MS 3146 Edwin Hamilton Davis papers
odd: label: Exhibition Note
content: The portfolio was exhibited by the Florida Archaeology Society and Tampa Bay Museum in 1937.
name: label: Creator
content: Davis, E. H. (Edwin Hamilton), 1811-1888
label: Artist
content: Squier, E. G. (Ephraim George), 1821-1888
place: label: Place
content: North America
label: Place
content: Central America
label: Place
content: South America
topic: label: Topic
content: Archaeology
label: Topic
content: Mounds
creator: label: Creator
content: Davis, E. H. (Edwin Hamilton), 1811-1888
label: Artist
content: Squier, E. G. (Ephraim George), 1821-1888
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 3146 Edwin Hamilton Davis papers
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Edwin Hamilton Davis (1811-1888) was an archaeologist and physician who is best known for his evcavation of the mounds in the Mississippi Valley and his collection of prehistoric artifacts.

Davis graduated from Cincinnati Medical College in 1838, and practiced medicine in Chillicothe, Ohio.  In 1850, he joined the faculty of New York Medical College.  He also served as an editor of the American Medical Monthly.

A self-taught archaeologist, in 1836 Davis aided Charles Whittlesey in his explorations of mounds in Ohio. From 1845 to 1847 with Ephraim G. Squier, Davis surveyed nearly one hundred earthworks, including the Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio and the Mound City Group in Chillicothe, Ohio. The results of these surveys were published as "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley" in the Smithsonian's first publication, Contributions to Knowledge, v. 1. In 1854 he delivered a series of lectures on archaeology at the Lowell Institute Boston, and also in Brooklyn and New York City. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1858.  Davis gathered a large collection of mound relics, which became part of the collection at the Blackmore Museum in Salisbury (UK).  The collection was acquired by the British Museum in 1931. 

Davis died in 1888 in New York City and was buried at the Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe in Ohio.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 18 Linear feet (21 folders and 1 box)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1855-1937
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The collection was donated to the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) by Betsey Davis, daughter of Edwin Hamilton Davis, in July 1929.  The four drawings by Ephraim G. Squier were to transferred to the BAE archives by Matthew Stirling in 1958.  It is unclear if these materials were donated by Betsey Davis in 1929 or if they came from another, undocumented source.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS3146
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Drawings
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The materials in this collection were originally described under MS 3146-a, MS 3146-b, and MS 3146-c.  In 2022, the collection was reprocessed and all materials were incorporated into a single collection under MS 3146.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists primarily of a portfolio of 92 drawings of Davis' collection of artifacts and related documentation.  The collection also contains letters to Davis, notes, and drawings relating to Peruvian, Mexican, and Central American artifacts, as well as drawings by Ephraim G. Squier presumably used as references for some of the drawings in the portfolio.


Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The British Museum holds Davis' collection of artifacts, many of which are illustrated in the portfolio.