CRLSSI } oe a fr =) i ” | | es on SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1949 é Se An , ie CED 0% ANo An “gxe ce liane OO , Bt mo jeeeaco0® UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1950 Unitep States Nationau Museum, Unver Direction OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, D. C., October 15, 1949. Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon the present condition of the United States National Museum and upon the work accomplished in its various departments during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949. Very respectfully, REMINGTON KELLOGG, Director, U. S. National Museum. Dr. A. WETMORE, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. im CONTENTS Page ARRr TAO CHIE EL OND e Spee ALN a IN NR Sis SM Vee 3 ON AN RE RR a 1 Petatied reports.on the collections. - 22.5 62 ee ee 5 Wepartment of anthropology... ... 22 025042 0.2) Sa 5 WeparuMem Or ZOOlORY 22 oe es St er ee 22 WeparvmentOrmbotamy x2 2k ao we he Sr aie eee ee 40 Wepartment of ccolosy wie Se ee 51 Department of engineering and industries________.___._._._---_-__- 64 Weparnment Of MIStOry 62 52) Ca ee Ie ou ee I 73 LUSH G CLE Gy GOST EST oe ARIE A eg at cee gle TAK) De reaped MAI 80 Pisironeviuscuim publications. 22 Sele 2 ee eee 122 REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1949 By REMINGTON KELLOGG Director of the United States National Museum INTRODUCTION Durine the fiscal year 1948-49 the United States National Museum was allotted $748,760 from the funds appropriated by Congress to carry on the operations of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches. This allotment included $36,200 for printing and binding, the remain- der being used for salaries and expenses required for the preservation, exhibition, increase, and study of the national collections of anthro- pological, zoological, botanical, and geological specimens as well as materials illustrative of engineering, industry, and history. On July 31, 1948, Dr. Ray S. Bassler, a member of the Museum staff since August 1, 1913, retired as head curator of the department of geology, and his successor, Dr. William F. Foshag, was appointed on August 1, 1948. The division of history was raised to the status of a department on August 16,1948. Charles Carey, who received his first appointment to the Museum staff on November 2, 1920, was named acting head curator of the department of history. The functions of this department were allocated to five divisions. Mendel L. Peterson was designated acting curator of military and naval history, Miss Margaret W. Brown was appointed acting curator of civil history, and Mrs. Catherine L. Manning was placed in charge of the philatelic col- lection. With the appointment of Stuart L. Mosher on August 27, 1948, as acting curator of numismatics, the initial reorganization of the department of history was completed. The curatorial and research work of the Museum continues to be retarded by lack of adequate laboratory and office space for the profes- sional workers and of storage space for proper handling of the collec- tions, by insufficient supplies and equipment for the normal operation of the Museum’s activities, and by the shortage of personnel in several divisions. The acute space problem, especially the overcrowding of material, both in the exhibition and the study collections, has been emphasized in 1 2 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 previous reports. Wings at each end of the Natural History Building have already been authorized by Congress, and it is hoped that funds for their construction may be appropriated whenever the public-build- ing programs are initiated. The Arts and Industries Building, constructed in 1883 on the south side of the Mall, has been overcrowded for some years and is no longer adequate either for the display or for the normal expansion of the industrial collections. Space requirements for exhibition, storage, and staff in a new Engineering and Industries Building to replace the antiquated Arts and Industries Building have been reviewed annually. Estimates for a separate building for American history have been made for authorization by Congress. These historical collections, which are viewed annually by a million or more visitors, are now dis- played in the crowded halls of the Arts and Industries Building. Collections.—Field work by the staff in South, Central, and North America, New Zealand, and Australia, gifts from individuals and in- dustrial concerns, transfers from Government departments and agen- cies, and exchanges with institutions in foreign countries have added large numbers of desirable materials to the national collections. This steady flow of valuable specimens into the Museum has greatly in- creased the usefulness of the national collections and, although the preparation, identification, and storage of these materials are becoming increasingly more difficult to accomplish with the present limited staff and facilities, no conceivable justification can be envisaged for rejection of offered accessions of such high importance. The accessions for the year arrived in 1,807 separate lots, totaling 445,641 specimens (somewhat less than during the fiscal year 1948), and were distributed among the six departments as follows: Anthro- pology, 4,099; zoology, 279,621; botany, 38,708; geology, 109,499; engineering and industries, 2,610; and history, 11,104. A complete list (by donor) of all accessions received during the year is given on pages 80 to 121. The outstanding event of the year was the presentation by Milton Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, on behalf of the estate of the late Orville Wright, of the historic aeroplane invented and constructed by Wilbur and Orville Wright and flown by them at Kitty Hawk, N. C., on De- cember 17,1903. Since 1928 the Wright Brothers’ aeroplane had been in the custody of the Science Museum at London, England. After the death of Orville Wright on January 30, 1948, legal concurrence for the shipment of the “Kitty Hawk” plane to Washington was given by the heirs. Dr. Herman Shaw, director of the Science Museum, ac- companied the plane across the Atlantic on the Mauretania to Hali- fax, Nova Scotia, where it was transferred to the Navy carrier Palau for delivery at New York. A special Navy truck brought the plane from New York to Washington. The formal presentation ceremony INTRODUCTION 3 was held in the north entrance hall of the Arts and Industries Build- ing of the United States National Museum on December 17, 1948, the 45th anniversary of the unprecedented flight at Kitty Hawk. In- cluded among the 1,000 or more distinguished guests at this ceremony were members and friends of the Wright families, officials of the executive departments of the Government, Justices of the Supreme Court, officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, and others interested in aeronautics. The Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, accepted the plane on behalf of the Nation, and the formal acceptance address was delivered by Vice President-elect Alben W. Barkley, a regent of the Smithsonian Institution. The British Ambassador, Sir Oliver Franks, chose as the topic of his address “Britain and the Wright Brothers.” For examination and report 1,516 lots of specimens were received, involving the identification of more than 50,000 individual items, the Jarger part of which was referred to the departments of zoology, botany, and geology. Some of this material was returned to the senders, and some that is especially desirable was retained with the approval of the sender for the Museum’s collections. Gifts of duplicates to schools, museums, and other institutions num- bered 36,856 specimens. Exchange of duplicate material with other collections totaled 48,656 specimens, and 634 specimens were trans- ferred to other Government agencies. Loans for scientific study to investigators outside of Washington totaled 70,713 specimens. Sev- enteen collecting outfits were distributed. The following summary of the collections has been adjusted to reflect additions to and eliminations from the various series to the end of the fiscal year. A reasonably careful tabulation of the national collection of insects at the beginning of the fiscal year 1948-49 indi- cated a total of 10,500,000 specimens, which increased the 1947-48 estimate of 6,082,818 by 4,417,182 specimens: ANCHEOpPOLO RY UN Sete UE aa Ek 755, 193 OIG 14 ie ie het ae OR as SA A ee ew 24, 605, 016 IB ibang a a. eet 2 ky A ae A 2, 368, 185 GIP ONO Dag SMe. 8 Rar SIP a) ee el ee a 3, 157, 247 SIMeCring “ANG, JNQUSETICS en 165, 090 PETES Aa May pegs ae eras ae ee eee ee 628, 365 AT Ota lessee tr yenetaed se ets oe ete eA ee es 31, 679, 046 Library—The Museum library recorded 138,303 publications as permanent additions to its collections during the past year, more than half of which were received in exchange. Purchases included 1,382 books, two special collections of pamphlets on plants and on fishes, and subscriptions for 182 periodicals. Scientific serials are the backbone of the published source material indispensable to the work of the curatorial staff, and exchange ar- 4 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 rangements were made to receive 171 new or not previously received series of these important publications. Reading and reference use of the library, the true test of its useful- ness, continued to be heavy, and interlibrary loans were more numer- ous than last year. Loans of 2,619 volumes were made to 89 libraries, while the library borrowed 1,457 volumes for its own readers, chiefly from the Library of Congress and from departmental libraries in Washington. Funds permitted 700 volumes, mostly periodicals, to be sent to the bindery, but inasmuch as these were only a part of the number com- pleted during the year the backlog of binding continued to grow. More than a thousand books were repaired in the hbrary, but here too there is far more work to be done than one assistant can handle. The library suffered badly under the double handicap of a curtailed staff and the ever-increasing overcrowding of the shelves. Statistics Accessions of cataloged volumes___-__-_____-_______-______ 2, 175 Publications cataloged or recataloged_____________________ 3, 065 Cards added to catalogs and shelf-lists____._._______________ 14, 125 Periodical: parts, entered... 025 le 9, 414 New...exchanges, arranged: 20 00 es ae oe 171 Volumes’ sent ito the bindery 2 222200) 2 oo Nee ee eee 700 Volumes repaired in the library_-_._._--_-_________-__-___-__ 1, 026 Circulation of books and periodicals, main library__________ 10, 412 Books and periodicals assigned to sectional libraries for intradivisional circulation and filing.__-__._____________ 4,493 Publications.—Thirty-one Museum publications were issued during the year 1948-49: 1 Annual Report, 3 in the Bulletin series, 25 in the Proceedings, and 2 numbers of the Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. A list of these is given on pages 122-123. Of special interest were two volumes of A. C. Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds—one on the nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies; the other on the thrushes, kinglets, and their allies—com- prising the sixteenth and seventeenth parts of this popular series. The eighteenth part was sent to the printer just before the close of the fiscal year. The third and concluding part of Dr. Theodor Morten- sen’s “Report on the Echinoidea Collected by the United States Fish- erles Steamer Adbatross, 1907-1910” was issued in October 1948 as a part of Bulletin 100. The 25 papers in the Proceedings of the Na- tional Museum published during the year encompassed a wide variety of research based on the Museum collections in zoology and geology. Volumes and separates distributed to libraries and individuals on the regular mailing lists totaled 56,950, while 9,509 copies of publica- tions issued during the current and previous years were supplied in re- sponse to special requests. About 15,500 more Museum publications were distributed this year than last. DETAILED REPORTS ON THE COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY (Frank M. Serzcer, Head Curator) In July 1948 the Australian-American Arnhem Land Expedition moved its first base camp, by means of mission boats and planes, from Umbakumba, Groote Eylandt, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, to Yirrkala in the northeast corner of Arnhem Land. This international expedi- tion, sponsored by the Commonwealth of Australia, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution was comprised of six Australian and four American scientists, including specialists in archeology, ethnology, zoology, botany, biochemistry, medicine, nutrition, and primitive art. Under the leadership of Charles P. Mountford, the initial base camp was established at Fred Gray’s native settlement at Umba- kumba, Groote Eylandt, on April 4, 1948. During this period of 3 months, the head curator, Frank M. Setzler, obtained over 100 palm and fingerprints, hair samples, and taste tests of the various Aus- tralian natives; made several anatomical plaster casts of the young and adults for future modeling of life-size exhibition groups; took hundreds of photographs; and collected numerous ethnological speci- mens, such as bark paintings, spears, woomeras (spear throwers), baskets, mats, and canoe paddles, covering a representative series of their material culture. On Winchelsea Island he excavated some of the early Malay graves and on the northwest corner of Groote Kylandt obtained skeletal material of the Australian aborigine; several soil samples were collected for possible new antibiotics. Two months were spent at Yirrkala, near the Methodist Aboriginal Mission Station. This beautiful camp site on the beach of the Arafura Sea permitted a repetition of anthropological research similar to that on Groote Eylandt. Here, too, Mr. Setzler was given an opportunity to excavate Malay and aboriginal sites at Port Bradshaw and Melville Bay. He also spent 3 weeks on Milingimbi Island, 150 miles east of Yirrkala. An excellent collection of painted ceremonial skulls and ceremonial paraphernalia was obtained from the natives on Milingimbi Island and the surrounding mainland through the kind cooperation of the Rev. T. H. Hanna, at that time in charge of the Methodist Mission on Milingimbi. Several trenches were dug in the large pre- historic shell heaps on the island. 5 6 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 On September 21 camp was again moved by plane and small coastal vessels to Oenpelli, 50 miles up the muddy, crocodile-infested East Alligator River. This camp was located near the foot of the high escarpment at the western boundary of Arnhem Land. Mr. Setzler devoted the entire period at this site to the excavation of 12 caves formerly inhabited by the Australian aborigines. Numerous skeletons and thousands of chipped stone implements were recovered from these screening operations. He was extremely fortunate in recovering a unique hafted adz, which clarified for the first time the use made of a specific type of chipped quartzite blade. The blade (elouera) was attached, by means of a cement derived from the roots of the iron- wood tree, to a short wooden handle. Many of these quartzite blades were recovered from the caves at Oenpelli; they occur on numerous surface sites throughout New South Wales. Many theories had been propounded as to the use of these blades. The finding of this hafted adz furnishes the first specific evidence as to how these blades were employed by the Australian aborigines. The expedition returned to Darwin in November, where all the anthropological specimens were classified, divided, and packed for shipment to Adelaide, Sydney, and the United States. The members were then flown from Darwin to Adelaide. After paying his respects to the Minister of Information, the Hon. Arthur A. Calwell, whose interest and cooperation made possible this international expedition, as well as expressing thanks to the various commonwealth depart- ments in Canberra for their splendid cooperation, Mr. Setzler left. Australia by plane on December 1, 1948. Upon the return of the head curator to Washington, Dr. T. D. Stewart renewed his physical anthropological field work in Guate- mala. This project featured the collecting of anthropometric meas- urements and observations on the living Mayan-speaking Indians of the highlands. Such data are to serve in comparisons with similar data of record on the lowland Mayan-speaking Indians of Yucatan. A secondary phase of the project was the examination of skeletal remains from archeological sites in the highlands. Skeletons dated by cultural associations, especially from several time periods, will supply evidence on the nature of the physical changes that the local population has undergone. During the 11 weeks, Dr. Stewart meas- ured nearly 200 Indians and examined a large collection of skeletal] remains. He first visited the town of Soloma in the Department of Huehuetenango, where the Indians speak the Kanjabal language. Later he worked at the town of Santa Clara la Laguna in the Depart- ment of Solola, where the Indians speak the Quiche language. Be- tween visits to these places he examined skeletal remains recovered at Zaculeu, an ancient ceremonial center outside of the city of DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 7. Huehuetenango being excavated and reconstructed by the United Fruit Co. On June 20, 1949, Dr. Stewart flew to Cuzco, Feru, to attend as an American delegate the Second Inter-American Confer- ence on Indian Life held June 24—July 4. As in the previous year, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, associate curator in archeology, again devoted practically all his time to work of the River Basin Surveys, particularly that having to do with the salvage of archeological history in the Missouri River Basin. On detail from May 26 to October 1, 1948, Dr. Wedel supervised field and laboratory operations of the Missouri River Basin Survey from headquarters in Lincoln, Nebr. During the winter he made three inspection trips from Washington to various parts of the Missouri Valley. He left Washington again on June 16, 1949, to resume the direction of opera- tions for the third season. Herbert W. Krieger, curator of ethnology, participated as the Smith- sonian representative in a series ot meetings at the State Department relative to participation by the Federal Government in the Port-au- Prince Bicentennial Exposition in response to the invitation extended by the Government of Haiti. At the request of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the Depart- ment of the Interior, John C. Ewers, associate curator of ethnology, was detailed to duty with the Office of Indian Affairs during the month of August 1948 to prepare plans for exhibits in the new Museum of the Southern Plains Indians at Anadarko, Okla. He spent 10 days supervising Indian Office architects in Washington in the preparation of detailed exhibit case plans for the Museum and then installed a temporary exhibition in the Anadarko Museum for the period of the American Indian Exposition, August 17-21. On completion of the construction of the exhibit cases, Mr. Ewers was again detailed to duty with the Indian Office during February 1949. He supervised the painting of exhibition hall and cases, writing of labels, and instal- lation of lighting and exhibit materials. While in Oklahoma he visited the museums of the Oklahoma Historical Society at Oklahoma City, the University of Oklahoma, at Norman, and the Museum at Fort Sill, near Lawton, and studied the Plains Indian materials on exhibition there. He also availed himself of the opportunity to see the fine collection of old Plains specimens collected by Col. Emil Landers, in the possession of his widow in Oklahoma City. In St. Louis he studied the excellent collections of early Indian photographs in the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Historical Society. The department’s new associate curator in ethnology, C. Malcolm Watkins, was detailed from January 22 to 30 to attend a Forum on Antiques and Decorations held at Williamsburg, Va. He participated in discussion groups and gave a paper on “European Influences on 8 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 American Glass.” He visited Jamestown and examined archeological specimens recovered at that site. Similar collections were examined at the Williamsburg laboratory. From April 4 to 15, and again from June 11 to 30, 1949, Mr. Watkins visited Time Stone Farm, Marl- borough, Mass., the home of Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood, where he examined the collections of objects of early American domestic use offered as a gift to the Smithsonian Institution by Mrs. Greenwood and to supervise their packing and shipment to the United States National Museum. In addition to the heavy workload carried by this understaffed de- partment, every spare moment was devoted to research and revitalizing its exhibits. The department has carried forward the study of man based on the anatomical, phenotypic, and, whenever possible, the geno- typic characteristics. In combination with the data obtained through archeological and ethnological research, the studies are aimed to clarify the physical and cultural development of man, both on a horizontal plane (geographical distribution) and from the standpoint of time and perspective. This 3-dimensional approach to the study of man as a physical being and the diagnostic cultural traits obtained by controlled excavations should clarify man’s development over the past 500,000 years. ‘The factual evidence derived from these departmental-wide studies should contribute to a better understanding of the origin and development of man, his utilitarian and esthetic arts, and religious and social institutions. Because of the lack of appropriated funds for modernizing exhibits, the proposed plan for hall 11 had to be postponed. Nevertheless, the department deems it so essential that a compromise program has been inaugurated whereby considerable improvements can be made with the present limited staff. At the close of the fiscal year, exhibition cases and specimens were being rearranged and the first diorama from the anthropological laboratory was nearing completion. Three vacancies and two new positions were filled during the year. C. Malcolm Watkins was appointed associate curator in the division of ethnology to handle the sections of cultural history. As a result of his specialization in this field the division has been able to expedite the hundreds of requests in this rapidly growing field of interest. The appointment of Eugene P. Greer as scientific helper in the division of archeology somewhat diminished the work load in this understaffed division. Miss Lucy H. Rowland, John E. Anglim, and James C. Dade filled vacancies that occurred as a result of transfers and resignations. ACCESSIONS Even though the number of accessions in the department increased by 26 percent over the previous year, the total number of specimens DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 9 represented was 1 percent less. A total of 97 accessions, comprising 3,989 specimens, was received in the department. In addition, 110 specimens were added that had not been processed in previous years. The 97 accessions were distributed among the divisions and sections within the department as follows: Archeology, 36 (8,351 specimens) ; ethnology, 29 (406 specimens) ; ceramics, 5 (8 specimens) ; musical instruments, 1 (1 specimen) ; period art and textiles, 18 (99 speci- mens) ; physical anthropology, 13 (124 specimens). Archeology.—The following noteworthy archeological collections were received: A black-figured Attic lecythus of the fifth century B. C., presented to President Harry S. Truman as a token of gratitude from the people of Greece by a delegation led by Christos Zalocostas, Member of Parliament for Athens, and lent by the President; 11 gold- plated ornaments from Veraguas, Panama, and 2 gold fishhooks from Colombia, a gift of Karl P. Curtis; 2 inscribed wooden tablets from Kaster Island, a gift from H. S. Bissell; 47 prehistoric vessels from the Valley of Nasca, Peru, presented to the late General John J. Pershing by former President Augusto B. Leguia and donated to the U.S. National Museum by General Pershing; 97 earthenware vessels and other artifacts from Virii Valley, Department of La Libertad, Peru, transferred from the Bureau of American Ethnology; 813 stone implements, potsherds, and other artifacts from various archeological sites in Maryland, collected and presented by Richard E. Stearns; 55 stone artifacts and rejectage from blade manufacture, including a rare Folsom-type projectile point of black flint, from various sites on Utukok River, northwestern Alaska, transferred from the U. S. Geo- logical Survey. Hthnology.—With three exceptions the ethnologic accessions were received as unsolicited gifts of individuals. They represent the handi- crafts and material culture of many of the world’s peoples. Especially noteworthy is the collection of 51 specimens from American tribes of the Great Plains and the Great Lakes, of Arizona and New Mexico, also from the Eskimo of Alaska, the Igorot of the Philippine Islands, and the Marquesans and Maori of southeast Pacific Oceania, assembled over a period of more than a century and donated by Georgetown University. The President, Harry S. Truman, presented to the Smithsonian Institution 17 gold-embossed silver vessels received at the White House as a gift from the Government of Tibet in appreciation of an Ameri- can gift of wireless receiving and transmitting sets made during World War II. Included in the gift are two butter lamps and stands, four teacup stands and covers, two bowls for grain offerings, one teapot, and two beer mugs, all decorated in gold-embossed designs drawn from Chinese-Tibetan folklore and inspired by Buddhist re- ligious art, but entirely Tibetan as to form. 10 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 By gift of the late Mrs. Frank Brett Noyes, the division’s collec- tions were enriched by a comprehensive gift of 287 folk, costume, and historical portrait dolls. The folk and costume dolls appear in native dress representing peoples of many lands: Indians of Western United States, Mexico, and Guatemala; Hispanic-American types of Argentina, Brazil, and Peru; Asiatic peoples including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Javanese, Siamese, Burmese, Indian, Persian, Syrian, and Turkish; European ethnic types including Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Greek, Czechoslovakian, Italian, Sicilian, French, Spanish, Scotch, Irish, Austrian, Swiss, German, Belgian, Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Latvian, English, and American. The dolls are made of wood, wax, bisque, china, papier-maché, cloth, ivory, or plaster, and cover a period from the early eighteenth century to the present. ‘The history of American costume is represented by a series beginning with the year 1775. The Noyes collection also includes 24 historically documented por- trait dolls artistically and faithfully modeled in fabric by Mrs. Dorothy Heizer. This series portrays queens famous in history from Nefertete, an Egyptian queen of the fourteenth century, B. C., to Queen Victoria of England. Two important Hispanic-American specimens were received. ‘The first of these, the Don Diego Columbus table, traditionally known as the writing desk of Diego Columbus, was conditionally bequeathed by Mrs. Edith Keyes Benton. The table was fashioned with hand tools and richly carved from Dominican mahogany early in the sixteenth century in Santo Domingo City, the colonial capital of New Spain. Preserved for centuries in the cathedral of that city, it was presented by the Archbishop Nouel to Commander Frederick L. Benton, U. S. N., in recognition of his work in Santo Domingo during the influenza epidemic of 1918. The second noteworthy Hispanic- American specimen was presented by Sefiora Consuela Bazan de Segura consisting of a silk hand-made lace luncheon cloth, a so-called malla bordada with appliqued lace designs embroidered on a knotted net. Ju Whan Lee, director of the Korean Court Music Conservatory at Seoul, Korea, presented one of the rarest of musical instruments— a musical gong, kyung, carved from white marble. The kyung had its origin in China, whence it was introduced into Korea. A set of these gongs consists of 12, each having a different tone. The gong presented by Mr. Lee was made in Korea in A. D. 1484. It is the third tone from the lower end of the scale. When struck with the oxhorn mallet, which accompanied the gift, it produces the tone known as tai jok. DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 11 F. B. Hyde presented a decorated blanket of hand-woven Phor- mium tenax flax. The specimen was obtained at Wakarewarewa, North Island, New Zealand, from the great-great-granddaughter of a Maori chief, its former owner. Physical anthropology.—Unusual specimens received in this divi- sion include four casts of fossil primates from Africa. ‘Two of these, representing Australopithecus prometheus, were received as gifts from Prof. Raymond A. Dart, while the two others, of Proconsul africanus Hopwood, were purchased. Another unusual collection, and at the same time the largest re- ceived, consists of skeletal remains recovered in northern Australia by the head curator, Frank M. Setzler, deputy leader of the Australian- American Arnhem Land Expedition. Although most of these skeletal remains pertain to native Australians, a few are Malays. The contrast in physical type between Australian and Malay is most striking. There are only a limited number of Australian skeletons available for study in this country; therefore a well-recorded collec- tion such as this is most welcome. The second largest accession represents the sixth addition to Dr. P. F. Titterington’s generous gift of skeletal material from Illinois, mentioned in previous reports. This year’s gift amounts to 39 speci- mens and brings the total to 549 specimens. Distribution and exchange of specimens.—The division of archeol- ogy distributed 364 specimens (216 cataloged, 148 uncataloged) to educational institutions; 21 specimens on loan were withdrawn by the owners. In addition, 217 specimens were lent to six other museums for study purposes; all but 35 of these specimens were returned during the year. The original Kensington Stone was temporarily returned to Minnesota for an exhibit during the State’s centennial year. Even though the anthropological laboratory was reduced to one em- ployee during a portion of the year, it was possible to clean, remount, and repair 20 of the century-old Catlin paintings in order to comply with the requests of several museums to borrow them. Fifteen col- lections of ethnological material representing 100 specimens were lent. In all, 182 ethnological specimens were distributed as open exchanges, transfers, and gifts. The division of physical anthropology distributed to various insti- tutions as open exchanges 12 casts made in the anthropological labora- tory from the Tepexpan skull and lower jaw. An endocast of the Tepexpan skull was sent to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City. Continuing the practice initiated in 1946-47, uncata- loged skeletal remains from the Huntington collection were sent as gifts or open exchanges to three teaching institutions. 12 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 Number of specimens under the department.—During the past fiscal year the department received a net gain of 2,888 specimens, making a total of 755,193 cataloged specimens on June 30, 1949. The total number of specimens received amounted to 4,099; however, 1,211 pre- viously cataloged specimens were distributed as gifts, exchanges, with- drawn, or transferred to other institutions or Government depart- ments. The following summary indicates the distribution of speci- mens in the various divisions and sections within the department: ALCHEOLO RY oe ei A ale DE RT 521, 654. BGG To ra Oey se AP aE Dit ee a el 183, 797 GOLAN CS 26 ek 8. 28 Fc hal ek Mel hl ch a 7, 916 Musical. instramien tse aia Aye nlite eee 2, 416 Period. art and textiles: oe en ees eee 2, 584 Physical’ anthropology 222 222 eer a 12 Die ee eee 36, 826 4 C0) 1 alee MR AMPS ry oe NRA TW Rees a er Ml A so VIR de 755, 193 INSTALLATION AND PRESERVATION OF COLLECTIONS As a repository for cultural objects from all over the world, the department of anthropology is charged with the task of preserving not only the nonperishable material culture of prehistoric peoples but also examples of highly perishable objects obtained from living primitive people and the cherished treasures of past civilizations. Similar curatorial attention is given to the human skeletal material in the collections, which ranges in time from the late geological periods to the end of the nineteenth century. ‘The mere storage of these hun- dreds of thousands of irreplaceable objects is not enough. ‘They must be classified, repaired, fumigated, segregated, and cataloged if they are to be made available to the thousands of annual visitors and schol- ars of the present day, as well as to future generations of visitors and students. The specimens that are put on display to tell the story of man represent only a small portion of the total made available each year for hundreds of research students as well as the profes- sional staff of the Institution. An anthropological specimen per se is of little or no value to the research scholar, and therefore the department’s staff makes every effort, by means of analysis and com- parative studies, to determine the source of all material received, to identify the period of manufacture, provenience, and general ethnic position, and otherwise to document it fully, before it is officially cataloged and added to the national collections. As elsewhere in the Museum, the space problem in the department of anthropology has reached a crisis. The amount of space avail- able for the preservation of specimens in an orderly and systematic manner is utterly exhausted. If additional space cannot somehow be found and assigned to the department, it can no longer be expected DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 13 that the anthropological collections can be available to students under optimum conditions. It does not seem wise to encroach further on the laboratories or exhibition halls; and to refuse to accept new speci- mens because of lack of space not only will restrict scientific progress but will defeat one of the Museum’s prime functions—exhibition. Cataloging—The department cataloged 3,989 specimens received during the year and 175 specimens received in previous years but never cataloged. In the division of ethnology all incoming accessions were fumigated, cleaned, and repaired as a routine procedure preliminary to catalog- ing, and all specimens accessioned during the year were numbered, carded, and entered. Most Americans have a live curiosity concern- ing peoples living in other lands and are consequently great travelers and collectors. The division of ethnology is a repository of many privately made ethnic and cultural collections of merit. Cataloging of such collections is a major function of the division. Photographs and sketches are invaluable aids in cataloging newly accessioned speci- mens. Also useful are shipping tags attached to the specimens bear- ing numbers corresponding to the collector’s list together with the common and native name of the specimen, the name of the locality, and the name of the group or tribe from whom it was obtained. Considerable time was devoted by the staff in obtaining supple- mental data regarding accessions made in previous years. For ex- ample, the division has, in its collection of paintings of Indian sub- jects, 25 oil paintings by the American artist Joseph Henry Sharp. Photographs were made in the Museum’s photographic laboratory of the paintings and submitted to the artist, who was able to add many valuable data to the information entered on catalog cards in previous years when the paintings were received as gifts from individuals whose knowledge of the circumstances involved in the making of the paintings was limited. Similarly, Mrs. Dorothy Heizer, the artist who modeled the series of portrait dolls of famous historical queens included in the collection of Mrs. Frank Brett Noyes, was questioned by letter regarding her methods, sources of information, and the cir- cumstances surrounding their creation. ‘The information generously supplied in her answers was added on the catalog cards to the data obtained from the donor. In examining a very old collection of Indian rawhide and bone saddles from the northern Plains Indian tribes, in connection with a current study of the role of the horse in northern Plains Indian culture, it was discovered that a series of in- formative sketches had been pasted beneath each saddle and signed by George Bird Grinnell. These valuable data were added to the appropriate catalog cards. 858769502 14 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 The division of physical anthropology kept up to date on current accessions. The Belle Glade collection, which mainly represents the backlog, was moved at the close of the fiscal year from a storage room on the ground floor to the fourth floor of the rotunda. This brings all the Florida collections together and makes this particular collec- tion more accessible for handling when opportunity comes to complete this backlog. A large series of face molds, casts, and photographs of South A fri- can natives in the division collections was found to lack catalog num- bers. Upon investigation these specimens proved to have been col- lected in 1913-14 by Prof. V. Suk, of Czechoslovakia, for the Panama- California Exposition and to have been accessioned but never cataloged. At the close of the year these had been listed and catalog numbers assigned. Some progress was made on the program of mak- ing history cards for the accessions of past years. Cards are now complete from the present through the year 1938. The cataloging of the reprint collection again suffered from the fact that the staff had little time to devote to this type of work. The effectiveness of the division’s service and research will be limited as long as this mass of literature remains inaccessible. For a 5-month period an extra clerk-stenographer was assigned to the department to assist in diminishing the accumulated backlog of uncataloged specimens and the typing of catalog cards. Consid- erable progress was made in the division of physical anthropology. Hahibition——Prior to the outbreak of World War II the depart- ment formulated plans for the modernizing of one of its exhibition halls. Even though this program is favored by all concerned, the necessary funds are not as yet available. Nevertheless, a compromise plan has been adopted whereby certain phases of the original program can be accomplished by the department’s limited staff. At the close of this fiscal year specific changes were made in halls 9 and 11. Many of these rearrangements can be adapted in the original program when funds permit. Considerable experimentation was required in the building of a diorama to be used in these halls. The first of these dioramas, depicting one phase in the life of the Yahgans of Tierra del Fuego, a primitive group of Indians living in the southernmost in- habited region in the world, awaits installation. The production of a light-weight canvas-lined quadrisphere by A. J. Andrews, chief preparator, represents an innovation in producing this essential sur- face on which to paint the background and sky of a diorama. In ad- dition to this large-scale exhibition program, the staff has devoted considerable time and effort to minor improvements of the exhibits in their respective divisions. DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 15 Archeology.—This division purchased an exhibit illustrating the use of tree rings for dating prehistoric ruins in the Southwest. This interesting display was prepared by the Tree Ring Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Four archeological exhibits were relocated. Cultural material from several archeological sites within the District of Columbia were installed. Mrs. Margaret C. Blaker continued her review of the division’s archeological collections from New England in anticipation of revising the exhibits from these States. At the close of the year negotiations were under way to obtain diagnostic specimens illustrating the important archeological horizons by means of an exchange of specimens with another institution. Ethnology.—tThe exhibits of the Hawaiian alcove at the southwest corner of hall 7 were entirely rearranged insofar as it is possible to do so with our limited staff, inexpensive display devices, paint, and mod- ern installation in our old standard exhibition cases. Dolls from the Mrs. Frank Brett Noyes collection were installed in two large floor cases at the east end of the hall of period art and textiles. This pleas- ing exhibit includes portrait dolls representing famous queens of his- tory artistically modeled in fabric by Mrs. Dorothy Heizer and based on documentary source material and contemporary paintings. In- cluded are: Nefertete, queen of Egypt in the fourteenth century, B. C.; Cleopatra (69 B. C.—A. D. 30); Berengaria, queen of England and wife of Richard I, the Lion-Hearted ; Queen Jadwiga of Poland (1371- 1399) ; Margaret of Anjou, queen of England and wife of Henry VI; Isabella of Castile, queen of Spain (1451-1504) ; Catherine de Medici, queen of France; Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland; Elizabeth, queen of England and Ireland; Maria Theresa, wife of the Holy Roman Em- peror, Francis 1; Catherine II, empress of Russia and wife of Peter the Great; Marie Antoinette, queen of France, wife of Louis XVI; Josephine, empress of France, wife of Napoleon I; Louise, queen of Prussia, wife of Frederick William III; and Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of England and Ireland and empress of India. Two special exhibitions were temporarily installed in the ground floor foyer, consisting of a selection of portrait dolls from the Mrs. Frank Brett Noyes collection. The selection embraced a group por- traying Henry VIII, king of England (1509-1547), based on a Hol- bein portrait in Windsor Castle; Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII; Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII; Jane Sey- mour, his third wife; Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife; Catherine Howard, his fifth wife; and Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of that much-married monarch. The other special foyer exhibit was the gift of the President, Harry S. Truman, of 17 gold-embossed silver ves- sels of domestic and ceremonial use that were received by the White 16 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 House shortly after the close of the war as a gift of the Government of Tibet. Owing to the difficulties of travel between Tibet and the outside world, more than a year was required to bring this official gift from a friendly nation to Washington. The objects in themselves are interesting because they show the strong influence of traditional Chinese art designs along with Buddhist inspired religious motifs. Awe-inspiring were the size and barbaric form of two of the vessels designed for use as beer mugs. Continued popular interest in George Catlin’s paintings of North American Indians was reflected in requests, which were granted, for the use of selections of his paintings in loan exhibitions by other in- stitutions, namely : Museum of the Southern Plains Indians, Anadarko, Okla. (12); Brooklyn Museum (4), for display in an exhibition on Western Expansion; the Library of Congress (6); and the Minnea- polis Institute of Art (8), for its Minnesota Centennial Exhibition. Physical anthropology.—Relatively few changes were made in the exhibitions under the division’s care. Dr. Marshall T. Newman con- tinued to improve the new exhibits he had installed in the hallways on the third floor. At the close of the fiscal year lights were being installed in the third-floor hall case containing the Tepexpan Man exhibit. During September this case was moved to the rotunda to form part of the Institution’s exhibit in connection with the centenary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Preservation of collections —With the functioning of the Museum fumatorium, the problem of preserving perishable objects has been held to a minimum. Since all incoming collections of a perishable nature are first treated in the fumatorium, a weekly inspection of the department’s thousands of specimens on exhibition and the frequent use of our study collections make it possible to forestall any serious infestation. Adequate space for the classified storage has long been exhausted. The necessity of crowding more and more specimens into these limited cases constitutes a most serious preservation problem. The scientific aides in the division of archeology numbered the collections as received throughout the year, cleaned and consolidated the study collections, and rearranged the division’s collections of ar- cheological specimens from the District of Columbia. Considerable time was devoted to the identification of unmarked or inadequately identified specimens among the early acquisitions. All pre-Columbian gold specimens were removed from public exhibition in 1920, owing to the lack of adequate protection. These intrinsically and scientifi- cally valuable specimens, now kept in a vault, were examined and checked by the curator, Neil M. Judd. In the division of ethnology the assistant curator, Robert A. Elder, Jr., continued throughout the year to work on the systematic reclassi- DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 17 fication of the study collections to facilitate ready reference to the materials. The following categories were arranged in reclassified storage during the year: African ethnology and the collections from Madagascar; Polynesian, particularly Hawaiian, materials; ethnology of North American Indian tribes of the Canadian Northwest, the Plateau area, the Great Basin, eastern Woodlands, and of the south- western Pueblo and nomadic tribes. Classification of study collec- tions from the tribes of Washington, Oregon, and California was in progress at the close of the year. Important aspects of this work were the renumbering of many valuable old pieces on which the catalog numbers had become indistinct and also the checking of specimens of doubtful cultural allocation with the Museum records and pertinent ethnological literature. The aid of the technological shops of the Superintendent’s office contributed greatly to progress made with the project of reclassification. Five hundred dividing strips were in- stalled by the cabinet shop in storage cases housing paintings of North American Indians. Six additional specially designed long-weapon storage cases were built and installed in the W. L. Abbott room in the attic storage section. The chief preparator, A. J. Andrews, cleaned and restored 15 of the George Catlin paintings. From funds allotted to the division of physical anthropology this year, sufficient steel was secured to make the new storage racks planned for rooms 342 and 374. At the close of the fiscal year the racks in room 842 were completed and the room is being redecorated. The increased and more accessible storage space resulting from the in- stallation of these new racks will greatly facilitate the work of the division. Also, with permanent assignment of drawers to the new storage space in these two rooms, the finding system can be extended to 854 more drawers. Since each drawer holds 10 skulls or 3 skeletons, the number of specimens thus brought under more effective control runs into several thousand. As time permitted, the scientific aide continued the work of sorting and rearranging the older collections. This cannot be carried much farther until additional storage space becomes available, Anthropological laboratory.—During the year the anthropological laboratory performed an unusually wide variety of tasks. For the division of archeology a duplicate cast in natural color was made of the Kensington Rune Stone. Painted casts were also made of an ear- spool and a platform pipe. Several pieces of pottery were repaired. For the division of ethnology, the shell for the background of the Yahgan diorama was cast and painted, and numerous figures and accessories for this exhibit were modeled, cast, and painted. In ad- dition, 14 Catlin paintings were cleaned and varnished, and another Catlin picture was mounted, repaired, cleaned, and varnished. Nine 18 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1949 pieces of Tibetan silver were cleaned, polished, and coated with lacquer. For the division of physical anthropology 18 casts in natural color were made of the Tepexpan skull and jawbone, and casts of a facial fragment were repaired. A large series of life masks was checked and then stored in the attic. The statue “Columbia’s Call to Arms,” by Niehaus, and the original model for the Hodgkins medal were repaired for the National CoJlection of Fine Arts. Four pieces of Mexican pottery were repaired and restored for the Bureau of American Ethnology. S —<————==> ——S ——_——_s —— ———S —_—_—_