Ephraim George Squier and the development of American anthropology (Critical Studies in the History of Anthropology)

445 Pages·2005·2.72 MB·English

by  Terry A. Barnhart

Critical Studies in the History of Anthropology
Series Editors: Regna Darnell, Stephen O. Murray
Ephraim George Squier
and the Development of
American Anthropology
Terry A. Barnhart
University of Nebraska Press
Lincoln and London
Copyright © 2005 by the Board of Regents of the Uni-
versity of Nebraska. All rights reserved. Manufactured
in the United States of America. Set in Quadraat by Kim
Essman. Book design by Richard Eckersley. Printed by
Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Portions of chapter 2 previously appeared as “A Ques-
tion of Authorship: The Ephraim George Squier–Edwin
Hamilton Davis Controversy,” Ohio History 92 (Annual
1983), 52–71. Portions of chapter 5 previously appeared
as “The Iroquois as Mound Builders: Ephraim George
Squier and the Archaeology of Western New York,” New
York History 77, no.2 (Spring 1996), 125–50. Portions
of chapter 11 previously appeared as “Toward a Science
of Man: European Influences on the Archaeology of
Ephraim George Squier,” in New Perspectives on the Origins
of Americanist Archaeology, eds. David L. Bowman and
Stephen Williams (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama
Press, 2002), 87–116.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnhart, Terry A., 1952–
Ephraim George Squier and the development of Ameri-
can anthropology / Terry A. Barnhart.
p. cm. – (Critical studies in the history of anthropology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8032-1321-2 (hardcover : alkaline paper)
1. Squier, E. G. (Ephraim George), 1821–1888.
2. Anthropologists – United States – Biography. 3. An-
thropologists – Latin America – Biography. 4. Mound-
builders – Ohio River Valley. 5. Mound-builders –
Mississippi River Valley. 6. Ohio River Valley – Antiqui-
ties. 7. Mississippi River Valley – Antiquities.
8. Latin America – Antiquities. 9. Davis, E. H. (Edwin
Hamilton), 1811–1888. i. Title. ii. Series
gn21.s68b37 2005 301'.092–dc22 2004019927
The study of man, physiologically and psychically, is con-
fessedly the noblest which can claim human attention. . . .
The study of man, in this comprehensive sense, consti-
tutes the science of Ethnology. The elements of this sci-
ence are the results, the ultimates of all other sciences; it
begins where the rest stop. . . . [It] presupposes a general
high attainment in all other departments of knowledge. It
is essentially the science of the age; the offspring of that
prevailing mental and physical energy which neglects no
subject of inquiry. — E. G. Squier, “American Ethnology,”
American Review (April 1849)

contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Series Editors’ Introduction xv
Prologue: Ephraim George Squier and the History
of American Anthropology 1
1.Literary Ambitions: The Genesis of an Anthropologist 13
2.In Search of the Mound Builders: The Squier-
Davis Association 30
3.Archaeology and the Smithsonian Institution:
Editing and Publishing the Squier-Davis Manuscript 51
4.Interpreting the Mound Builders: The Archaeology
of Squier and Davis 70
5.Revisiting the Mounds: The Iroquois and the
Archaeology of Western New York 102
6.The Burden of Proof: American Indian Traditions
and the Walam Olum 118
7.Idols and Indians: The Archaeology and Ethnology
of Nicaragua 150
8.The Mind of Man: The Serpent Symbol and the
Reciprocal Principles of Nature 187
9.Nahua Nations and Migrations: The Archaeology
and Ethnology of Honduras and San Salvador 214
10.Ancient Peru: An Indigenous Civilization 244
11.The Science of Men and Nations: Ephraim George
Squier and the American School of Ethnology 281
Epilogue: Insanity and the “Eclipse of Genius” 317
A Note on Archival Sources 333
Notes 339
Bibliography: The Anthropological Writings of
Ephraim George Squier 407
Index 415

illustrations
1. Ephraim George Squier, 1840 16
2. Edwin Hamilton Davis, ca. 1850 33
3. The Serpent Mound at Brush Creek 74
4. Mound Builder cranium 90
5. Burial mound on Tonawanda Island 109
6. Mnemonic symbols of the Walam Olum 127
7. “E. Geo. Squier, Charge d’Affaires” 153
8. Idol from the island of Momotombita 162
9. Colossal head from Momotombita 163
10. Idols of Subtiaba no. 4 167
11. Pipil-Nicarao calendar 182
12. “Collecting a Vocabulary” 223
13. “Modern Peruvian Head” 249
14. “Equipped for the Cordillera” 252
15. Peruvian chulpa 253
16. Aymara skull from Totora 270
17. Ephraim George Squier, 1871 316