Cyrus Thomas photograph collection relating to Mayan and Aztec carvings
odd: label: Local Call Number(s)
content: NAA Photo Lot 169
name: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Cyrus, 1825-1910
label: Photographer
content: Alvarez y Medina
label: Photographer
content: Kildare y Cia
label: Names
content: Museo Nacional de Antropología (Mexico)
label: Artist
content: Waldeck, Frédéric de, 1766-1875
place: label: Place
content: Mexico -- Antiquities
topic: label: Topic
content: Indians of Mexico -- Languages -- writing
creator: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Cyrus, 1825-1910
culture: label: Culture
content: Mayas
label: Culture
content: Aztec (archaeological culture)
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Cyrus Thomas (1825-1910) was an archeologist for the Bureau of American Ethnology best known for his work on American Indian burial mounds in the American Midwest.  Born in Kingsport, Tennessee, Thomas was educated in law and served as Deputy County Clerk under his brother-in-law, the County Clerk of Jackson County, Illinois (1850-1853).  In 1858, Thomas helped found the Illinois Natural History Society, through which he met John Wesley Powell.  Thomas served for a brief period as an Evangelical Lutheran minister (1864-1866) before becoming an entomologist for the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (1869-1873), Illinois State Entomologist (1874-1876), and a member of the US Entomological Commission (1876-1882).  In 1876, he also worked as a professor of natural history at Southern Illinois Normal College and founded the school's Museum of Natural History (now the University Museum).  During this time, Thomas also became interested in Mesoamerican ethnology, publishing articles about Mesoamerican codices and writing systems.  In 1881 Thomas joined the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian and served as the Director of the Division of Mound Exploration, a position he maintained until his death in 1910.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 35 Prints (albumen and silver gelatin; mounted)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1880-1910
custodhist: label: Custodial History note
content: Photographs probably donated by Cyrus Thomas to the Bureau of American Ethnology.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.PhotoLot.169
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Prints
otherfindaid: label: Other Finding Aids note
content: Folder list available in repository.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The bulk of the photographs document Mayan reliefs and hieroglyphics at ancient sites, including Chichen Itza, Palenque, and Yaxchilan. Additional photographs depict items in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico, including a necklace, the Stone of Tizoc, and a stone altar disk to Tlaltecuhtli. The collection includes photographs made by Alvarez y Medina, Kildare y Cia, and a photograph of a drawing by Frederic de Waldeck.
relatedmaterial: label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: This collection has been relocated from Photo Lot 123.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Additional Cyrus Thomas materials relating to Mesoamerica held in the National Anthropological Archives are in MS 103, MS 1328, MS 3705, MS 3956, MS 3530, MS 3941, MS 3260, MS 2337, and MS 3920-b.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Correspondence from Thomas is held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4821, the J. C. Pilling papers, and records of the Bureau of American Ethnology.