krogman's child growth research program.
1954-1955 -- Research scholar in Physical Anthropology, United States Educational Foundation, Burma (currently Myanmar)
1956-1957 -- Instructor in Anatomy, Howard University Medical School, Washington, D.C.
1957-1958 -- Visiting Lecturer in Physical Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson
1958-1963 -- Curator of Physical Anthropology, National Museum of Canada, Ottawa
1962 -- Part-time instructor in Physical Anthropology, St. Patrick's College, University of Ottawa
1963-1965 -- Assistant Professor of Physical Anthropology, University of Toronto
1964 -- Published monograph, The Most Ancient Eskimos: The Eskimo Affinities of Dorset Culture Skeletal Remains
1965 December 19 -- Died in Toronto, Ontario
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological archives holds the records of the Wilton M. Krogman Center for Research in Child Growth and Development.
Separated Materials:
Oschinsky's measuring instruments and a number of dental casts were transferred to the biological anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Lawrence Oschinsky's nephew, Scott Fuller, in 2016.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Access to the Lawrence Oschinsky papers requires an appointment.
Frank Spencer was a historian of biological anthropology who began his career as a medical laboratory technician. His papers include correspondence, manuscripts, notes, research files, teaching materials, photographs, and audiotapes. Spencer's research on the Piltdown hoax as well as the Piltdown research of Ian Langham, whose work Spencer continued after his death in 1984, and Spencer's research on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička for his dissertation are both represented in the collection.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the research and professional activities of anthropologist Frank Spencer through his correspondence, manuscripts, notes, research files, teaching materials, photographs, and audiotapes. As a historian of physical anthropology, Spencer did a great deal of archival research. Well-represented in the collection is Spencer's research on the Piltdown hoax as well as the Piltdown research of Ian Langham, whose work Spencer continued after Langham's death in 1984. Among the materials collected are negatives of Piltdown-related papers and negatives of Sir Arthur Keith's papers held at the Royal College of Surgeons. Spencer, who theorized that Keith was behind the Piltdown hoax, had organized his papers with a grant from Wenner-Gren. Also represented in the collection is Spencer's research on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička for his dissertation. Although most of Hrdlička's papers and photos that Spencer collected are copies of materials held at the National Anthropological Archives (NAA), the collection does contain original correspondence between Hrdlička and his first wife, Marie Strickler; his childhood report card from 1869; and copies of family photos obtained from Lucy Miller, Hrdlička's niece. The collection also contains an audio recording of Hrdlička speaking at Wistar Institute. Spencer's 1975 taped interviews with Henry Collins, Harry Shapiro, Ashley Montagu, and Lucille St. Hoyme can also be found in the collection. Other projects represented in the collection include A History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence, and Fallen Idols, Spencer's unpublished book on the history of scientific attitudes towards human origins. In addition, the collection contains copies of Physical Anthropology News, which Spencer co-founded and edited. Photos in the collection include images of Frank Spencer as well as of the 1981 and 1988 annual meetings of the Association of American Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) and the 1980 symposium Spencer and Noel T. Boaz organized on the history of American physical anthropology.
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.
Frank Spencer was born in Chatham, England, on May 1, 1941. Best known as a historian of biological anthropology and for his book Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery (1990), Spencer began his career as a medical laboratory technician, publishing two books on medical laboratory procedures in 1970 and 1972. He immigrated to Canada, where he earned his BA in anthropology at the University of Windsor in Ontario in 1973. The following year, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with C. Loring Brace as his advisor. Spencer wrote his dissertation on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička and was awarded his PhD in biological anthropology in 1979. That same year he joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Queens College as an assistant professor and was soon promoted to department chair in 1984. Over the course of his career, he wrote and edited several books on the history of physical anthropology including A History of Physical Anthropology, 1930-1980 (1992), The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence (1984), Ecce Homo: An Annotated Bibliographic History of Physical Anthropology (1986), and History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia (1997). Spencer was also a co-founder and editor of the Physical Anthropology News bulletins. It was his book Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery, however, that garnered him the most attention. In this book, he theorized that the well-respected Sir Arthur Keith master-minded the Piltdown hoax. On May 30, 1999 Frank Spencer died of cancer at the age of 58.
1941 -- Born on May 1 in Chatham, Kent, England
1964 -- Obtained Associate diploma in Clinical Microbiology, [Britain], Institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences
1966 -- Fellowship diploma in Clinical Parasitology
1971 -- Advanced diploma in Clinical Biochemistry & Microbiology, Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Technology
1973 -- BA (Anthropology) University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1974 -- MA (Biological Anthropology) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1976-1977 -- Adjunct Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Windsor
1979 -- PhD, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, "Biological Anthropology, Aleš Hrdlička, MD (1869-1943): A Chronicle of the Life and Work of an American Physical Anthropologist"
1979-1982 -- Hired as Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College
1982 -- Published A History of American Physical Anthropology, 1930-1980
1983 -- Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College
1984 -- Published The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence
1986 -- Full professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College Published Ecce Homo: An Annotated Bibliographic History of Physical Anthropology
1990 -- Published Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery Published The Piltdown Papers 1908-1955: The Correspondence and Other Documents Relating to the Forgery
1997 -- Published The History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia
1999 -- Passed away on May 30 of cancer
Related Materials:
Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Provenance:
Donated in 2002 by Elena Peters-Spencer, wife of Frank Spencer.
Restrictions:
To protect the privacy of individuals, some materials have been separated and access to them has been restricted.
Access to the Frank Spencer papers requires and appointment.
Blackwater Locality No. 1; a stratified early man site in eastern New Mexico, by James J. Hester. With selections by Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr. and Roald Fryxell
