The papers of Neil Merton Judd, archeologist and curator in the Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum, were deposited in the National Anthropological Archives at various times during the 1960's and 1970's. Much of Judd's own material was produced as part of his official duties and lie within the public domain. The collection occupies fourteen linear feet of shelf space.
Scope and Contents:
These papers reflect the professional life of Neil Merton Judd (1887-1976), archeologist and curator in the former United States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Included are diaries of expeditions, correspondence, field notes, notes, financial records, copies of historical documents, maps, drawings, photographs, and other documents that cover the period from the 1870s to the 1970s. Most of the material, however, is dated between 1907 and 1965.
Of primary concern is Judd's archeological work in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, especially at Pueblo Bonito and other sites in the area of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, which he carried out for the National Geographic Society between 1920 and 1927. Appreciable material concerns the so-called Beam expeditions of 1923, 1928, and 1929 to locate study of tree-rings. Other documents relate to Judd's work in San Juan country, Utah; at Paragonah and other sites in southern Utah; and on the Walhalla Plateau in Arizona. Some correspondences, which Judd carried on with William B. Marye between 1932 and 1949, concern Indian bridges in Maryland and nearby states.
Several other expeditions of which Judd was a member are documented among the papers solely or primarily through photographs. There is little material that reflects Judd's personal life, daily curatorial duties at the United States National Museum, work at Rito de los Frijoles with Edgar L. Hewett in 1910, expedition to Guatemala in 1914, or aerial surveys of old canals in Arizona during the 1929-30.
Among correspondents whose letters are included among the papers are Glover M. Allen, Monroe Amsden, Bryant Bannister, James F. Breazeale, Harold S. Colton, Kenneth J. Conant, Fredrick V. Coville, Richard E. Dodge, Harold S. Gladwin, Gilbert Grosvernor, Edgar L. Hewett, Frederick Webb Hodge, William H. Jackson, Jean A. Jeancon, John O. La Gorce, Frank McNitt, Sylvanus G. Morley, Earl H. Morris, Nels C. Nelson, Jesse L. Nusbaum, Deric O'Bryan, George H. Pepper, Frederick Wilson Popenoe, Frank H. H. Roberts, Karl Ruppert, Carl S. Scofield, Hugh L. Scott, Harry L. Shapiro, Anna O. Shepard, Alfred M. Tozzer, and Clark Wissler. In addition to his own material, Judd also acquired some material from members of his expeditions, especially from Frans Blom, Karl Ruppert, and Oscar B. Walsh. He also collected historical documents and photographs. Among these are copies of documents relating to southwestern archeological explorations of the naturalist Edward Palmer. He also acquired photographs by Walter Hough made in Arizona between 1904 and 1920., photographs taken on the Hyde Exploring Expedition to Chaco Canyon, and miscellaneous photographs made on expeditions of William H. Jackson, Edgar A. Mearns, and others.
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:
To a degree, the arrangement of the collection is Judd's own. The series titles in quotation marks are Judd's own.
"Pueblo Bonito File"
Chaco Canyon Notes, Notebooks, and Note Cards
Material Relating to Judd's Bureau of American Ethnology Expeditions between 1915 and 1920
"Utah File"
Material Concerning Edward Palmer
Correspondence with William B. Marye
Miscellaneous Correspondence
Manuscripts of Writings
Miscellany
Cartographic Material
Artwork and Photographic Enlargements
Photographs
Biographical Note:
Note: Biographical data and a bibliography of Judd's writings are in the series of miscellany among his papers. For an obituary, see Waldo R. Wedel, "Neil Merton Judd, 1887-1976." American Antiquity, volume 43, number 3 (July 1978), pages 399-404, and J. O. Brew, "Neil Merton Judd, 1887-1976." American Anthropologist, volume 80, number 2 (June 1978), pages 352-54. An obituary prepared by Judd is among the papers.
October 27, 1887 -- Born in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska
1907-08 -- Public school teacher in Utah
1907 -- Student archeologist on Byron Cummings' reconnaissance of White Canyon, Utah
1908 -- Student archeologist on Cummings' reconnaissance of Montezuma Canyon, Utah, and Segi Valley, Arizona.
1909 -- Student archeologist on Cummings' reconnaissance of Segi Valley, Arizona, and the Cummings- Douglass expedition to Rainbow Natural Bridge.
1910 -- Student assistant to Edgar L. Hewett on the Archeological Institute of America's expedition to El Rito del los Frijoles, New Mexico
1911 -- Bachelor of Arts, University of Utah
1911-1917 -- Aid, Division of Ethnology, United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution
1913 -- Master of Arts, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
1914 -- Member, Archeological Institute's Fourth Quirigua Expedition to Guatemala; supervised the fabrication of a reproduction model of ruins for the Pacific-California International Exposition, San Diego
1915 -- Archeological reconnaissance of Indian mounds in and near Willard, Beaver City, Paragonah, St. George, Kanab, and Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and "Spanish Diggings" flint quarries in Wyoming for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1916 -- Reconnaissance and excavations of Indian mounds near Paragonah and in Willard County, Utah, for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1916-18 -- Treasurer, American Anthropological Association
1917 -- Director, project for partial restoration of Betatakin ruin, Arizona, for the United States Department of the Interior, and the excavations at Paragonah, Utah, for the Smithsonian and University of Utah
1918 -- Archeological reconnaissance of the Walhalla Plateau, Arizona, for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1918-19 -- Assistant Curator, Department of Anthropology, United States National Museum
1919 -- Archeological investigations in Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1919-30 -- Curator, American Archeology, Division of Archeology, Department of Anthropology, United States National Museum
1920 -- Archeological investigations at Toroweap Valley, Mt. Trumbull, Pariah Plateau, House Rock Valley, Bright Angel Creak, Cottonwood Canyon, and Kanab Creek in Utah and Arizona for the Bureau of American Ethnology and reconnaissance of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, for the National Geographic Society
1920-23 -- Vice President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1921-27 -- Investigations of Pueblo Bonito and nearby ruins in New Mexico for the National Geographic Society
1923 -- Led first Beam expedition to sites in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, and carried out explorations in San Juan County, Utah, for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society
1925-27 -- Member, Board of Managers, Washington Academy of Science, and President, Anthropological Society of Washington
1925-28 -- Member, Division of Anthropology and Psychology, National Research Council
1926 -- Archeological Observations North of the Rio Colorado, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 82, 1926
1927-36 -- Trustee, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1928 -- Investigations of Indian burials in rock shelter, Wolf Creek, Russell County, Kentucky, for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1929 -- Led Third Beam Expedition to sites in Arizona for the National Geographic Society and reconnaissance of the prehistoric canals in the Gila River and Salt River valleys for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1930 -- Aerial surveys of ancient canals in the Gila River and Salt River valleys for the Bureau of American Ethnology and the United States Department of War
1930-49 -- Curator, Archeology, United States National Museum
1931 -- Investigations on the Natanes Plateau, Arizona, for the Bureau of American Ethnology
1931-32 -- Member, Division of Anthropology and Psychology, National Research Council (second time)
1935 -- Smithsonian Institution's delegate to the second assembly, Pan-American Institute of Geography and History
1936-48 -- Advisory Board, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1937-39 -- Member, Division of Anthropology and Psychology, National Research Council (third time)
1938 -- Married Anne Sarah MacKay
1938-40 -- Member, Board of Managers, Washington Academy of Science
1939 -- President, Society for American Archaeology, and Vice President and Chairman, Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1945 -- President, American Anthropological Association
December 31, 1949 -- Retired from the staff of the United States National Museum
January 1, 1950 -- Honorary Associate in Anthropology of the Smithsonian Institution
1953 -- Awarded the Franklin L. Burr Award of the National Geographic Society
1954 -- The Material Culture of Pueblo Bonito, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 125
1958 -- Awarded Certificate of Award of the Smithsonian Institution
1959 -- Pueblo Del Arroyo, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 138, number 1
1962 -- Awarded the Franklin L. Burr Award of the National Geographic Society (second time)
1964 -- The Architecture of Pueblo Bonito, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 147, number 1
1965 -- Awarded the Alfred Vincent Kidder Award of the American Anthropological Association
1966 -- Awarded Special Award of the United States Department of the Interior
1967 -- The Bureau of American Ethnology: A Partial History, University of Oklahoma Press
1968 -- Men met along the Trail: Adventures in Archeology, University of Oklahoma Press
December 19, 1976 -- Died
Related Materials:
Additional material in the National Anthropological Archives that relates to Judd can be found among the correspondence files of the Bureau of American Ethnology; files of the Department of Anthropology of the United States National Museum, especially those of the Division of Archeology; papers of Frank H.H. Roberts; papers of William B. Marye; American Antiquities permits records of the Anthropological Society of Washington; papers of John P. Harrington; papers of Frank M. Setzler; papers of Henry B. Collins; and records of the American Anthropological Association. Additional photographs that relate to the expeditions of which Judd was a member are in the cataloged and the uncataloged photographs. For example, negatives and other photographic material of the aerial surveys of ancient canals in the Gila River and Salt River valleys in Arizona are NAA photographic lot 3.
Restrictions:
The Neil Merton Judd papers are open for research.
Access to the Neil Merton Judd papers requires an appointment.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
Collection Rights:
Reel 3417 (art works): Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Jean Reasoner Plunket. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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Collection Citation:
Abbott Handerson Thayer and Thayer Family papers, 1851-1999 (bulk 1881-1950). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
Allen, Glover M. 1914. "Notes on the birds and mammals of the Arctic coast of East Siberia, Mammals." Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club, 5 49–66.
