Photographs made as part of the work of the Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA), some of which have been mounted on posters for a Smithsonian Institution Regents Exhibit. The photographs document people, the built and natural environments, agricultural work, and events (including dances and a Catholic procession) in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Some photographs also depict ISA staff, teachers, and students. The collection includes images by A. Guillen M. and ISA staff.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Institute of Social Anthropology was established under the directorship of Julian H. Steward on September 8, 1943, as an autonomous unit of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The Institute had two basic purposes: training of personnel and local students in anthropology, and acquisition of scientific information regarding Latin American rural populations. At its outset, the ISA staff consisted of eight social scientists in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4623
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives also holds the Institute of Social Anthropology records, 1941-1952.
Photo Lot 4623, Institute of Social Anthropology photograph collection relating to Latin America, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
This collection consists of 49 black and white photographic prints of images of village life as well as pre-Columbian stone carvings and statues photographed by Andrew Meyer in Colombia in 1929.
Scope and Contents:
The Andrew Meyer photographs from Colombia collection consists of 49 black and white photographic prints. The photographs were taken by American mining engineer Andrew Meyer while working in Colombia in 1929. The photographs depict primarily pre-Columbian stone carvings and statues now known as the San Agustín Archaeological Park and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The collection includes images of villagers, landscapes, and daily life in Colombia. Communities represented include Emberá (Choikoi); Guambiano (Guambia); and Páez. Locations depicted include the Lower San Juan River in the Chocó Department; Inzá, Popayán, and Silvia in the Cauca Department; and San Agustín in the Huila Department.
Many of the photographs contain descriptive information hand-written on the back, preseumably by the photographer.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into 3 series, organized geographically by Colombian department and then by city or village. This organization mirrors Andrew Meyer's travels through Colombia. Series 1: Chocó Department, Series 2: Cauca Department, Series 3: Huila Department
Biographical / Historical:
Andrew Meyer was a mining engineer from Cleveland, Ohio. In 1929, while working in Chocó, Colombia, he became interested in stories of pre-Columbian stone carvings and statues. Documenting a large number of these carvings throughout the Republic of Colombia, he later authored a journal article about his experiences, as well as his suppositions about the people who made these carvings: "The Stone Gods of Colombia," published in Art and Archaeology 34, no. 3 (May-June 1933): 117-129. Many of the images now in the Andrew Meyer photographs from Colombia collection were included in Meyer's article.
Andrew Meyer married metallurgical engineer Edith Chartkoff, and the two went on to work together on a number of international engineering projects in Canada, Russia, and Spain, before settling down again in Cleveland, Ohio.
Separated Materials:
Approximately 66 material culture objects acquired by Meyer throughout his work in Colombia were also donated to the Museum of the American Indian (now the National Museum of the American Indian) in 1932. These objects were assigned object numbers: 18/2829 – 18/2871.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Andrew Meyer in 1932.
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).
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.
Identification of specific item; 1929; Andrew Meyer photographs from Colombia, NMAI.AC.259; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 10 photographic prints. It consists of images of members of the Guambiano (Guambia) and Páez peoples inhabiting Popayán, Silvia, and Inzá in the Cauca Department of Colombia.
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; 1929; Andrew Meyer photographs from Colombia, NMAI.AC.259; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
