The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an international membership organization founded in 1934 to advance research and training in archaeology and to promote the conservation of archaeological resources of the Americas. It has published American Antiquity, the premiere journal of archaeology of North America, since its debut volume in 1935, and has hosted its Annual Meeting since that same year. Other areas of activity include the cultivation of professional standards and ethics, promotion of the public's understanding of archaeology, advocacy for Federal legislation protecting archaeological resources, and encouragement of connections between professional and avocational archaeologists. The Society for American Archaeology records contain materials related to the ongoing administration, management, and interests of the SAA through mainly correspondence, reports, research, mailings, financial records, and program planning documents.
Scope and Contents:
The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) records contain administrative and professional correspondence, reports, surveys, publication records, journals, books, member and grant applications, programs, memorandums, contracts, ballots, mailings, research, notes, planning materials, certificates and awards, press releases, financial records, meeting minutes, teaching materials, sound recordings, video recordings, and photographs. These materials relate to a wide range of the SAA's activities including administration and management, finances, publishing, membership, awards, the Annual Meeting, public education, public archaeology, professional standards, government affairs and cultural property law, work with allied organizations, ethics, and special workshops.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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:
The Society for American Archaeology records are arranged into 13 series: 1) Records of the Secretary-Treasurer and Secretary, 1934-1962; 2) Records of the Treasurer, 1935-1950; 3) President's correspondence, 1947-1948; 4) Executive Committee Meeting minutes, 1945-2003; 5) Records of Officers, 1950-2000; 6) Administrative records, 1934-2022; 7) Annual conference, 1935-2020; 8) Public and professional program committees, 1966-2016; 9) Government affairs, 1968-2021; 10)Affiliated and allied organizations, 1968-2005; 11) Special conferences, workshops, and projects, 1974-2006; 12) Published materials, 1983-2007; and 13) Photographs, 1985-2018
Historical note:
The Society for American Archaeology grew out of the Committee on State Archaeological Surveys of the National Research Council's Division of Anthropology and Psychology. Appointed in 1920 to "encourage and assist" eastern and midwestern states in the organization of archaeological surveys, the Committee came to act as a coordinating body and information clearinghouse for archaeologists and government agencies engaged in archaeological field work. The Committee expanded its activities and network through the 1920s but lacked long-term financial support. By 1933 its leaders identified the need for a permanent, independent organization to take up the work of the Committee and address the lack of standards, training, and communication among professional researchers and avocational archaeologists, which they saw as impediments to the preservation of archaeological data. Carl E. Guthe, then Chairman of the Committee, led the work of establishing the new organization.
In 1934, Guthe drafted a constitution and bylaws for the nascent group and distributed the documents among the Committee's network to solicit comments and generate interest among potential members. The Society for American Archaeology was formally established at an "organizational meeting" on December 28, 1934, when attendees approved Guthe's final version of the constitution and bylaws and elected the first cohort of officers: Arthur C. Parker, President; M. R. Harrington, Vice President; Carl E. Guthe, Secretary-Treasurer; W. C. McKern, Editor. In keeping with its goal of bridging the divide between professional and non-professional archaeologists, anyone with an interest in "furthering the objects of the Society" could apply for membership, regardless of professional affiliation.
The SAA is governed by a constitution and bylaws which are voted on by members and implemented by an Executive Committee, referred to as the Council in the early years. The Executive Committee composition has varied through the years. Until the 1960s, most administrative duties were carried out by the Secretary, who assembled the minutes of Executive Committee meetings, circulated background materials among its members, and collected reports from SAA committees. The Secretary's office also acted as a "clearinghouse and advisory center on archaeological matters" for SAA members and the public. Without a true business headquarters, the Secretary's office essentially served as the SAA's central office, with the outgoing Secretaries passing on their files to the incoming Secretaries at the end of their terms.
In the 1960s, SAA began contracting with the business office of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to manage its business operations. That arrangement lasted until the early 1980s, when AAA stopped providing business services to smaller organizations and offered SAA the option to become part of AAA. SAA members voted against merging with AAA, and in 1983 SAA contracted with Bostrom Management to administer its business affairs, an arrangement that included hiring a part-time Executive Director. In 1987, the Executive Committee enlisted a management consultant to conduct a business analysis and identify options for improving SAA's finances and administration. The result of this analysis, referred to as "The Evans Report," was circulated the following year, leading to a major reorganization that would occupy the Executive Committee through the early 1990s. Those efforts ultimately resulted in the establishment of a central office in Washington, D.C., and the hiring of SAA's first full-time Executive Director in 1992. It was during this intense period of reorganization that the structure and governance of SAA began to resemble that of the present day.
Works Consulted:
"Archival Sources Sought." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology 1, no 4 (September 1983): 5. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1983_volume-1/saa-bulletin-1-4_sept.pdf?sfvrsn=d6c0f71a_2
"Articles of Incorporation." SAA Records, Acc 1998-85, Box 4, folder: 1972 (mimeograph from Lehman/AAA) - Final box/folder location TBD. Society for American Archaeology records, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
"The Constitution of the Society for American Archaeology." American Antiquity 1, no. 2 (1935): 146–48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/276027.
"Constitution and By-Laws of the Society for American Archaeology." American Antiquity 13, no. 2 (1947): 198–200. http://www.jstor.org/stable/275700.
Dincauze, Dena F. "Office of the President: 52nd Annual Meeting." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology. 5, no. 3 (July 1987): 1-2. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1987/saa-bulletin-5-3.pdf?sfvrsn=30b9179d_4
Fowler, Don D, and Green, Dee. "Change in SAA Management Announced." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology 1, no 4 (September 1983): 1-4. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1983_volume-1/saa-bulletin-1-4_sept.pdf?sfvrsn=d6c0f71a_2
Goldstein, Lynne. "The Structure of the SAA." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology. 9, no. 8 (June 1988): 8. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1991/saa-bulletin-9-3_june.pdf?sfvrsn=b101aaac_2
Guthe, Carl E. "Prospectus." Department of Anthropology Records. Division of Archaeology. Office Files. Box 14, Museum-Misc. Lists - O. Folder: National Research Council [ca. 1932-1945], folder 2 of 2. Society for American Archaeology records, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Guthe, Carl E. "Reflections on the Founding of the Society for American Archaeology." American Antiquity 32, no. 4 (1967): 433–40. https://doi.org/10.2307/2694072.
O'Brien, Michael J. and Lyman, R. Lee. "Gentle Persuasion: The National Research Council and Southeastern Archaeology." Journal of Alabama Archaeology 46, no. 1 (2000): 1-42. [https://cladistics.coas.missouri.edu/assets/pdf_articles/AlaA46.pdf]
Wendorf, Fred, and Raymond H. Thompson. "The Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains: Three Decades of Service to the Archaeological Profession." American Antiquity 67, no. 2 (2002): 317–30. https://doi.org/10.2307/2694569.
"Society for American Archaeology." American Antiquity 34, no. 4 (1969): 499–506. http://www.jstor.org/stable/277764.
"The Society for American Archaeology Organization Meeting." American Antiquity 1, no. 2 (1935): 141–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/276026.
"Organization of the Society for American Archaeology." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology 9, no. 2 (March 1991): 6. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1991/saa-bulletin-9-2_march.pdf?sfvrsn=75834181_2
Rice, Prudence M. "Surveying the Field." Bulletin of the Society for American Archaeology 10, no. 1 (January 1992): 3-4. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/saa-bulletin/1992/saa-bulletin-10-1.pdf?sfvrsn=d095e8fd_2
List of abbreviations commonly referenced:
Includes abbrevations used throughout the Society for American Archaeology's records.
AAA - American Anthropological Association
AAAS - American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAM - American Alliance of Museums
AAQ - American Antiquity
ACHP - Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
ACOE - Army Corps of Engineers
AFFA - Association for Field Archaeology
AIA - Archaeological Institute of America
AIRFA - American Indian Religious Freedom Act
AM - Annual Meeting
A&PE - Archaeology and Public Education
ARPA - Archaeological Resources Protection Act
BLM - Bureau of Land Management
BOR - Bureau of Reclamation
CCONAS - Coordinating Council of National Archaeological Societies
CEHP - Centre for Environment, Heritage and Policy
CoAS - Council of Affiliated Societies
COPA - Committee on Public Archaeology
COSWA - Committee on the Status of Women in Archaeology
CRM - Cultural Resource Management
DCA - Departmental Consulting Archaeologist
DOI - Department of the Interior
GAC - Government Affairs Committee
ICOMOS - International Council on Monuments and Sites
LAQ - Latin American Antiquity
NCPTT - National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
NCSHPO - National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
NEH - National Endowment for the Humanities
NHPA - National Historic Preservation Act
NPCC -National Preservation Coordinating Council
NPS - National Park Service
NSF - National Science Foundation
OSM - Office of Surface Mining
PEC - Public Education Committee
PMOA - Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement
ROPA - Register of Professional Archaeologists
SAA - Society for American Archaeology
SHA - Society of Historical Archaeology
SOPA - Society of Professional Archaeologists
Chronology:
Includes a concise chronology of SAA events related to the content of this collection.
1920: Committee on State Archaeological Surveys created by NRC/NAS
1934: Society for American Archaeology formally established
1935: First issue of -- American Antiquity
1935: First Annual Meeting of the SAA
1937: Committee on State Archaeological Surveys disbanded
1939: First issue of the -- SAA Notebook -- distributed to membership
1942: Last issue of -- SAA Notebook
1942: Revised and amended constitution, splitting the Secretary-Treasurer into two separate roles, and eliminates Fellow/Affiliate distinction (among other changes) is approved and takes effect.
1943: No Annual Meeting; executive business conducted by mail
1969: Membership applications now handled through the AAA business office rather SAA Secretary
1970: Major revision to constitution
1972: Incorporated in D.C.
1974: The Archeological and Historic Preservation Act (APHA) and "Moss-Bennett Act" passed, with goal of providing federal funding to mitigate destruction of archeological sites in specific circumstances.
1974: Arlie House Seminars held ("Six Seminars on the Future Directions of Archaeology")
1983: Resolved against merger with AAA (aka "the break with AAA")
1983: Change from AAA to Bostrom firm to manage business activities
1983: First issue of -- SAA Bulletin
1985: SAA and SOPA co-host the Conference on Reburial Issues
1988: Evans Report on Management announced
1989: Changes to Articles of Incorporation
1989: New Bylaws adopted that change the organizational structure of SAA
1989: SAA Hosts Anti-Looting Conference in Taos
1990: First issue of -- Latin American Antiquity
1990: Executive Board approves plan to establish in-house admin/operations office
1992: Transition to "independent home office" and hiring of full-time Executive Director
1993: Last year of last term in which Editor of -- American Antiquity -- is an Officer
1997: SAA, SOPA, and Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) approve formation of Register of Professional Archaeologist (ROPA), which begins work in 1998.
1998: Executive Board name change to Board of Directors
2000: Last issue of -- SAA Bulletin
2001: Begin publishing -- The Archaeological Record
Restrictions:
Some material in Subseries 6.6: Membership, is under embargo until 2070. Contact the repository for further information.
Access to the Society for American Archaeology records requires an appointment.
The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.9 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.9 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.
Biographical material consists of awards, biographical notes, membership and identification cards, passports, a will, and a sound recording of a 1945 interview with Liebes.
Correspondence is personal with family and friends, and general with friends and colleagues including artists, and fellow weavers and designers. Notable correspondents include Dorr Bothwell, Daren Pierce, Beatrice Wood, and Frank and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright.
Diaries and calendars record Liebes's busy professional and personal life, with notations on daily activities and, beginning in 1952, detailed notes by staff recording activities at the studio on days when Liebes was absent.
Writings by Dorothy Liebes include notes, drafts, and manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, including an autobiography, speeches, and drafts for an unpublished book on weaving.
Subject files contain correspondence, printed material, photographs, and miscellaneous items in varying combinations, and focus heavily on Liebes's consulting work for businesses in the textile industry, including her work with DuPont, Bigelow-Sanford, Goodall, Dow, and others. The files document the importance of her work as a colorist and show how she successfully adapted craft weaving to machine methods. Furthermore, they record how Liebes used her marketing instincts and broad media appeal to rebrand the image of companies such as DuPont from one of chemistry and utility, to one that represented high style and glamor in durable and practical fabrics that were affordable and desirable in home furnishings. Other subject files document organizations, individuals, and topics of interest to Liebes, including files recording her involvement with arts and crafts organizations, her role as director for the Decorative Arts Display at the Golden Gate Exposition in 1939, her work as director of the Red Cross's Arts and Skills workshop, scattered exhibition records, and files on weavers and weaving. Files on Liebes's extensive promotional work for multiple clients are also included here, as are files documenting Liebes's relationship with Relman Morin, such as correspondence and scattered records of Morin's career as a Pullitzer Prize winning journalist.
Financial and legal records are comprised of accounting records from the 1930s-1940s, financial summaries, investment statements, personal and business inventories, personal and business tax returns, and some legal records.
Printed material includes advertisements, articles, and exhibition announcements and catalogs, recording Liebes's career. This material is supplemented by thirty-three bound scrapbooks of printed publicity material, photographs, and documents recording Liebes's career in substantial depth.
Artwork by Dorothy Liebes consists of designs, feather weavings, a small hooked composition, and tapestry samples. Artwork by others includes prints by Dorr Bothwell, designs by Lawrence J. Colwell, and painted sketches of clothing designs by Daren Pierce. Two linear feet of samples consist primarily of textile swatches primarily designed by Dorothy Liebes Studio, Inc.
Photographic material includes professional portraits of Liebes and others, photos of Liebes at events and parties, with staff and other weavers, at work in her studio, and traveling. Of note are a series of pictures taken at Taliesin West with Frank and Olgivanna Wright, Relman Morin, and others. Photographic material also provides examples of Liebes's design work in homes, hotels, offices, and elsewhere, and shows her work pictured in exhibitions and showrooms. Photographs of other subjects include portraits of unidentified women by Man Ray and Consuela Canaga.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1934-circa 1970 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.28 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1973 (Boxes 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries and Calendars, 1948-1971 (Boxes 2-4; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1920-circa 1971 (Boxes 4-5; 1.05 linear feet)
Series 5: Subject Files, circa 1933-1971 (Boxes 5-13, 20, 43, OVs 23, 59; 8.43 linear feet)
Series 6: Financial and Legal Records, circa 1935-1972 (Box 13, 20; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1897-1971 (Boxes 14, 20-21, OV 38; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1933-1972 (Box 21-22, 24-36; 5 linear feet)
Series 9: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1960s (Boxes 14, 22, OVs 23, 39, 42, RD 37; 1.24 linear feet)
Series 10: Samples, circa 1850-1855, circa 1930s-circa 1970 (Boxes 15-16; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 11: Photographic Material, circa 1875, circa 1897-circa 1970 (Boxes 17-19, 36, 43, OVs 38, 40-41; 2.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
California and New York weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Wright Liebes (1899-1972) was known for distinctive textiles featuring bold color combinations and unusual textures achieved through the use of materials such as glass rods, sequins, bamboo, grass, leather, ribbon, wire, and ticker tape. Her work with companies in the synthetic fiber industry to make craft weaving compatible with man-made fabrics and machine looms, produced an innovative and exciting new aesthetic in interior design that was both functional and affordable, and made Liebes a mid-century household name.
Born Dorothy Wright in Santa Rosa, California, Liebes was the daughter of chemistry professor Frederick L. Wright and teacher Bessie Calderwood Wright. She studied art, education, and anthropology at San Jose State Teachers College and the University of California, Berkeley. During her college years, a teacher encouraged her to experiment with weaving and textile design since many of her paintings resembled textiles.
Liebes was a teacher for several years before deciding to pursue a career in textile design. She then studied weaving at Hull House in Chicago and traveled to France, Italy, Guatemala, and Mexico to learn the traditional weaving forms of those cultures. Upon her return to the United States, Liebes opened her first professional studio for weaving and textile design on Powell Street in San Francisco; Dorothy Liebes Design, Inc. was established in 1934, and eventually employed a staff of weavers. Liebes moved her studio to 545 Sutter Street in 1942.
Her first client in the industry was Goodall-Sanford Mills, with whom Liebes worked as a consultant for more than a decade. As her client base expanded, she decided to open a New York studio and maintained both studios until 1948 when she closed her San Francisco operation and relocated to New York City.
Liebes became a color and design consultant to corporations such as DuPont, Dow, and Bigelow-Sanford and tested and promoted newly developed synthetic fibers. She advised textile chemists in the development of fibers that were versatile enough to produce many different textures and worked with engineers and technicians to develop new machines that could reproduce the irregularities of hand-loomed fabrics. Liebes became a sought-after speaker by textile industry and consumer groups, and sometimes taught workshops on color and design.
Liebes's commissions included the United Nations Delegates Dining Room, the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the King of Saudi Arabia's traveling royal throne room. Between 1937 and 1970, Liebes participated in more than thirty solo and group exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Cranbrook Museum, Detroit Institute of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and other venues. She received prizes and awards from institutions and corporations such as Lord and Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, the Paris Exposition, the American Institute of Decorators, the American Institute of Architects and the Architectural League. She was also awarded the Elsie de Wolfe Award and an honorary degree from Mills College in 1948.
Liebes's other notable activities included her work a director of the Decorative Arts Display for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, which she credited with establishing her as an authority in the field, and her work as organizer and director of "Arts and Skills," a Red Cross occupational therapy project that included training in weaving for soldiers injured in World War II. In the 1950s, she worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, journeying though the southwest to study Indian schools and weaving techniques.
Liebes was married to businessman Leon Liebes from 1928 until their divorce in 1940 and continued to use the name Liebes for the remainder of her life. In 1948, she married Pulitzer prize winning Associated Press special correspondent Relman "Pat" Morin.
During the last year of her life, Dorothy Liebes was semi-retired due to a heart ailment. She died in New York City on 10 September 1972.
Provenance:
Gift of the Estate of Dorothy Liebes through Relman Morin, 1972, and Ralph Higbee, 1973-1974.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Textile designers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Weavers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Weavers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art consultants -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of the Dorothy Liebes papers was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Coby Foundation.
circa 1920–2000, With Information Dating Back to 1481
Summary:
The Knez papers include material concerning many aspects of his career up to the time he retired from the Smithsonian. Of particular strength is the documentation of Asian exhibits, both temporary and permanent ones installed during his time at the Institution. There is also considerable material concerning specimens and collections acquired earlier. Material concerning Knez's work as a field researcher, bibliographer, and editor are also among the papers. After his retirement, Knez became involved in a study of Buddhism among the Tibetans living in India. Copies of film made for this study have been deposited in the Human Studies Film Archives. It should be noted that the papers represent only a portion of the Knez papers, for he has retained some of them.
Scope and Contents:
Knez was not a prolific writer. Though his research encompassed East and Southeast Asia, his field expeditions for collections and his charge to establish the first permanent Asian halls while at the Smithsonian limited his scientific writings to documentation required for Smithsonian exhibitions and his ongoing interest in the material culture of Sam Jong Dong and The Three Ministries, located in the Kimhae region of southeast Korea. To overcome Asian language barriers, Knez had to utilize informants, Korean scholars, and translators in order to carry out his research. The materials that he collected or were forwarded to him about Asia, however, represent an impressive body of information that researchers of Southeast Asia would want to review for general studies. Of special importance would be the information about culture around the South China Sea, and especially studies about Korean and Japanese ethnology and anthropology, the pre-colonial and colonial period, the period right after World War II, the Korean War, and changes in Korean agricultural farming life, from the early 1900s through the 1980s. A knowledge of Chinese calligraphy, Korean Hangul, and pre-World War Two Japanese (Taisho and Showa Periods) are required to understand the complete record documenting Korean history.
These papers contain detailed correspondence and memoranda, documenting Knez's professional life as a curator of anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. Visual images, photographs, slides, videotapes, film, and sound recording as well as research information and correspondence provide a complete record of the exhibitions that Knez established at the Smithsonian. Correspondence, memoranda, and photographs provide a less complete picture of Knez's activities before his appointment as curator. There is a very strong and complete record of his activities while stationed in Korea after World War II and during the Korean War. This material includes correspondence, photographs and film footage. Knez also brought out of Korea photographs that were taken by the Japanese during the colonial period. There is also film footage taken around 1946 on Cheju Island. In addition, there are postcards and photo cards that contain a rich visual image of Korea dating back before the 1920s.
The largest series within these papers contains Knez's material culture research on Korea. This series includes field notes, interviews, transcriptions, correspondence, photographs, publications and translations about Korean history dating back to 1481, Japanese publications and translations regarding anthropomorphic and agricultural studies of Koreans and Korean agricultural life, and Knez's draft publications. There is a large series of photographs and slides documenting Asian art collections as well as Asian cultures. The Knez Papers also includes a phonograph record collection which is not dated and contains Korean and Japanese opera and folk songs. In addition, there is a collection of Confucius teachings, school books, and genealogy written in Chinese calligraphy and Hangul.
The arrangement of these papers and the file folders within the series are not always well ordered. Multiple accessions were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives. Where subject information was the same, folders were filed into existing series developed in the 1970s and 1980s. In similar fashion, individual items that were not within folders were interfiled in existing folders that contained the same information.
The research series (series six), which primarily documents Knez's research activities and information he received or collected on Korea has some provenance. The material was reboxed several times, but there remains segments of information that are completely related. At other times, there is no logical relationship between one group of files and the next. Most of the folders were never dated. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the different periods in Knez's life when he worked on his Korean studies, without going through the entire series. Photographs are not always dated. Only a very small number were used in Knez's 1997 publication (where they are dated), The Modernization of Three Korean villages, 1951-1981 (Smithsonian Institution Press).
Most of the series within these papers contain different aspects of Knez's interest in Asia, and in particular, his focus on Korea. For example, correspondence regarding Knez's activities during his stay in Korea after World War II and during the Korean War will be found in series two, Subject File; photographs documenting the same time period will be found in series six, Research Projects, and series thirteen, Biographical and Autobiographical Material. And, series ten, Motion Picture Film and Sound Recordings, contain visual images of Knez's activities in Korea during 1946, 1950-1951.
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:
The collection is arranged into fourteen (14) series:
SERIES 1.Accession Correspondence and Information and Examination and Reports of Collections, 1959-1977 and undated, with information dating back to 1893, boxes 1-4
SERIES 2.Subject File, 1937-1999 and undated, with information dating back to 1852, boxes 4-32
SERIES 3.Professional and Non-Professional Association Material, 1955-1980, with information dating back to 1896, boxes 33-36
SERIES 4.Exhibitions, 1960-1977 and undated, with information dating back to 1876, boxes 36-43
SERIES 5.Research Grants, 1963-1981 and undated, with information dating back to 1884, boxes 43-46
SERIES 6.Research Projects, 1909, 1929-2000 and undated, with information dating back to 1481, boxes 47-115
SERIES 7.Geographical and Publications Files, 1929-1977 and undated, boxes 116-139
SERIES 8.Korean and Chinese Writings, boxes 140-141
SERIES 9.Collection and Research Photographs, 1946-1977 and undated, boxes 142-161
SERIES 10.Motion Picture Film and Sound Recordings, 1946-1978 and undated, boxes 162-164
SERIES 11.Phonograph Recordings, 1959- and undated, with recordings possibly dating back to the 1940s, boxes 165-170
SERIES 12.Invitations and Greetings, box 171
SERIES 13.Biographical and Autobiographical Material, Family Photographs, and Notes, circa 1920s-1997 and undated, boxes 172-174
SERIES 14.Oversize, 1952-1971 and undated, box 175 and oversize map case drawers
Biographical / Historical:
Eugene I. Knez was born Eugene Irving Knezevich on May 12, 1916, in Clinton, Indiana, where he graduated from high school in 1935. His mother and father, Ida and Sam Knezevich, were divorced in 1932, and in 1936, his mother married Edward P. Pearson. The family moved to California where Knez enrolled in pre-medical studies at Los Angeles City College. Knez transferred to the University of New Mexico (UNM), but before completing his studies, returned to Indiana to be with his father, who was ill. There, Knez enrolled at Indiana University. Since Indiana University did not offer courses in anthropology, Knez took classes in sociology and psychology so that he could fulfill the requirements of UNM. Upon completion of his course work at Indiana University, UNM awarded Knez a B.A. in 1941.
While attending the University of New Mexico, Knez was primarily interested in the Native American Indian. During the summer of 1939 he was appointed Park Ranger-Historian in the National Park Service at Coolidge, Arizona. When he returned to Indiana to be with his father, Knez found a summer job as an assistant to a psychologist, who was testing inmates at the Indiana State Farm.
Knez was drafted as a private in the United States Army in 1941. He was promoted to sergeant in 1942 and during that same year was selected for Officer's Candidate School. Knez graduated OCS as a second lieutenant. Knez was trained and later moved into personnel classification and assignment sections in various divisions before and during World War II. In 1945, he was promoted to captain while in a combat support unit on Saipan.
At the end of the war Knez was assigned to Korea. This assignment began a pivotal sequence of events in his life. With his background in anthropology, Knez was placed in charge of the Army's Bureau of Culture, National Department of Education, United States Military Government in Korea headquartered in Seoul. His responsibilities included the restoration of cultural and religious activities, including museums. At the Bureau, Knez developed a sensitivity towards Korea and her people in the aftermath of Japanese colonialism. Knez undertook the restoration of Admiral Yi's large inscribed boulder and a Buddhist pagoda that had been partially dismantled by the Japanese. He established The National Museum of Anthropology (which became the National Folk Museum). In 1946 Knez sponsored an expedition to Cheju Island to collect ethnographic artifacts and record music for the Museum. During that year he also received permission to excavate two royal Silla Tombs at Kyonju with staff from the National Museum of Korea (NMK). This was the beginning of an endearing association with Korea and her people, which culminated in Knez receiving the award of The Order of Cultural Merit (gold medal) in 1995 from the Republic of Korea.
Knez was discharged from the United States Army in 1946. From 1947 to 1948, he attended Yale University as a research assistant in anthropology and worked at the Peabody Museum. He then joined the federal government and from 1949 to 1953 Knez served as a Cultural Affairs and Public Affairs officer at the American embassies in Korea and Japan. From 1949 to 1951, Knez was chief of Branch Operations, United States Information Agency, first headquartered in Seoul and then moving from Seoul to Pusan with the invasion by North Korea.
During his assignment in Korea, Knez undertook several major activities that had a profound effect on his life. With the approaching North Korean forces getting ready to invade Seoul for the second time, Kim, Chewon, director of the National Museum of Korea, approached Knez and made a personal request to help save the Museum's treasures. Though Knez was a war time member of the American Embassy he undertook the task without receiving official permission. He coordinated the movement of the Museum and Yi dynasty collections and some of the Museum staff by having them shipped by railroad boxcar from Seoul to Pusan.
During the fighting Knez began his ethnographic material culture research at Sam Jong Dong in the Kimhae region north of Pusan. When it appeared in 1951 that the United Nations was losing the war, Knez received permission to spend two months of his home leave to stay in Korea to continue his research. This study was to continue into the 1990s.
While in Pusan, Knez recommended that two dinners be held to help the morale of Korea's cultural leaders, those who were refugees from Seoul. One dinner was to be for the older generation and the second for younger Korean scholars and members of the cultural community. At the second dinner, Knez met his future bride, Choi, Jiae, a highly regarded Korean actress.
During 1951, Knez was transferred to Tokyo as Policy and Program officer for the United States Information Agency. In 1952 he was assigned as the USIA regional Public Affairs officer in Fukuoka.
In 1953, Knez left the USIA and joined the staff at Hunter College, located in the Bronx, New York, first as a lecturer and then as an instructor. While teaching at Hunter, Knez attended graduate school at Syracuse University. In 1959, he received a Doctor of Social Science Degree in anthropology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Knez's thesis was Sam Jong Dong: A South Korean Village. During the school year 1968-1969, the Maxwell School went from awarding the D.S.Sc. degree to the Ph.D. In 1970, Knez successfully petitioned the School to have his degree changed.
In 1959, Knez was appointed Associate Curator of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He was given the responsibility for Asian ethnology and was assigned the task of establishing the first permanent Asian exhibitions in two halls at the United States National Museum (later, the National Museum of Natural History). At the time, the Asian collections available for the halls were poor or non-existent. Knez began his first of several field expeditions to augment the Museum's artifact and cultural collections. Almost all of the Asian exhibitions that he planned had to have collections taken directly from the field.
The first permanent exhibition was opened in 1961 and contained information on the South Asian World in Miniature, India and Pakistan. During the year two more exhibitions were completed, documenting India, Pakistan, and Thailand. In 1962, Knez completed fifteen more exhibitions; he completed eight in 1963 and 1964; one in 1965; and one in 1967. The themes for the exhibitions included China, Japan, Iran, Korea, Tibet, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan, India, East Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Islam, and Buddhism.
From 1963 through 1973, Knez put together additional temporary exhibitions, which included themes on Korea, China, India, Japan, Bhutan, and acquisitions of Hindu and Buddhist sculpture. In 1967, Knez provided the objects and created the documentation for the United States Department of State exhibition honoring the visit of the King and Queen of Thailand. Knez developed an exhibition about Korea, which went on display between 1977 and 1979 and was coordinated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Knez retired from the Smithsonian in November 1978 and was appointed Anthropologist Emeritus in 1979. Knez moved to Hawaii and developed ties with the University of Hawaii as a visiting scholar at the Center for Korean Studies. Knez continued his research on the Kimhae region, and in 1993, published his revised, The Modernization of Three Korean Villages, 1951-81: an Illustrated study of a people and their material culture.
May 12, 1916 -- Born
1935 -- Graduated High School
1941 -- Drafted, Private, United States Army B.A., University of New Mexico
1942 -- Officer's Candidate School, 2nd Lieutenant, United States Army
1945 -- Promoted to Captain, United States Army
1945-1946 -- United States Army, In charge, Bureau of Culture, National Department of Education, Seoul, Korea
1946 -- Excavation, National Museum of Korea, Royal Silla Tomb, Kyongju Ethnographic and Geographic Survey, National Folk Museum of Anthropology, Korea, Cheju Island
August 1946 -- Honorable Discharge, United States Army
1947-1948 -- Yale University, Peabody Museum, Research Assistant in Anthropology
1947 -- Study of American Indian Shaker cult, Washington State Museum, Seattle
1949 -- Changed Name from Knezevich to Knez
1949-1951 -- Wartime Center Director, United States Information Service, Pusan, Korea
1951 -- Shipment of National Museum of Korea Collections and Staff from Seoul to Pusan
1951-1952 -- Ethnographic Study of Kimhae Area, Korea, towards a dissertation
1952-1976 -- United States Army Reserve (retired as Full Colonel)
1953-1959 -- Lecturer and Instructor, Hunter College, New York
1959 -- Fellow, American Anthropological Association D.S.S.C. (later, Ph.D.) Syracuse University Anthropologist, Smithsonian Institution
1961-1962 -- Overseas Collecting Trips to Asia
1961 -- First Asian Exhibition Installation
1962 -- Letter of Appreciation, Republic of Korea
1965 -- Smithsonian Special Act (Development of Asian Collections) Award
1966 -- Member of the United States Museums Advisory Delegation Planning Meeting for the Establishment of a Korean National Science Museum Center, Seoul
1970 -- Award, Korean Village Study, Smithsonian Institution, Secretary's Fund
1971 -- Exhibition, A Korean Village: Its Changing Culture, which was later adapted as a traveling exhibition in the United States and Canada
1974 -- Exhibition, Bhutan: The Land of Dragons
1975 -- Invited Participant, Pakistan-Sind Government International Seminar
1977 -- Exhibition, Arms and Armor of Japan
1978 -- Retired, Smithsonian Institution Fellow, The Explorers Club, New York
1979 -- Anthropologist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution Award, Himalayan Project, Tibetan Buddhism and Its Role in Society and State, National Endowment for the Humanities, which led to a publication by Knez with Franz Michael
1981 -- Award, Fulbright Senior Scholar, Korea, Council for International Exchange of Scholars
1995 -- Presentation of The Order of Culture Merit (Gold Medal), Republic of Korea
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez photographs and sound recordings relating to Tibetan Buddhism in northeastern India (NAA.PhotoLot.80-13).
Separated Materials:
The motion picture film was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives in 2002 (HSFA.2002.09).
Provenance:
Most of the papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Dr. Knez in 1978. There have been additional accretions since then.
Restrictions:
The Eugene Irving Knez papers are open for research.
Access to the Eugene Irving Knez papers requires an appointment.
Leaf out of a newspaper describing a Rosebud Indian Land Sale held on December 5, 1929. This was found inside a Sioux Tobacco bag made sometime between 1880 and 1890. The bag has catalog number 26/5468 (265468) and can be found in NMAI's ethnographic collections. It was then used as inspiration for a lithographic print "Trust and Loss" by Dyani White Hawk Polk. The print is now in NMAI's modern and contemporary arts collection with catalog number 26/9784 (269784).
Provenance:
The tobacco bag was given to William J. Sheehan (Director of the Defense Department Office of Economic Adjustment) by McCarthy Nowlin (Deputy Directory of the Defense Department Office of Economic Adjustment) in the 1970s; given to NMAI by William J. Sheehan's wife, Kathleen Sheehan, in 2005, on behalf of William J. Sheehan, McCarthy Nowlin, and herself.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); General Manuscripts and Ephemera collections, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
