The Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers consist of correspondence, field project data, manuscripts, and teaching notes documenting his work at the University of Michigan, University of California Santa Barbara, the National Science Foundation, and field work at the Arzberger Site and Agattu.
Scope and Contents:
The Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers consist of correspondence, field project data, manuscripts, and teaching notes documenting his work at the University of Michigan, University of California Santa Barbara, the National Science Foundation, and field work at the Arzberger Site and Agattu. Although it has been noted that there are significant and inexplicable lucunae in Spaulding's papers, they nevertheless touch on most phases of his professional life. There is, however, relatively little field material.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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:
1. Correspondence, 1948-1982; 2. manuscript of Spaulding writings; 3. material concerning students; 4. site reports and field project data; 4. material regarding conferences and committees; 6. material related to work as National Science Foundation archeology program director; 7. student notebooks and dissertation; 8. material regarding the Arzberger site; 9. administrative material regarding the University of Michigan; 10. academic papers collected by Spaulding, teaching aids, and lecture notes; 11. Philip C. Phillips and Gordon R. Willey file; 12. James A. Ford file; 13. correspondence regarding publications; 14. miscellany; 15. photographs
Biographical note:
Albert C. Spaulding was trained at Montana State University (B.A. in economics, 1935), the University of Michigan (M.A. in ahthropology, 1937), and Columbia University (Ph.D., 1946). In 1946-1947, he taught at the University of Kansas and was an assistant curator at the university's Museum of Anthropology. From 1947-1961, he taught at the University of Michigan and was curator of that university's Museum of Anthropology. In 1959-1961, Spaulding was first program director for the History and Philosophy of Science Program of the National Science Foundation and the NAS program director for anthropology. In 1963-1966, he was professor and chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Oregon. In 1967-1971, he became dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara and continued at that institution as professor of anthropology until 1983. Spaulding served the Society for Amercian Archeology as associate editor, secretary, vice president, and president. In 1964, he was vice president for Section H of American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Although Spaulding carried out several significant field projects, he is best rememberd for his theoretical and methodological concerns. In relating his first archeological field work, he declared: "My fundamental interest at the time (and now) was clarification of the basic concepts of archeology, which led me into explicit definitions of archaeological problems in terms of relationship between or among well-defined variables." Spaulding produced many articles and book reviews in which he dealt with such problems. Some of the best-known appeared in the pages of American Antiquity in 1953 and 1954 when be debated James A. Ford in general terms concerning teh most productive methods of archeology in general and the nature of archeological types and methods of defining them in particular. Because of his espousal of rigor in method, Spaulding is considered on of the main forerunners of the "new archeology" of the 1960s. For his work, he received the SAA distinguished Service Award in 1981.
Restrictions:
The Albert Clanton Spaulding papers are open for research.
Access to the Albert Clanton Spaulding papers requires an appointment.
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.
This collection consists of the records of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) and documents the activities of the officers of SAA and the editors of the journal American Antiquity. Materials include minutes, correspondence, reports, newsletters, financial records, memorandums, contracts and journals.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the records of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) and documents the activities of the officers of SAA and the editors of the journal American Antiquity. Materials include minutes, correspondence, reports, newsletters, financial records, memorandums, contracts and journals.
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:
Portions of this collection are unprocessed. Please contact the repository for further information.
Earlier accessions, containing records dating from 1935-1985, have been arranged in the following proposed series: (1) Records of the secretary-treasurer, 1935-1947; (2) treasurer's records, 1935-1950; (3) executive committee meeting minutes, 1961-1978; (4) records concerning annual meetings, 1935-1978; (5) records concerning nominations and elections, 1971-1978; (6) secretary's general correspondence, 1968-1978; (7) secretary's correspondence with SAA presidents, 1970-1978; (8) correspondence with affiliated organizations, 1968-1976; (9) secretary's subject files, undated; (10) records relating to committees, undated; (11) records relating to constitutional revision, undated; (12) copies of legislation; resolutions, undated; (13) antiquities actions, 1970-1976; (14) financial statements and treasurer's correspondence with the secretary, 1968-1977: (15) membership records, 1970-1977; (16) records concerning publications, 1970-1977; (17) field school lists, 1968-1979; (18) indexes and other compilations regarding executive committee and annual meeting actions; (19) executive committee meeting minutes, 1945-1976; (20) records concerning publications, 1970-1977; (21) field school lists, 1968-1979; (22) indexes and other compilations regarding executive committee and annual meeting actions; (23) executive committee meeting minutes, 1945-1978, 1980; (24) material relating to executive committee and annual meetings, including some reports, 1978-1983; (25) secretary's subject file, ca.1967-1983; (26) procedural materials; (27) material relating to proposals from and contract with management firm, 1983; (28) printed and processed material; (29) chairperson's records of the Committee on the Status of Women in Archaeology; (30) Fred Wendorf's files, 1972-1981; (31) records of the Committee on Public Archaeology, 1969-1981; (32) videocasettes and photographs, 1985; (33) editor's files; (34) Don D. Fowlers files; and (35) materials relating to American Antiquity.
Historical note:
The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an international organization with over 7,000 members. Founded in 1934, the SAA is "dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas."
Restrictions:
Some material may be restricted. Contact the repository for further information.
Access to the Society for American Archaeology records requires an appointment.
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
District of Columbia -- Piney Branch Quarry -- Archeology
Date:
1872-1920 assembled May 7th, 1932."
Scope and Contents:
The Story of the Human Race. Notes for Lecture. 1916. (Sketches Nos. I and IX Missing) 2. Bearing of Archeological Evidence on the Place of Origin and on the Question of the Unity or Plurality of the American Race. 1912. 3. Art in Stone. Lithic Art in History. 4. Stone Age Among Eastern and Northern Tribes. 5. The Place of Archeology in Human History. 1915. 6. American Archeology. Prepared for the International Cyclopedia. 1913. 7. Dr. Holmesʹ Letter to Colonel Sherrill, April 29, 1925 concerning erection of bronze copy of the Piney Branch Quarry group. One illustration. 8. The Great Lesson of the Quarry Shops. 9. The End of Paleolithic Man in America, 1889-1894.
10. America and the Far East. 11. Paper on trans-oceanic contacts. (First six pages of this article missing.) 12. The American Man and his Culture. 13. Handbook of Aboriginal American Antiquities. Preface and table of Contents. (Volume left unfinished with Mr. Judd, Bulletin 60, pt. 2)
14. Report to Dr. Langley suggesting archeological explorations. 1904. 15. The Story of our Local Aborigines, Historic and Prehistoric. (Lecture for museum course, 1918-19.) 16. Sites of Aboriginal Occupation. (Local) 17. On the Race History and Facial Characteristics of the Aboriginal Americans. (Taken from Art and Archeology, and incomplete.) 18. An Adventure with the Indians. 1875. 19. Letter of W. H. Jackson to W. H. Holmes, Fort Defiance, Arizona Territory, April 27, 1877. Re issue of cattle to the Navajo Indians and other matters. -- Miscellaneous scraps.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4695
Local Note:
Photographs filed separately; see separate catalog entry under Photos, 4695 (part).
Kintigh, Keith W., Altschul, Jeffrey H., Beaudry, Mary C., Drennan, Robert D., Kinzig, Ann P., Kohler, Timothy A., Limp, W. Frederick, Maschner, Herbert D. G., Michener, William K., Pauketat, Timothy R., Peregrine, Peter, Sabloff, Jeremy A., Wilkinson, Tony J., Wright, Henry T., and Zeder, Melinda A. 2014. "Grand Challenges for Archaeology." American Antiquity, 79, (1) 5–24. https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.79.1.5.
To a considerable degree, the James H. Howard papers consist of manuscript copies of articles, book, speeches, and reviews that document his professional work in anthropology, ethnology, ethnohistory, archeology, linguistics, musicology, and folklore between 1950 and 1982. Among these are a few unpublished items. Notes are relatively scant, there being somewhat appreciable materials for the Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Dakota, Omaha, Ponca, Seminole, and Shawnee. The chief field materials represented in the collection are sound recordings and photographs, but many of the latter are yet to be unidentified. A series of color photographs of Indian artifacts in folders are mostly identified and represent the extensive American Indian Cultural collection of costumes and artifacts that Howard acquired and created. Other documents include copies of papers and other research materials of colleagues. There is very little original material related to archeological work in the collection and that which is present concerns contract work for the Lone State Steel Company.
Scope and Contents:
The James Henri Howard papers document his research and professional activities from 1949-1982 and primarily deal with his work as an anthropologist, archeologist, and ethnologist, studying Native American languages & cultures. The collection consists of Series 1 correspondence; Series 2 writings and research, which consists of subject files (language and culture research materials), manuscripts, research proposals, Indian claim case materials, Howard's publications, publications of others, and bibliographical materials; Series 3 sound recordings of Native American music and dance; Series 4 photographs; and Series 5 drawings and artwork.
Howard was also a linguist, musicologist, and folklorist, as well as an informed and able practitioner in the fields of dance and handicrafts. His notable books include Choctaw Music and Dance; Oklahoma Seminoles: Medicines, Magic, and Religion; and Shawnee! The Ceremonialism of a Native American Tribe and its Cultural Background.
Some materials are oversize, specifically these three Winter Count items: 1. a Dakota Winter Count made of cloth in 1953 at the request of James H. Howard, 2. a drawing of British Museum Winter Count on 4 sheets of paper, and 3. Photographs of a Winter Count.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 5 series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1960-1982, undated; Series 2. Writings and Research, 1824-1992; Series 3. Sound Recordings, 1960-1979; Series 4. Photographs, 1879-1985; Series 5. Drawings and Artwork, 1928-1982.
Chronology:
1925 -- James Henri Howard was born on September 10 in Redfield, South Dakota.
1949 -- Received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska.
1950 -- Received his Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska and began a prolific record of publishing.
1950-1953 -- Began his first professional employment as an archaeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum in Bismarck.
1955-1957 -- Was a museum lecturer at the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum.
1957 -- James H. Howard received his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys in the summer.
1957-1963 -- Taught anthropology at the University of North Dakota.
1962 -- Chief archeologist at the Fortress of Louisberg Archeological Project in Nova Scotia.
1963-1968 -- Taught anthropology at the University of South Dakota; State Archeologist of South Dakota; Director of the W. H. Over Dakota Museum.
1963-1966 -- Director of the Institute of Indian Studies, University of South Dakota.
1968-1982 -- Associate professor of anthropology at Oklahoma State University at Stillwater (became a full professor in 1971).
1979 -- Consulted for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
1982 -- Died October 1 after a brief illness.
Biographical/Historical note:
James H. Howard was trained in anthropology at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1949; M.A., 1950) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D., 1957). In 1950-1953, he served as archeologist and preparator at the North Dakota State Historical Museum; and, in 1955-1957, he was on the staff of the Kansas City (Missouri) Museum. During the summer of 1957, he joined the staff of the Smithsonian's River Basin Surveys. Between 1957 and 1963, he taught anthropology at the Universtity of North Dakota. Between 1963 and 1968, he served in several capacities with the University of South Dakota including assistant and associate professor, director of the Institute of Indian Studies (1963-1966), and Director of the W.H. Over Museum (1963-1968). In 1968, he joined the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, where he achieved the rank of professor in 1970. In 1979, he was a consultant for exhibitions at the Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
Howard's abiding interest were the people of North America, whom he studied both as an ethnologist and archeologist. Between 1949 and 1982, he worked with the Ponca, Omaha, Yankton and Yaktonai Dakota, Yamasee, Plains Ojibwa (or Bungi), Delaware, Seneca-Cayuga, Prairie Potatwatomi of Kansas, Mississipi and Oklahoma Choctaw, Oklahoma Seminole, and Pawnee. His interest in these people varied from group to group. With some he carried out general culture studies; with other, special studies of such phenomena as ceremonies, art, dance, and music. For some, he was interest in environmental adaptation and land use, the latter particularly for the Pawnee, Yankton Dakota, Plains Ojibwa, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Ponca, for which he served as consultant and expert witness in suits brought before the United Stated Indian Claims Commisssion. A long-time museum man, Howard was also interested in items of Indian dress, articles associated with ceremonies, and other artifacts. He was "a thoroughgoing participant-observer and was a member of the Ponca Hethuska Society, a sharer in ceremonial activities of many Plains tribes, and a first-rate 'powwow man'." (American Anthropologist 1986, 88:692).
As an archeologist, Howard worked at Like-a-Fishhook Village in North Dakota, Spawn Mound and other sites in South Dakota, Gavin Point in Nebraska and South Dakota, Weston and Hogshooter sites in Oklahoma, and the Fortess of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. He also conducted surveys for the Lone Star Steel Company in Haskall, Latimer, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties in Oklahoma.
Related Materials:
Howard's American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts, that he acquired and created during his lifetime, is currently located at the Milwaukee Public Museum. In Boxes 19-21 of the James Henri Howard Papers, there are photographs with accompanying captions and descriptions in binders of his American Indian Cultural Collection of Costumes and Artifacts that his widow, Elfriede Heinze Howard, created in order to sell the collection to a museum.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by James Henri Howard's wife,
Elfriede Heinz Howard, in 1988-1990, 1992, & 1994.
Restrictions:
The James Henri Howard papers are open for research.
Access to the James Henri Howard papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
University of Chicago -- archeological expeditions Search this
Extent:
3 Linear feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
South Dakota -- Fort Randall Reservoir -- archeology
Illinois -- Fulton County -- archeology
Illinois -- Massac County -- Kinkaid Site -- archeology
Colorado -- Lawry Ruin -- archeology
North Dakota -- Heart Butte Reservoir -- archeology
Date:
1909-1962
Scope and Contents:
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of archaeologist Paul Lemen Cooper, who conducted extensive field work in Nebraska, the Dakotas, and the Missouri River Basin. Included are correspondence, field notes, survey forms, published writings, photographs, maps, research materials, and clippings from periodicals, as well as various personal documents. Though the collection spans Cooper's entire life, the majority of the papers focus on his work as archaeologist and field director of the Missouri Basin Project (a division of the River Basin Survey).
A significant portion of the correspondence and River Basin Survey files are duplicates created through reflex copying, a process that creates a negative copy. These materials are consequently difficult to read.
Please note that the collection contains images of human remains.
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:
Collection is arranged into the following series: 1. Correspondence, 1933-1960 (bulk 1950-1953); 2. Research, 1946-1954; 3. Writings, 1950-1958; 4. Personal, 1909-1962 (bulk 1938-1954); 5.Photographs, circa 1950s.
Biographical Note:
Paul Lemen Cooper was born February 11, 1909 in Cuba City, Wisconsin. Shortly after receiving his B. A. in sociology and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in 1931, Cooper traveled to the Southwest as part of an archaeological expedition from the Field Museum of Natural History. This experience piqued his interest in archaeology, and for the next two decades he would spend at least a portion of each year conducting field work.
During the 1930s Cooper's field research was largely conducted in Illinois, the Tennessee Valley, and Nebraska. He specifically worked as an archaeologist with the Nebraska State Historical Society under the direction of A. T. Hill, with whom he collaborated on several publications. It was also at this time that Cooper developed the site numbering system still used in archaeology today. In addition, Cooper also worked for a time as a graduate assistant in the Anthropology Department at the University of Nebraska.
In 1938, Cooper was designated the Supervisor and State Director of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Archaeological, Paleontological and Museum Project. It was here that he gained the necessary skills to create an adequate laboratory and administration with a limited budget, skills that would become necessary in later field research. After three years with the WPA, Cooper returned to school. He worked as an assistant at Columbia University, while completing coursework towards a Ph.D. At the same time, Cooper also acted as editorial assistant for the Society for American Archaeology.
From 1946 to 1954 Cooper devoted the majority of his time to the Missouri Basin Project of the River Basin Survey (RBS) in Lincoln, Nebraska. A large portion of his research and publications reflect his work in this particular area. From 1950 to 1952, Cooper was the Field Director of the Missouri Basin Project under the Director of the RBS, Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. Despite some minor problems Cooper faced with personnel, he was able to appraise entire sites on the basis of a limited collection, as well as work proficiently on a small budget.
Cooper spent the last few years of his life in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, working with the firm of Robert G. Cooper and Associates. He passed away on April 14, 1961, at the age of 52.
Sources Consulted: Kivett, Marvin, F. 1962. Paul Lemen Cooper 1909-1961. American Antiquity 27(4): 571-572.
Selected Bibliography
1936 -- Archaeology of Certain Sites in Cedar County, Nebraska. Chapters in Nebraska Archaeology 1(1): 5-145.
1937 -- with A. T. Hill. The Schrader, Champe, and Fremont I Sites. Nebraska History Magazine 17(4): 221-292.
1938 -- with A. T. Hill. The Archaeological Campaign of 1937. Nebraska History Magazine 18(4): 237-359.
1940 -- Report of Explorations. Nebraska History Magazine 20(2): 94-151.
1946 -- The Institute Explores the Norton Site. Cranbrook Institute of Science News Letter 15(6):71-73.
1949 -- Recent Investigations in Fort Randall and Oahe Reservoirs, South Dakota. American Antiquity 14(4): 300-310 An Archaeological Survey of the Fort Randall Reservoir, South Dakota. Proceedings of the Fifth Plains Conference for Archaeology, University of Nebraska Laboratory of Anthropology, Note Book 1.
1955 -- The Archaeological and Paleontological Salvage Program in the Missouri Basin, 1950-1951. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 126(2).
1958 -- Archaeological Investigations in the Heart Butte Reservoir area, North Dakota. River Basin Surveys Papers No. 9, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 169: 1-40.
Chronology
1909 -- Born February 11 in Cuba City, Wisconsin
1931 -- Works in the Southwest as a member of the archaeological expedition from the Field Museum of Natural History Receives B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in Sociology and Anthropology
1933-1935 -- Conducts field research in Illinois
1934 -- Graduate assistant in Anthropology at the University of Nebraska
1936-1938 -- Serves as archaeologist for the Nebraska State Historical Society, where he originates the site numbering system
1938-1941 -- Supervisor and State Director of the WPA Archaeological, Paleontological and Museum Project
1941-1944 -- Acts as an assistant in Anthropology at Columbia University while completing his Ph.D.
1943-1946 -- Editorial Assistant for the Society of American Archaeology
1946-1955 -- Archaeologist with the Missouri Basin Project of the River Basin Survey in Lincoln, Nebraska
1950-1952 -- Acts as Field Director to the Missouri Basin Project
1955-1961 -- Associated with the firm of Robert G. Cooper Associates of Rice Lake, Wisconsin
1961 -- Dies on April 14 at the age of 52
Related Collections:
Other materials relating to Paul Lemen Cooper at the National Anthropological Archives can be found in the William Duncan Strong papers, the Frederick Johnson papers, Manuscript 4846, the Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the River Basin Surveys Records.
Restrictions:
The Paul Lemen Coopers papers are open for research.
Access to the Paul Lemen Cooper papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Citation:
Paul Lemen Cooper papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
