Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Extent:
83 Copy prints
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Copy prints
Photographs
Place:
New Mexico -- Antiquities
Bat Cave (N.M.)
Date:
1948-1950
Scope and Contents note:
Copies of photographs probably made or collected by Herbert W. Dick for his 1965 book, Bat Cave. Included are images of excavations and sediment, field camp and crew, a nearby quarry site, a building in Horse Springs, and projectile points and baskets found at Bat Cave in New Mexico. Depicted individuals include Jeffery V. Morris, Hugo G. Rodeck, Ernst Antevs, Roberta Smith, Martha Dick, C. Earle Smith, Jr., Eloise Richards, Charles McGimsey, Herbert W. Dick, Hugo C. Cotter, and Robert P. Goethals.
Biographical/Historical note:
Bat Cave is an archeological site in New Mexico that consists of rock shelters dating to about 10,000 years ago and contains evidence of early maize agriculture. Excavations were conducted at the site in 1948 by the Harvard Peabody Museum, in 1950 by Harvard and the University of Colorado Museum, and in 1981-1983 by the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R86-67
Reproduction Note:
Copy prints made by Smithsonian Institution.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Libraries and Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold Dick's book, Bat Cave, and Wirt Wills's report on the 1981 University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Research at Bat Cave.
Records and correspondence by Dick can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in River Basin Surveys Records, Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers, and Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers.
Correspondence from Hugo Rodeck can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers.
Correspondence from Ernst Antevs can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the Frank Harold Hanna Roberts, Jr., papers and photographs.
Writings by Charles McGimsey can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the General Accounting Office Working Papers Concerning Review of Federal Agencies and Implementation of Archeological Salvage Laws, River Basin Surveys Records, and MS 7222.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
7.72 Linear feet (20 document boxes and 1 restricted box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Guilá Naquitz Cave (Mexico)
Oaxaca (Mexico : State)
Tehuacán (Mexico)
Peru
Date:
1942-1998
bulk 1960-1987
Summary:
C. Earle Smith Jr. (1922-1987) was one of the founders of the modern field of paleobotany. This collection documents his research and professional activities through correspondence, research notes, data, manuscripts, publications, and photographs. Represented in the collection is his fieldwork in Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the research and professional activities of C. Earle Smith Jr. through correspondence, research notes, data, manuscripts, publications, and photographs. Represented in the collection is his fieldwork in Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. The only materials pertaining to his early work in Bat Cave are a few pages of notes and articles about his discovery of early corn remains. Most of the collection dates from the 1960s up to his death in 1987. There is, however, some correspondence dated after his death regarding the return of specimens that he had been analyzing for others. The collection also contains his files as a professor at the University of Alabama; papers he presented; talks that he gave; and photographs of plant remains. His correspondence makes up the bulk of collection and can be found throughout the series. He corresponded with eminent figures in the fields of anthropology and botany, including Kent V. Flannery, Richard MacNeish, Paul Mangelsdorf, and other colleagues.
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:
This collection is arranged in 8 series: (1) Correspondence, 1962-1998; (2) Research, 1942-1991; (3) Writings, 1956-1987; (4) Professional Activities, 1971-1987; (5) University of Alabama, 1964-1987; (6) Writings by Others, 1960-1984; (7) Personal Files, 1950-1953, 1964-1987; (8) Photographs, circa 1960s-1982
Biographical Note:
Claude Earle Smith Jr. was one of the founders of the modern field of archaeobotany. Known as "Smitty" to his friends, he was born on March 8, 1922, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Orlando, Florida. He was trained as an economic botanist at Harvard University, where he earned his bachelor's (1949), master's (1951), and doctorate (1953) in botany.
As an undergraduate student at Harvard in 1941, Smith assisted Richard Evans Schultes in collecting plants in the Colombian Amazon. While in the field, news reached Smith of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and he decided to return home to enlist in the Navy. After the war, he continued his studies at Harvard and, in 1948, he was sent by Paul C. Manglesdorf to excavate Bat Cave, New Mexico, where he and Herbert Dick, another Harvard student, discovered the earliest remains of corn. Smith coauthored with Mangelsdorf "A Discovery of Remains of Prehistoric Maize in New Mexico" (1949). Throughout his career, Smith continued to study the early domestication and distribution of corn and other plants including cotton, avocado, and beans.
With his research focused on archaeologically-recovered plant remains and their usage by humans, Smith served as botanist at various archaeological sites in Latin America, working with Richard MacNeish in Tehuacán Valley; Kent Flannery in Oaxaca Valley; Paul Tolstoy in the Basin of Mexico; Ronald Spores in Nochixtlan; Terence Grieder in La Galgada, Peru; Thomas Lynch in Callejón de Huaylas, Peru; Joyce Marcus in Cañeta Valley, Peru; Anna Roosevelt in the Middle Orinoco area of Venezuela; and Michael J. Snarkis in Costa Rica. He also conducted ethnobotanical fieldwork in the Yucatán, Panama, the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and Australia.
From 1953 to 1958, Smith served as assistant curator of botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and as acting director of the Taylor Memorial Arboretum. He was also a curator of botany at the Field Museum of Natural History (1959-1961) and Senior Research Botanist for the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1962-1969). In 1970, Smith took a faculty position in the anthropology and biology departments at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and was acting chair of the anthropology department between 1981 and 1986. He served as president of the Society for Economic Botany in 1979.
At the age of 65, Smith was killed in an automobile accident on October 19, 1987.
Sources Consulted
Lentz, David L. "C. Earle Smith, Jr. 1922-1987." Economic Botany 42, no. 2 (1988): 284-285.
Schultes, Richard Evans. "How I Met C. Earle Smith." Journal of Ethnobiology 10, no. 2 (1990): 119-121.
Chronology
1922 -- Born on March 8 in Boston, Massachusetts
1940-1941 -- Studies at Harvard University
1941 -- Assists Richard Evans Schultes in ethnobotanical collection in Colombian Amazons
1942-1946 -- Serves in Navy
1946 -- Returns to Harvard to continue his studies
1948 -- Excavates Bat Cave in New Mexico and discovers earliest remains of corn
1949 -- Earns A.B. cum laude at Harvard
1951 -- Earns A.M. at Harvard
1953 -- Earns Ph.D. at Harvard University
1953-1958 -- Consultant for Smith, Kline and French Acting Director at Taylor Memorial Arboretum Assistant Curator in the Department of Botany at Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
1959-1961 -- Associate Curator in Department of Botany at Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
1962-1969 -- Senior Research Botanist at Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1970-1987 -- Professor of Anthropology and Botany, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
1979-1980 -- President of Society for Economic Botany
1987 -- Killed in automobile accident on October 19
Related Materials:
Photographs from C. Earle Smith Jr.'s excavation of Bat Cave can be found in Photo Lot R86-67 Copies of Herbert W. Dick photographs of excavations at Bat Cave, 1948-1950, https://sova.si.edu/record/NAA.PhotoLot.R86-67.
Provenance:
At his death, C. Earle Smith Jr.'s papers were left with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama. They were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Smith's widow, Roberta Smith Largin.
Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Extent:
2 Folders
Container:
Box 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1960-1966
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence regarding Tehuacán projects; includes correspondence with Richard Macneish.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1965-1966
Scope and Contents:
Tehuacan project.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966
Scope and Contents:
Notes.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Extent:
4 Folders
Container:
Box 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966-1978
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, notes, manuscripts, and photographs.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966
undated
Scope and Contents:
Reports and photographs, includes Guila Naquitz.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
1966-1977
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence and drafts on Oaxaca research, very little on beans.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
[Catalog for plants of Oaxaca collected by Wally Ernst(?)]
Collection Creator:
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966-1969
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1968-1969
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1968-1970
Scope and Contents:
Includes cotton specimens from caves near Mitla.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Guila Naquitz Cave -- data and photographs.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1968
Scope and Contents:
Articles on discovery of boll weevil found in cotton from Guila Naquitz Cave.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1980-1982
undated
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Originally in folder with several miscellaneous photographs.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1969-1976
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1969-1981
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1969-1977
Scope and Contents:
Callejon de Huaylas -- Guitarrero Cave.
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
Smith, C. Earle (Claude Earle), 1922-1987 Search this
Container:
Box 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1977-1990
undated
Collection Restrictions:
Grant proposal reviews in Series 4: Professional Activities and materials with student grades in Series 5: University of Alabama have been restricted.
Access to the C. Earle Smith Jr. papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
C. Earle Smith Jr. papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The C. Earle Smith Jr. papers were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vernon (Jim) Knight of the University of Alabama.
