Draft of brief article on "Astronomical Ideas" probably intended for the Handbook of American Indians, with a note of general criticism and outline bibliography by F. W. Hodge.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1647(20)
Collection Citation:
Manuscript 1647, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Generally provided is a BAE (Thomas) number, USNM number, type of specimen, location found, and special remarks concerning provenience, and the collector, and the collectorʹs number (mark). Two sets have explanatory remarks at the beginning of volume 1. There are irregularities in the sequence of the entries but generally they are by USNM number.
There are two sets of the catalog, one maintained by the BAE and the other by the USNM. In addition, there are three volumes of a third set. The catalog is described by Cyrus Thomas in BAE AR 12 (1890-91), page 22.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7118
Citation:
Manuscript 7118, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Also letter of transmittal addressed to J.N.B. Hewitt. Typescript document. 1 page. July 17, 1901.
Discussion of ideas and reference sources re. comparison of the Mixtec and Zapotec languages. Thomas gives 2 1/2 pages of Mixtec and Zapotec word lists. This is not a complete work on the subject, simply notes for an eventual study.
Includes reports, field notes, drawings, correspondence and other materials relating to mound explorations by Cyrus Thomas and collaborators, including F. S. Earle, J. W. Emmert, Gerard Fowke, Charles C. Jones, J. P. MacLean, J. D. Middleton, Warren K. Moorehead, P. W. Norris, Edward Palmer, H. L. Reynolds, J. P. Rogan. L. H. Thing.
Site reports and correspondence relating to specified localities are arranged by state. There are separate files of material relating to more than one state; correspondence of a general nature; and bibliographic references.
Contents:
Alabama - Arkansas; Canada, Florida - Illinois; also California and Canada, Indiana - New York, New York - North Dakota (and South Dakota), Ohio, Oregon - Tennessee (South Dakota, see North Dakota) Virginia - Wisconsin, "Miscellaneous and General" (more than one state discussed) General Correspondence, 1882-1892, A - Z Bibliography; Newsclippings; Thomas, Personal Miscellanea.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2400
Citation:
Manuscript 2400, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1907-1909 correspondence relating to bibliography filed Ballou, H. M., 1907. (Should be in Bureau of American Ethnology letters received, National Anthropological Archives).
Alexander, W. D. (William De Witt), 1833-1913 Search this
Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937 Search this
Extent:
157 Items (pages + newspaper clipping )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Polynesia -- Polynesian origins
Date:
1894
1910
Scope and Contents:
137 page manuscript, 20 pages of miscellaneous notes, letter from Dr. Thomas to Dr. W.D. Alexander, Honolulu and a newspaper clipping regarding Dr. Alexander.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1869
Citation:
Manuscript 1869, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Correspondence on Professor Thomas' Mexican and Mayan Researches.
Contents: Three letters from Dr Daniel G. Brinton re. various articles by Thomas, including criticisms and corrections, 1884 and 1885. Draft of a letter to Dr Brinton from Thomas, no date. Letter from Dr J. A. Dacus to Spencer F. Baird (forwarded to Thomas) re. inscribed tablet found in Zacatecas, Mexico, 1885. Letter from Antonio Penafiel re. consignment of Mexican Manuscripts for study, 1886. Letter from Leon de Rosny (in French with attached translation) re. article on Codex Cortesiano by Thomas, 1884. Article on the "Sacrificial Stone of San Juan Teotihuacan" sent by the author, Amos W. Butler, 1885. Note and clipping entitled, "Key to Aztec Literature" sent to Thomas by J. Stevenson, 1884.
Encloses criticisms of James C. Mooney's "Siouan Tribes of the East," Bureau of American Ethnology-Bulletin 22, 1894. Autograph letter signed. 1 page. Autograph document. 4 pages.
The bulk of the photographs document Mayan reliefs and hieroglyphics at ancient sites, including Chichen Itza, Palenque, and Yaxchilan. Additional photographs depict items in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico, including a necklace, the Stone of Tizoc, and a stone altar disk to Tlaltecuhtli. The collection includes photographs made by Alvarez y Medina, Kildare y Cia, and a photograph of a drawing by Frederic de Waldeck.
Biographical/Historical note:
Cyrus Thomas (1825-1910) was an archeologist for the Bureau of American Ethnology best known for his work on American Indian burial mounds in the American Midwest. Born in Kingsport, Tennessee, Thomas was educated in law and served as Deputy County Clerk under his brother-in-law, the County Clerk of Jackson County, Illinois (1850-1853). In 1858, Thomas helped found the Illinois Natural History Society, through which he met John Wesley Powell. Thomas served for a brief period as an Evangelical Lutheran minister (1864-1866) before becoming an entomologist for the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (1869-1873), Illinois State Entomologist (1874-1876), and a member of the US Entomological Commission (1876-1882). In 1876, he also worked as a professor of natural history at Southern Illinois Normal College and founded the school's Museum of Natural History (now the University Museum). During this time, Thomas also became interested in Mesoamerican ethnology, publishing articles about Mesoamerican codices and writing systems. In 1881 Thomas joined the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian and served as the Director of the Division of Mound Exploration, a position he maintained until his death in 1910.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 169
Location of Other Archival Materials:
This collection has been relocated from Photo Lot 123.
Additional Cyrus Thomas materials relating to Mesoamerica held in the National Anthropological Archives are in MS 103, MS 1328, MS 3705, MS 3956, MS 3530, MS 3941, MS 3260, MS 2337, and MS 3920-b.
Correspondence from Thomas is held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4821, the J. C. Pilling papers, and records of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Indians of Mexico -- Languages -- writing Search this
Citation:
Photo Lot 169, Cyrus Thomas photograph collection relating to Mayan and Aztec carvings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
