Winifred Smeaton Thomas papers
name: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Winifred Smeaton, 1903-1987
label: Names
content: Field Museum of Natural History
place: label: Place
content: Iraq
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Winifred Smeaton Thomas's husband, Homer Leonard Thomas, in 1996.
creator: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Winifred Smeaton, 1903-1987
setName: label: See more items in
content: Winifred Smeaton Thomas papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Winifred Smeaton Thomas (1903-1987) was an anthropologist whose main focus was the Near and Middle East, particularly Iraq where she lived from 1932 to 1935. Her papers largely document her time in Iraq and include her work on the Field Museum Anthropological Expedition in 1934, writings about her time in Iraq, and her doctoral studies at University of Chicago. The collection includes writings and publications, correspondence, field diaries, photographs, passports, and notes from Thomas's time as a doctoral student and later as a professor.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Winifred Smeaton Thomas (1903-1987) was an anthropologist whose main focus was the Near and Middle East, particularly Iraq where she lived from 1932 to 1935. Born April 21, 1903 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Thomas attended Stanford University for some time before earning a B.A. (1924) and M.A. (1927) from the University of Michigan. In 1932, she traveled to Baghdad, Iraq, where she lived with the family of Ali Jawdat. Thomas conducted anthropological fieldwork throughout her time in Iraq; her studies on women were later published in New Orient (1936) and her studies on tattooing were later published in the American Anthropologist (1937). In 1934, Thomas took part in the Field Museum Anthropological Expedition, which traversed the country to collect anthropometric and other data on various ethnic groups in and around Iraq. Also in 1934 and 1935, she taught an English class at the Central High School for Girls in Baghdad. Thomas earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1940. From  1943 to 1945, she worked as a Research Analyst for the U.S. War Department, Military Intelligence Division. Thomas taught a World Literature class at Stevens College (1952-1953) and was Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri (1960-1962). From 1954 to 1967 she served as Associate Editor of Archeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). Thomas died May 18, 1987.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.5 Linear feet (8 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1927-1980
label: Date
content: bulk 1932-1935
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.1996-13
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Field notes
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Lantern slides
label: Type
content: Passports
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged into 4 series: (1) Writings and professional activities, 1927-1968; (2) Passports and Iraq driving license, 1932-1986; (3) Iraq field notes, 1932-1935; (4) Photographs, 1932-1974.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: For the most part, original organization of the collection's first series has been maintained and original folder titles used where applicable. Duplicate copies of Thomas's reprinted articles as well as a copy negative of WST.626 have been removed from the collection.

Processed and encoded by Sarah Ganderup, 2015.
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1936  "Women in Present-Day Iraq."  -- New Orient -- : 22-30.

1937  "Tattooing Among the Arabs of Iraq."  -- American Anthropologist --  39(1): 53-61.

1940 "Individuals measured in Royal Hospital, Baghdad." Appendix E in  -- The Anthropology of Iraq, Part I, Number 1 -- . By Henry Field. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropology Series.

1949 "Anthropometric Data from an Nasirya Liwa." In  -- The Anthropology of Iraq, Part I, Number 2, The Lower-Euphrates-Tigris Region -- . By Henry Field. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series.

1956 "Anthropometric Data." Appendix B in  -- Ancient and Modern Man in Southwestern Asia -- . By Henry Field. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press.

1958 "Glossary (of Tattoing Terms from Iraq)." Appendix B in  -- Body-Marking in Southwestern Asia -- . By Henry Field. Cambridge: Peabody Museum.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Field notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Lantern slides
label: Genre/Form
content: Passports
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Winifred Smeaton Thomas papers comprise professional and research materials of Winifred Smeaton Thomas, in particular documenting her time in Iraq, 1932-1935. The collection includes writings, publications, correspondence, field diaries, photographs, passports, and class notes from Thomas's time as a student and later as a professor. It includes Thomas's photographs, writings, and research from the Field Museum Anthropological Expedition in 1934 and her time with the Jawdat family in Baghdad. There are also materials related to Thomas's doctoral training at University of Chicago, teaching materials from her time as a professor at Stevens College and University of Missouri, and some correspondence from her time with U.S. Military Intelligence during World War II.