The Handbook of North American Indians
William C. Sturtevant, General Editor. A 20-volume encyclopedia summarizing knowledge about all Native peoples north of Mesoamerica, including cultures, languages, history, prehistory, and human biology. Standard reference work for anthropologists, historians, students, and the general reader. Chapters by main authorities on each topic. Area volumes include separate chapters on all tribes. Heavily illustrated, extensive bibliographies, well indexed. Each volume may be purchased and used independently.
An Ethnography of the Hermit Kingdom: The J. B. Bernadou Korean Collection 1884–1885, by Chang-su Cho Houchins. Introduction by Paul Michael Taylor. In 1884, Smithsonian Secretary Spencer Baird appointed J. B. Bernadou, a naval officer, to gather a collection of material culture from the Hermit Kingdom, which had been closed to outsiders until 1882. Baird gave Bernadou the official title of "Smithsonian Attaché" to the American Legation. Richly illustrated with beautiful color photographs, the catalogue will interest art-, social-, and diplomatic-historians; anthropologists; linguists; students of Korean culture; and all those who appreciate the aesthetic quality of these objects, and the stories they tell.
Mayan Hearts and Diccionario del corazón, by Robert M. Laughlin, with woodcuts by Naúl Ojeda.
A selection of nineteen heart metaphors from a 16th century dictionary of the Tzotzil Maya language of Zinacantán, Chiapas, Mexico, presents a Mayan romance; a story of love besieged and, finally, love triumphant. Some metaphors seem to express a shared view of the world: perfume your heart for "to please." But others are totally unexpected, contradictory to the way the compiler, a Dominican friar, viewed the world, as, my heart aches for "to fall in love," The magic realism of Ojeda in woodcuts, and pieces of woodcuts, in bold black and red "have the virtue of refreshing and recodifying the old metaphors." This handmade book, with silk-screen images and a black cover of maguey fiber boiled with mistletoe to reduce the shedding of the fibers, is pierced to show a red heart. Read more ...
The Canela: Kinship, Ritual and Sex in an Amazonian Tribe, by William H. Crocker and Jean G. Crocker. This case study traces changes to Canela society through time and presents Canela perspectives on their society through their own written diaries. The reader is introduced to the Canela through an account of Bill Crocker's arrival in the tribe. This is followed by a brief history of the Canela that shows how their kinship system holds their society together, and how their unusual sex practices create satisfying social bonds. The case study also shows how the practice of rituals affirms the group way of life for the individual. The case study examines contemporary influences on the Canela and concludes with an epilogue on their future adaptation to Brazilian life.
Honoring Our Elders: The History of Eastern Arctic Archaeology, Edited by William W. Fitzhugh, Stephen Loring, and Daniel Odess. Ten years ago, as arctic archaeology became an established academic subject in colleges and universities, practitioners came together at Dartmouth College to tell the stories of the pioneers in arctic archaeology — Elmer Harp, Guy Mary-Rousselière, Frederica de Laguna, Graham Rowley, and others — as well as to examine the current state of arctic archaeological research. This multi-authored volume presents the proceeds of that meeting in honor of those archaeological elders, and as a tool to assess future directions. It is illustrated with over 150 maps and photographs.
Akuzilleput Igaqullghet. Our Words Put to Paper. Sourcebook in St. Lawrence Island Yupik Heritage and History, edited by Igor Krupnik, Willis Walunga and Vera Metcalf and compiled by Igor Krupnik and Lars Krutak. The 464-page volume is the product of a three-year research and outreach project sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant. A sourcebook of Yupik heritage and history, Our Words Put to Paper converts old documentary records, historical photographs and written knowledge, once collected for scientific or other purposes and stored away in distant libraries, archives and field notes, into a community resource. The book is illustrated with more than 100 historical photographs from the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives; Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Anchorage Museum of History and Art, and some other collections.
Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains, Second Edition, by Donald J. Ortner, provides an integrated and comprehensive treatment of pathological conditions that affect the human skeleton. There is much that ancient skeletal remains can reveal to the modern orthopaedist, pathologist, forensic anthropologist, and radiologist about the skeletal manifestations of diseases that are rarely encountered in modern medical practice. Beautifully illustrated with over 1,100 photographs and drawings, this book provides essential text and materials on bone pathology, which will improve the diagnostic ability of those interested in human dry bone pathology. It also provides time depth to our understanding of the effect of disease on past human populations.
Silver Horn: Master Illustrator of the Kiowas, by Candace S. Greene. Working in graphite, colored pencil, crayon, pen and ink, and watercolor on hide, muslin, and paper, Silver Horn produced more than one thousand illustrations between 1870 and 1920. Silver Horn created an unparalleled visual record of Kiowa culture, from traditional images of warfare and coup counting to sensitive depictions of the sun dance, early Peyote religion, and domestic daily life. In this presentation of Silver Horn's work, showcasing 43 color and 116 black-and-white illustrations, Greene provides a thorough biographical portrait of the artist and, through his work, assesses the concepts and roles of artists in Kiowa culture.
Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897-1902, edited by Igor Krupnik and William W. Fitzhugh. This publication, the first in the Arctic Studies Center's Contribution to Circumpolar Anthropology series, honors anthropology's most prominent founding father, Franz Boas, and his first major project, the Jesup Expedition. The book includes chapters on the history of the Jesup Expedition, profiles of the participants and a discussion of unpublished and archival resources that are otherwise unknown.
Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant, edited by William L. Merrill and Ives Goddard. The 32 papers in the book treat: Sturtevant's life and career, with a bibliography of his writings; the history of anthropological and historical research; cultural change since European contact; the history of museum and archival research; examples of research based on museum and archival collections; and interconnections between the cultural and natural worlds. Besides Native Americans, there are also treatments of Hawaiian, Chukchi, Suriname Maroon, and British and American culture. The fields represented include ethnography, archeology, linguistics, ethnohistory, and the history of anthropology. There are numerous photographs, some in color. "[An] impressive volume." — Victor Golla. Individuals and libraries may order a copy free of charge.
Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, edited by William Fitzhugh and Elisabeth Ward. For centuries, medieval Icelandic sagas about a territory called Vinland were the only sources of information on the Viking presence in North America, and Americans had only a vague, romanticized notion of Viking culture. The 1961 discovery of a site in northern Newfoundland called L'Anse aux Meadows marked the beginning of substantiated archaeological and scientific research. Incorporating a wealth of recent information, this generously illustrated book describes a first-millennium culture far more complex and entrepreneurial than the horned-helmeted raiders of popular imagination.
Humanity's Descent: The Consequences of Ecological Instability, by Richard Potts. "How has the ebb and flow of the environment affected the evolution of humans, and how has the path of our evolution affected our attitude toward nature? Potts ... offers some provocative ideas in a wide-ranging, recondite study. To understand "how the kiln of evolution forged our apparent domination,'' he argues that we must pay more attention to the history of environmental change. This is not a recycled version of the old brand of environmental determinism, which argued that nature had crafted every facet of humanity. Instead, it is a theory attempting to frame humans within the context of an environment that is not static, in which the flux of nature elicits creative responses." — Kirkus Reviews
Anthropology Explored: The Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes (Revised and Expanded), edited by Ruth O. Selig, Marilyn R. London and P. Ann Kaupp, 2004. Anthropology Explored is a collection of 36 essays written in a light and easy-to-read style by some of the world's leading anthropologists, who explore fundamental questions humans ask about themselves as individuals, as societies, and as a species. Conveying the field's richness and breadth, contributors trace the emergence of humans from other primates, describe archaeologists' understanding of early and more recent settlements, and explore the diversity of present and past cultures. Illustrated with amusing insightful cartoons drawn by anthropologist Robert L. Humphrey, the essays trace not only culture changes but also changes in anthropologists' perspectives during the 150-year history of the field.
AnthroNotes: A Museum of Natural History Publication for Educators. The latest issue includes articles on a new species, the "hobbits" found in Indonesia; an anthropological look at violence and human behavior; and teaching prehistory in Kenya, Africa. View the latest issue.
Anthropolog: The Newsletter of the Department of Anthropology
Other Publications
When he's not at a notorious disaster, Doug Owsley is entering tombs and crypts, unwrapping mummies, or climbing into caves to unlock the secrets of bones. In No Bone Unturned, investigative journalist Jeff Benedict not only unveils a compelling portrait of the man behind America's most notorious cases but also gives us a fascinating look inside the world of forensic science as seen through the eyes of a leading specialist. Doug Owsley has worked with America's historic skeletons, from colonial Jamestown burials to Plains Indians to Civil War soldiers to skeletons tens of thousands of years old. That includes the Kennewick Man, a 9,600-year-old human skeleton found in shallow water along the banks of Washington State's Columbia River.
Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology: List of Publications
Research Articles
Oregon, the Beautiful, by Ives Goddard and Thomas Love. Oregon Historical Society Vol. 105, No. 2 (2004).
The Identity of Red Thunder Cloud, by Ives Goddard (April 2000)
The Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection, by David R. Hunt.
Streaming Video
Ives Goddard presents his translation of "The Married Couple: the Man Whose Wife Was Wooed By a Bear," by Aldred Kiyana (Meskwaki) at our Noon Lecture Series (January 29, 2004)
