Saville, Marshall H. (Marshall Howard), 1867-1935 Search this
Pepper, George H. (George Hubbard), 1873-1924 Search this
Saville, Foster H. (Foster Harmon), 1874-1942 Search this
Extent:
526 Negatives (photographic) (526 glass plate negatives, black and white)
51 Photographic prints (black and white)
2 Lantern slides (black and white, color)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Photographic prints
Lantern slides
Place:
Honduras -- Archeology
Sigsig (Ecuador : Canton)
Jamaica -- Archeology
Costa Rica -- Archeology
East Hampton (N.Y.)
Cuba -- archeology
Belize
Mexico -- Archeology
Guatemala
Colombia
Panama -- archeology
Date:
1901-1922
bulk 1907-1918
Summary:
Photographs and glass plate negatives documenting the various archaeological expeditions of all three Savilles. The bulk of the images concern the activities headed by Marshall Saville (and assisted by Foster and Randolph) in both South and Central America. Included to a lesser degree are the explorations of Foster in North America and Randolph in the Caribbean, South and Central America. Images document archaeological digs, their settings, the peoples encountered, as well as the objects found. The dates of the images found in this collection and taken by the various Savilles during their numerous expeditions are as follows (the photographer(s) attributed to photographs taken during a specific expedition is/are listed in parentheses following the country of the specific expedition) : 1891: Honduras (Marshall), 1900-1902: Mexico (Marshall), 1907: Cuba (Marshall), 1907: Ecuador (Marshall, Foster, Randolph), 1915: Honduras (Marshall), 1915: Cuba, Jamaica, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala (Randolph), 1914-1916: Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica (Marshall, Foster, Randolph), 1918: Pantigo site, Easthampton, Long Island, New York (Foster), 1922: Photographic portrait of Marshall
Arrangement note:
negatives: organized in boxes; arranged numerically by image number
prints: organized in folders; arranged numerically by image number
Biographical/Historical note:
American archaeologist Marshall H. Saville (1867-1935), after having studied anthropology at Harvard, began his work in Mesoamerica and Central America under the auspice of the Peabody and its director and his mentor, Frederic W. Putnam, who acted concurrently as the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He became the first curator of the Mexican and Central American Archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History. He started conducting archaeological excavations and fieldwork in Mitla, Xoxocotlán, Monte Albán (Oaxaca); Xochicalco, (Morelos) in Mexico from 1897 to 1904, excavating at sites such as Xoxocotlán in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and at the San Lorenzo Olmec site. He made substantive contributions to the knowledge regarding Aztec, Maya and Olmec cultures. In 1903, Saville joined the faculty at Columbia University for which he worked until his retirement in 1932. With the patronage and participation of George G. Heye, he headed various digs in Ecuador starting in 1907, focusing particularly on cultures in the Manabi and Sigsig provinces. Among those accompanying him in this investigation in Ecuador were George G. Pepper of the Museum of the American Indian in New York, his brother Foster H. Saville (1874-1942), whose personal work concentrated on the North American Woodlands cultures of Long Island (Pantigo) and the Northeast Coast (Connecticut and Rhode Island). His son Randolph M.(H.?) Saville also accompanied them. From 1915-1918, Marshall (and Randolph) explored and excavated in Central America (Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala), Cuba and in South America (Ecuador, Colombia). Both Marshall (1918-1932) and Foster Saville were eventually employed as MAI staff.
Restrictions:
Researchers must contact the NMAI Archives for an appointment to access the collection
