Interview of Waldo R. Wedel conducted by Larry D. Banks and Douglas Givens on June 17, 1996 in Boulder, Colorado. The interview was conducted at Wedel's nursing home, a couple of months before he died.This interview is part of a series of oral histories of archaeologists recorded by Givens. Topics include Wedel's youth, career, fieldwork, colleagues, the Smithsonian Institution, and the River Basin Surveys.
Biographical / Historical:
Waldo R. Wedel was an archaeologist, best known for his contributions to Plains archaeology. He worked at the Smithsonian Institution from 1936 to 1977. He began his career at the Smithsonian as an assistant curator under Neil M. Judd in the Division of Archeology in the United States National Museum. He later became curator of archeology in 1950, and in 1962, he became head curator of the Department of Anthropology. In 1964-1965, he was acting head of the newly organized Smithsonian Office of Anthropology. Wedel also established and directed the Missouri Basin Project (1946-50) of the Bureau of American Ethnology's River Basin Surveys.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2011-29
General:
Date on box insert incorrectly listed as July 18, 1996.
Other Archival Materials:
See also Waldo R. Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers
Università di Firenze. Museo di storia naturale Search this
Extent:
3 mounted composite prints (probably platinum)
Culture:
Mexica (Aztec) (archaeological culture) Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1905-1906
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs depicting Aztec atlatls in the Museo Nazionale di Antropologia e Etnologia of the Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Universita degli Studi of Florence, Italy, and the Museo Kircheriano in Rome. Complete images of each atlatl were made by combining multiple prints. There are also extracts from Bushnell's article about the objects, "Two Ancient Mexican Atlatls," American Anthropologist, vol. 8 (1906), pages 218-221.
Biographical/Historical note:
David Ives Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941) was educated in St. Louis, Missouri, and in Europe before joining his first anthropological expedition to northern Minnesota in 1899. From 1901-1904, he worked as an archaeological assistant at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University and continued his studies in anthropology. In addition to excavations and studies, Bushnell went to Europe in 1904 and documented North American ethnographic material held in collections and museums there. The Smithsonian hired him as a contributor to the Handbook of American Indians (1907) before appointing him editor for the Bureau of American Ethnology (1912-1921).
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-35, USNM ACC 55031
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Surveys, reports, data and notes by Bushnell held in National Anthropological Archives MS 3433, MS 2255, MS 3434, MS 4098, MS 7138, MS 4109, MS 2126, and MS 4494.
Photographs by Bushnell held in National Anthropological Archives Photo lot 141B, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 2522-c, and the BAE historical negatives.
Correspondence from Bushnell can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the Henry Bascom Collins, Jr. Papers, John P. Harrington Papers, Ales Hrdlicka Papers, Bureau of American Ethnology records, and MS 4210.
The Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary holds the David Ives Bushnell, Jr. Papers, 1797-1941 and the Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University holds the Bushnell, David Ives, Jr. (1875-1941) collection records, as well as his large painting and artifact collection.
Photographs of drawings made by Rudolph Friederich Kurz in his diary while traveling to the western fur trading posts on the Mississippi and upper Missouri Rivers (1846-1852). Most of the drawings depict Native Americans, horses, artifacts, forts, and landscapes. The photographs were made or collected by David I. Bushnell in Berne, Switzerland, and are mounted for publication, probably in BAE Bulletin 115.
Biographical/Historical note:
Rudolf Friedrich Kurz (1818-1871) was born to a successful Swiss banker and developed his painting skills through extensive studies in Bern and Paris. Inspired by the works of George Catlin, Kurz traveled to the United States in 1846 to visit the Native Americans living on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. He documented this expedition through text and sketches in his journals, which were later published. In 1852, Kurz returned to Bern, where he taught art until his death in 1871.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 2522-c
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives also holds Bushnell's transcription of Kurz's journal (MS 2522-a), Myris Jarrell's translation of the journal (MS 2522-b), and related notes (MS 2522-d).
Contained in:
Numbered manuscripts 1850s-1980s (some earlier)
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 2522-c, Photographs of Rudolph Friedrich Kurz drawings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photographs made by David I. Bushnell during visits to the Etruscan sites of Sovana and Castellina del Chianti in Italy. The photographs document artifacts, a columbarium, the excavation of a temple, and nearby towns and scenery.
Biographical/Historical note:
David Ives Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941) was educated in St. Louis, Missouri, and Europe before traveling to northern Minnesota in 1899 on his first anthropological expedition. From 1901-1904, he worked as an archaeological assistant at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University and continued his studies in anthropology. Bushnell lived in Europe from 1904-1907, documenting North American ethnographic material held in museums and private collections. Upon his return to the United States, Bushnell was hired as a contributor for the Smithsonian's Handbook of American Indians (1907) and was later appointed editor of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1912-1921).
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 141B
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photographs by Bushnell are held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 14, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 2522-c, Photo Lot 80-35, Photo Lot 78, and the BAE historical negatives.
Surveys, reports, data and notes by Bushnell are held in National Anthropological Archives MS 3433, MS 2255, MS 3434, MS 4098, MS 7138, MS 4109, MS 2126, and MS 4494.
Correspondence from Bushnell can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the Henry Bascom Collins, Jr. Papers, John P. Harrington Papers, Ales Hrdlicka Papers, Bureau of American Ethnology records, and MS 4210.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo lot 141B, David Ives Bushnell photographs relating to Etruscan sites in Italy, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Sheets
Place:
Unalaska (Alaska)
Date:
1778
Scope and Contents:
Includes the following: Plate 38, A man of Nootka Sound; Plate 39, A woman of Nootka Sound; Plate 40, Various articles, at Nootka Sound; Plate 41, A view of the habitation in Nootka Sound; Plate 42, The inside of a house of Nootka Sound; Plate 45, A view of Snug Corner Cove, in Prince William's Sound; Plate 46, A man of Prince William's Sound; Plate 47, A woman of Prince William's Sound; Plate 48, A man of Oonalashka; Plate 49, A woman of Oonalashka; Plate 50, Canoes of Oonalashka; Plate 52, Sea horses; Plate 54, Inhabitants of Norton Sound and their habitations; Plate 56, Caps of the natives of Oonalashka; Plate 57, Native of Oonalashka and their habitations; Plate 58, The inside of a house, in Oonalashka
Indians of North America -- Southern States Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents: Letter of John Walker [to Edmund Jennings] concerning Lamhatty, a Tawasa Indian refugee, enclosing a vocabulary obtained from him. January 16, 1707/8. Photostat copy of Autograph letter signed and A. enclosure in Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia. 2 pages. Letter of John Walker [to Edmund Jennings] concerning military commissions. June 12, 1707. Photostat copy of Autograph letter signed in Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia. 1 page. Letter of Fairfax Harrison to D. I. Bushnell, Jr. enclosing transcripts of these two letters and a brief biographical note on John Walker. August 10, 1928. Typescript letter signed. 1 page. Enclosures: Typescript Document with A. notations. 3 pages.
Indians of North America -- Southern States Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Page proof of Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 48, 1909, with 7 page manuscript notes added by author during visit to Louisiana in January and February, 1910.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4494
Citation:
Manuscript 4494, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Watercolors
Lithographs
Engravings
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents: Package 1 Folio-size engravings, after drawings by John Webber, 1778,, published in Captain James Cook's Voyages. 16 prints. Copy negatives made for all. See Smithsonian Institution Negative Numbers 44,242; A-Q. Package 2 Vue prise de bords de l'Ohio et du Scioto, dans la Nouvelle Amerique. View on banks of the Ohio. Water color. Dessiens de Sauvages de Plusieurs Nations, New Orleans, 1735. Balbahachas. Mississippi or River St Louis. Photostat (?) of drawing by Du Pratz. For data, see Bushnell, SMC 80:5 or Bureau of American Ethnology copy negative 2860-zz-6. Indians and squaws of Lower Canada- Montreal. Color lithograph. C. Krieghoff, artist. Hee-o-kun, the Running Fox [Keokuk ?], Chief of Sacs and Foxes. Water color, copy by ? , from ? Mah-to-toh-pa, Chief of the Mandans. Water color. Copy by ? from Catlin ?
Indians of North America -- Southern States Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
May, 6, 1909
Scope and Contents:
1) Extract fom the Daily Picayune concerns the Chitimachas. 2) Descripcion Historica de la Louisiana, por de Jose de Gabriel y Estenos, Feniente Coronel, del Real Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Ejercito, 1806.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1628
Citation:
Manuscript 1628, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Bushnell, David I., Jr. (David Ives), 1875-1941 Search this
Extent:
5 Boxes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
catalogued 1911-15
Scope and Contents:
Circular requested information on prehistoric Indian sites in the U.S. later referred to by D. L. Bushnell, Jr. for use in proposed "Handbook of Aboriginal Remains East of the Mississippi.
Correspondence arranged by state (boxes 1-5). Also includes partial manuscript of the handbook and miscellaneous minor manuscripts (box 5), there are also illustrations arranged by state (box 6).
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2619-a
Other Archival Materials:
See also MS 4098 and 7138. Circulars can also be found in MS 2400.
Holmes, J. H. H. (Joseph Henry Hendon) Search this
Collector:
Bushnell, David I., Jr. (David Ives), 1875-1941 Search this
Extent:
162 Pages
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
1803; 1820-
Scope and Contents:
Contents: British Guiana: Localities,= Letter I, page 1 to 41. Boundaries, Rivers, Lakes, etc.= Letter II, pages 42-75. Berbice Letter III, Pages 76-101. Indians, etc. Letter IIII, pages 101-120. Indian poisons Letter V, pages 121-137. Indian dwellings, colonial maladies. Letter VI, pages 138-162. List of words and sentences of the Caribs and Arrowauks, and their meaning in English. "Indian Language, inserted 2 p." pages. Report on Slave Trade, entitled "Negroes", 25 pages in notebook. Diary written on voyage from England to Demerara [Guiana], entitled, "On Sea Voyage", 32 pages; 8 pages. Notebook: M. D. H. 9 May 1803 - 46 Mibiri, Demerary. Some Miscellany & Desultory Observations on some of the objects of nature as they are found here. 47 numbered pages [49 pages.] Typed copy and 1 carbon of Letters III, V and VI.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2127
Topic:
Habitations and other structures -- British Guiana Search this
Slaves and slavery -- Slave trade -- British Guiana Search this
Relates to the proposed Handbook of Aboriginal Remains East of the Mississippi. Includes folders for Rhode Island, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maine, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Virginia, Kentucky, Florida, and Miscellany.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7138
Other Archival Materials:
See also MS 2619-a and MS 4098. MS 2400 also has some materials relating to preparations for the Handbook.
