Search

Start Over Online Content Not Available People Burkitt, Robert James, 1869-1945

Main content

Elin Danien collection of Robert Burkitt papers, 1903-1913 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.3 linear foot
Abstract:
The Elin Danien Collection of Robert Burkitt Papers was discovered by Danien on her trip to Guatemala in 1985. Consisting of notebooks on the languages of the native Indians in the Guatemalan Highlands, the collection was found on the property of a family with whom Robert Burkitt stayed while working for the Penn Museum in Guatemala. Previously thought to be destroyed, the works are from the early portion of Burkitt's time in Central America, 1903 to 1913, before he formally began to collect and catalogue artifacts for the Museum. The collection consists of four linguistic notebooks, a comparative chart of the languages with a word list, a Spanish-Kekchi dictionary created by Burkitt, a portion of Burkitt's Dresden Manuscript, an Index to a linguistic notebook that is not a part of the collection, and loose papers from other notebooks. A purchased Espanol-Quecchi dictionary from Coban, 1890, is also a part of the collection.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Main content

Mary Butler Lewis Papers, 1936-1969 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.8 linear foot
Abstract:
Mary Butler Lewis, professionally known as Dr. Butler, was one of a very small group of women archaeologists who worked in the United States during the early 20th century and the first female archaeologist to be awarded a Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (1936). She was born on June 23, 1903 in Media, PA and educated at Vassar College, Radcliffe and the University of Pennsylvania. Mary Butler’s professional career was firmly rooted in the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania , where she served as a Research Associate in the American Section from 1940-1970. Her areas of professional interest included Mesoamerican archaeology and northeastern and central United States prehistory, specializing in ceramics and pottery sequences. At the time of her death in 1970, she was the historian-archaeologist for the restoration of the 18th century Morton Mortonson House in Norwood, PA. The Mary Butler Lewis collection spans the period from 1933 to...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Main content

Robert Burkitt expedition records, 1913-1930 (bulk) 1903-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.4 linear feet
Abstract:
Robert Burkitt lived and worked in Guatemala for most of his life. A graduate of Harvard University, he first traveled to Central America in 1894 with George Gordon as Gordon's assistant on the Fourth Coban Expedition. Burkitt became enamored with the culture and language of the Maya and never returned to North America. He traveled the countryside, corresponding with Gordon, and collecting items for the Museum under a loosely binding agreement with Gordon and later Horace Jayne. Burkitt's letters and catalogues are rich documents depicting the cultural, linguistic, topological, and historical features of the Guatemala Highlands. Burkitt wrote and worked from the areas of Chama, Chipal, Coban, Senahu, Chiantla, Chocola, and other areas of the Alta Verapaz region. He produced a detailed catalogue of his discoveries accompanied by photgraphs and drawings. Among Burkitt's discoveries is the Ratinixul Vase unearthed in 1923. His work was published in the Museum Journal in 1924 and 1930....(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Main content

Mary Owen Guatemalan folktales collection, 1915 (bulk) 1915-1991 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.05 linear foot
Abstract:
The Mary Owen Guatemalan Folktale collection consists of two folders of folktales gathered by Mary Owen at the request of her friend George Byron Gordon, Director of the Free Museum of Science and Art, later the Penn Museum. Mary Owens transcribed seventeen folktales with notes and explanations from her valuable years of experience living in the Alta Verapaz region. Mary Owen's folktales were published in 1938 as a children's book co-authored by Marie Hendrick Jessup and Leslie Bird Simpson. Her work is also recognized in the book, "Maya Folktales from the Alta Verapaz", edited by Elin C. Danien.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]