Bureau of American Ethnology photograph collection relating to the Handbook of South American Indians
odd: label: Local Call Number(s)
content: NAA Photo Lot 90
name: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology
label: Names
content: Métraux, Alfred, 1902-1963 (probable photographer)
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Toba
label: Culture
content: Pilagá
label: Culture
content: Chané Indians
label: Culture
content: Aymara
label: Culture
content: Gran Chaco
label: Culture
content: Indians of South America
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: In 1932, the National Research Council appointed a committee of anthropologists, including Robert H. Lowie, John M. Cooper, and Leslie Spier, to assess what work would be needed to prepare a comprehensive Handbook of Indigenous peoples of South America.  The handbook's main objective would be to "provide a concise summary of existing data that will serve as a standard reference work for the scholar, a textbook for the student, and a guide to the general reader. At the same time, it is intended to take stock of the present state of knowledge, revealing its deficiencies and suggesting problems that will stimulate future research in both the field and library."  In 1940, the Bureau of American Ethnology accepted the task of compiling the handbook under special appropriation through the Department of State and with the collaboration of over 100 scientists across the American continents.  The result of this work was BAE Bulletin 143; six volumes were published in 1946-1950 and an index was published in 1959.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 950 Negatives (photographic) (circa, acetate)
label: Extent
content: 47 Prints (silver gelatin (some copies))
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1940s
custodhist: label: Custodial History note
content: The photographs were probably collected by the Bureau of American Ethnology in preparation for the publication of the Handbook of South American Indians. Many of the negatives and some of the prints were originally held in the Office of Printing and Photographic Services of the Smithsonian Institution.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.PhotoLot.90
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Negatives (photographic)
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Maps
label: Type
content: Illustrations
label: Type
content: Photographs
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Photographs published in Handbook of South American Indians, BAE Bulletin 143, 1946.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Maps
label: Genre/Form
content: Illustrations
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The collection is composed of photographs and copies of published illustrations which were collected for use in the Handbook of South American Indians (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143). These include images of Indigenous peoples of South America, their material culture, and their built and natural environments.  There are also maps detailing the movements and location of various tribes. Also included are some original photographs that were probably made by Alfred Metraux, documenting Aymara, Chaco, Chane, Matako, Pilaga, and Toba people.
relatedmaterial: label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Copies of photographs published in BAE Bulletin 143, which were previously filed in Photo Lot 14, have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 90. Materials associated with the relocation are available with the collection.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds additional collections of illustrations for BAE bulletins in MS 3611, MS 3279, MS 3715-b, MS 3078, Photo Lot 80-39, MS 2894, MS 3251, Photo Lot R87-2Q, and Photo lot 133.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Additional materials relating to Aldred Metraux's work in South America are held in the Institute of Social Anthropology photographs (MS 4623) and the Handbook of South American Indians Records.