Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: A Guide to Resources in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia Table of Contents - Preface/Acknowledgements - Abbreviations Lists of Entries: District of Columbia - Maryland - Virginia

Smithsonian Institution:
National Anthropological Archives

Access Policies

Reference Policy:

Telephone and mail reference questions are accepted although written requests are preferred. International calls cannot be returned.

Borrowing Privileges:

Not a lending institution.

Networks/Consortia:

None.

Background Note:

The National Anthropological Archives, organized in 1968 in the Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, is the successor to the archives of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) founded in 1879. Its purpose is to serve as the depository for the Department's records and to collect private papers and records of organizations relating to all cultures of the world and to the history of anthropology. Since the BAE was primarily interested in North American Indians, the NAA is an important source for the study of American Indians.

Description of Collections

Archives, manuscripts, correspondence, and oral histories:

NAA is primarily a manuscript collection. The papers are arranged by office or person of origin not by subject. While there is information on world religions, it is not accessed by subject. Highlights include anthropology and world cultures which would include mythology, religion and folklore.

There are a variety of in-house finding aids to the manuscript collections as well as The Guide to the National Anthropological Archives by James Glenn.

Maps:

Maps covering anthropology are available along with finding aids to assist in their use.

Subject Headings

Bibliography

Glenn. James R. Guide to the National Anthropological Archives. Washington, DC: National Anthropological Archives, 1996. Available HTTP. URL http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/guide/_toc.htm. Accessed September 2000.