Curators, collections, and contexts : anthropology at the Field Museum, 1893-2002

352 Pages·2003·21.1 MB·English

by  Field Museum of Natural History

FIELDIANA
Anthropology
NEW SERIES, NO. 36
Curators, Collections, and Contexts:
Anthropology at the Field Museum, 1893-2002
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinman, Editors
September 30, 2003
Piihlication 1525
PUBLISHED BY FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Curators, Collections, and Contexts:
Anthropology at the Field Museum, 1893-2002

FIELDIANA
Anthropology
NEW
SERIES, NO. 36
Curators, Collections, and Contexts:
Anthropology at the Field Museum, 1893-2002
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinman, Editors
Department ofAnthropology
FieldMuseum ofNatural History
1400South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496
U.Sj\.
Published September 30, 2003
Publication 1525
PUBLISHED BY FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
© 2003 Field Museum of Natural History
ISSN 0071-4739
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Foreword
1
John W. McCarter
Acknowledgmenls 3
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinnum
A
Introduction: Glorious Foundation: 109 Years of
Anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History 5
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinman
Part I A Context for Fiei.d Museum Anthropoi.ooy
1 A Natural History of Man: Reflections on Anthropology.
Museums, and Science
1 1
Don D. Fowler
2 The Role of Museums in American Anthropology 23
Donald Collier and Harry S. Tschopik. Jr.
3 Creating Field Anthroptilogy: Why Remembering Matters 31
David R. Wilcox
4 "In Re: Founding of the Field Museum" 49
Edward Everett Ayer
5 The Depa—rtment of Anthropology of the Field Columbian
Museum A Review of Six Years 53
George A. Dorsey
6 A Chronicle of Field Museum Anthropology 65
Warren Haskin. Stephen E. Nash, and Sarah Coleman
Part II A Selection of Curators
85
Interchapter
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinmann
7 George Amos Dorsey: A Curator and His Comrades 87
Tristan Almazan and Sarah Coleman
8 Albert Buell Lewis: Realizing George Amos Dorscy's Vision 99
Robert L. Welsch
9 Berthold Laufer 117
Bennet Bronson
10 Henry Field, Collections, and Exhibit Development. I926-I94I.. 127
Ed Yastrow and Stephen E. Nash
1 1 A Tale of Two Thompsons: The Contributions of Edward H.
Thompson and J. Eric S. Thompson to Anthropology at the
Field Museum 139
Donald McVicker
12 Wilfrid D. Hambly and Sub-Saharan Africa Research at the
Field Museum, 1928-1953 153
Raymond Codrington
13 Paul Sidney Martin 165
Stephen E. Nash
14 Recollections of the Department of Anthropology in the Mid-
Twentieth Century 179
Elaine Bluhm Herold
15 Donald Collier: A Curator's Life 189
John E. Staller
16 My Life with Exhibits at the Field Museum, 1941-1976 199
Donald Collier
17 The Legacy of James W. VanStone in Museum and Arctic
Anthropology 221
Jessica M. Rooney and Chapurukha M. Kusimba
Part III Present and Future Challenges
18 The Changing Role of the Curator 237
Jonathan Haas
19 Information Management in the Department of Anthropology:
History and Prospects 243
Dorren Martin-Ross and William K. Bamett
20 A Foundation for the Future of Field Museum Anthropology 251
Stephen E. Nash and Gary M. Feinman
Part IV Appendices
Appendix 1 The Field Museum's Anthropology Curators and Staff
Members, 1893-2002 259
Appendix 2 The Field Museum's Anthropology Staff Members,
1926-2002 262
Appendix 3 Field Museum Administration and Trustees,
1893-2002 268
Appendix 4 Department of Anthropology Expeditions and
Fieldwork 288
Appendix 5 Fieldiana: Anthropology Publications, 1895-2002 301
Appendix 6 Temporary Anthropology Exhibitions, 1940-2001 306
A
Appendix 7 Summary of the Anthropology Photograph
Collection 310
Literature Cited 319
Contributors 335
Tables
6.1 Department of Anthropology curators, 1893-present 66
6.2 Total Field Museum Anthropology staff members, 1926-
2002, by decade 71
6.3 Field Museum expeditions and fieldwork, 1894-2001 76
6.4 Fieldiana: Anthropology publications, by decade 79
6.5 Temporary anthropology exhibits, by decade 80
19.1 Field Museum digital information strategy 247
Figures
In the following listing. Field Museum of Natural History photo negative
numbers are identified in square brackets, while catalogue numbers of ob-
jects appear in parentheses.
3.1 Alexander von Humboldt statue, Humboldt Park, Chicago 34
3.2 Marshall Field 1 36
3.3 Stephen Chapman Simms 37
3.4 Stanley Field and Samuel Insull at the opening of the Civic
Opera House, November 1929 39
3.5 James Simpson 40
3.6 Frederick Skiff 41
3.7 William E. Curtis 43
3.8 Field Museum Anthropology curators, mid-1920s [98869] 44
3.9 John McCarter accepting the replica of Olmec head no. 8
from the governor of Vera Cruz, Mexico, October 21, 2000... 46
4.1 North American Ethnology Hall, containing the Ayer
Collection, Field Columbian Museum, Jackson Park, ca.
1896 [8191] 50
5.1 Field Museum of Natural History in Jackson Park, Chicago,
1907 [CSGN 19387] 54
5.2 European Archaeology Hall, North Court, Field Museum of
Natural History, Jackson Park, Chicago, ca. 1907 [8065] 59
5.3 Hall of Archaeology and Ethnology of North America, East
Court, Field Columbian Museum, Jackson Park, ca. 1896
[8193] 60
5.4 Hopi House diorama. Field Columbian Museum, ca. 1900
[CSA12721 61
5.5 Hall 9: Egypt, including mummy cases and mummies,
canopic jars, and sculptures. Field Columbian Museum, 1903
ICSA81851 63
6.1 AnthrofX)logy staff members, by decade 71
6.2 Anthropology expeditions and fieldwork, by decade 76
6.3 Anthropology Department accessions, by year 78
6.4 Fieldiana: Anthropology publications, by decade 79
6.5 Temporary anthropology exhibits, by decade 80
8.1 Albert Buell Lewis [33644] 100
Vll
8.2 George Amos Dorsey [A108072] 101
8.3 William Henry Holmes [GN81425] 101
8.4 Stephen Chapman Simms [GN78249] 102
8.5 Charles L. Owen [CSGN 66994J 103
8.6 Wooden food bowl. Admiralty Islands, collected by A. B.
Lewis (133629) [76526] 109
8.7 Wooden mask, German New Guinea (14103) [109781] 110
8.8 Fay Cooper-Cole with Negrito man during R. F. Cummings's
Philippine expedition, 1907-1908 [CSA33853J Ill
9.1 Berthold Laufer [86222] 117
9.2 Berthold Laufer in Hankow, ca. 1904 [98299] 118
9.3 Objects collected by Berthold Laufer in China, 1908-1910
(1166127, 116618) [35424] 119
9.4 Tibetan temple brass lamp (122483) [93123-A] 120
9.5 Teapot of partially gilt copper collected in Darjeeling, India,
1908-1910 (122651) [100268] 120
9.6 Imperial dragon screen from the K'ien-lung period (127954)
[76951] 123
10.1 Henry Field [CSGN 55549] 127
A
10.2 Trench at Kish, with Henry Field [60139] 128
10.3 Hall of the Races of Mankind [CSA77747] 129
10.4 Malvina Hoffman [77674] 130
10.5 Malvina Hoffman in India [76580] 131
10.6 ''Homo erectus in Europe," from the Hall of Prehistoric Man
[77809] 132
10.7 "Neanderthal family of Gibralter, about 50,000 years ago,"
from the Hall of Prehistoric Man [77809] 133
10.8 "Aurignacian scene: Cro-Magnon Man," from the Hall of
Prehistoric Man [76950] 134
10.9 Swiss Lake Dweller diorama [77819a] 134
10.10 Neanderthal Man [76910] 135
10.1 1 Cap Blanc skeleton, or Magdalenian Girl (42943)
[GN87406-5c] 136
11.1 Papier-mache casts of Mayan stele ruins. Mesoamerican
sculptures made by Edward H. Thompson for the World's
Columbian Exposition of 1893 140
11.2 Temple of the Jaguars, Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
[8718] 141
1 1.3 An orange ware pedestal vase (48202) and a pottery incense
burner (48590), Chichen Itza, Yucatan [44379] 141
1 1.4 Eric S. Thompson in 1967, the fortieth anniversary of the
publication of Civilisation ofthe Maya [A101036] 143