This series, dated 1971-2007 and undated, consists of materials relating to Ortner's professional activities. These include notes, correspondence, drafts, newsclippings, photographs, and computer disks.
Subseries 6.1, Lectures, conferences, symposia, 1975-1986 and undated, includes Ortner's notes and research materials for these lectures or talks at conferences. Ortner's lecture addressing science and culture in modern society was for the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program in 1984. The research materials that accompany Ortner's notes for his lecture on science and religion follow the controversy and lawsuit over the National Museum of Natural History's exhibit on evolution, which opened in 1979. The materials from the Smithsonian's Seventh International Symposium, How Humans Adapt: A Biocultural Odyssey include files from Ortner's participation in the 1981 symposium. Drafts, book reviews, and public relations materials for the book that accompanied the symposium, which Ortner edited, are also included.
Subseries 6.2, Forensic work, 2002, 2007, includes correspondence, notes, photographs, CD-Roms, and floppy discs relating to forensic cases from outside agencies on which Ortner was asked to collaborate. In these cases Ortner used remains to determine cause of death, verify identity, or provide other information for the case.
Subseries 6.3 Other professional activities, 1971-2005, includes NMNH Research Associate Rebecca Ferrell's NIH grant proposal for a project titled "The Biology of Striae of Retzius in Human Tooth Enamel" that Ortner supervised in 2005; case reports Ortner organized and edited for the Paleopathology Newsletter; workshops he organized for the annual meetings of the Paleopathology Association from 1997-2002; and Ortner's short-courses in paleopathology. The material from the short-courses in paleopathology includes planning and correspondence from when they were offered as a lecture series at the Smithsonian Institution with Walter G. J. Putschar during the years 1971-1974 and 1985. The file also includes short-courses at the University of Bradford during the years 1988, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005.
Subseries 6.4 Photographs, 1960s-2000s, includes slides, negatives, and prints depicting professional events, such as conferences and awards ceremonies; Ortner at work in his office or lab with colleagues and interns; and a few prints of unidentified specimens. Notable people included in these images are Thomas Dale Stewart and John Lawrence Angel. Also included are negatives of photographic portraits of children, probably Ortner's.
This series is arranged in 4 subseries: 6.1 Lectures, conferences, symposia, 1975-1986, undated; 6.2 Forensic work, 2002, 2007; 6.3 Other professional activities, 1971-2005; 6.4 Photographs, 1960s-2000s.
Restrictions:
The floppy discs and CD-Roms are restricted for preservation reasons.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
