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Start Over People Mason, John Alden, 1885-1967 Year 1950 to 1999

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American Section, 1898-1960 (bulk) 1826-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:
16.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The American Section was one of the first to evolve during the early development of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The University Archaeological Association established in 1887 and later, the American Exploration Society, established in 1892, exhibited several small collections in College Hall before the building campaign for the museum began. Charles Abbott was the first curator of the section succeeded by Henry C. Mercer and then Stewart Culin who was also named Director in 1899. Each succeeding curator was responsible for adding collections, many of them representing their own expeditions in the United States, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and South America. Records in the files are dated from 1826 through the 1980s. The transfer of materials to the Archives took place piecemeal and without a central organization. The current re-processing placed the files into three series, Deaccessions and Loans, Collectors and Collections and Exhibits.

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

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Piedras Negras, Guatemala expedition records, 1931-1939 (bulk) 1930-1973 (inclusive)

Extent:
10.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Piedras Negras is a Maya site in Guatemala particularly noted for the beautifully sculpted stelae and hieroglyphic inscriptions it has yielded. Between 1931 and 1939 the University of Pennsylvania Museum conducted extensive excavations at this site. John Allen Mason led the first two seasons of work at the site (1931–1932), and Linton Satterthwaite directed the remaining six seasons (1933–1939, excluding 1938). Most of the monuments at the Museum borrowed from Guatemala were returned in 1947; only Stela 14 and one leg from Altar 4 remain on display in the Museum today. The textual records from the excavations of Piedras Negras consist of 11 linear feet of correspondence, financial records, field notes and diaries, catalogs, and reports and publication materials. The arrangement of the records reflects the original order insofar as could be detected, and portions that had been separated over time were re-integrated into this scheme.

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

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Sitio Conte, Panama expedition records, 1939-1942 (bulk) 1929-1970 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.5 linear feet
Abstract:
At the turn of the century, the Río Grande de Coclé changed course, revealing the site of a pre-Columbian cemetery when pottery and gold ornaments were washed out of the river banks. In 1940 the University of Pennsylvania Museum began to excavate Sitio Conte, which belonged to a private landowner, located in the province of Coclé. A very small portion of the pre-Columbian cemetery, estimated to cover four or five acres in its entirety, was selected for excavation. The expedition yielded 6,600 pounds of pottery and stone. The textual records consist of 1.5 linear feet of field notes, diaries, and object cards; correspondence; administrative records concerning contracts, expenses, transportation, and equipment; and unpublished and published reports and articles concerning findings. The arrangement of the records became apparent after some research, for the original order had been lost. Most of the original folder titles, however, have been maintained.

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

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Samuel W. Pennypacker II Papers, 1932-1969 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear foot
Abstract:
Samuel W. Pennypacker, II was the son of Bevan Pennypacker and Mary Ferguson Pennypacker born in 1911. The grandson of Samuel W. Pennypacker, noted attorney and judge and former Pennsylvania governor from 1903-1907. S. W. Pennypacker II was an auditor at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to his daily work, Samuel took multiple archaeology courses and studied the North American Indian under Frank G. Speck. Speck is a noted anthropologist, professor, and the first Department of Anthropology chair at the University of Pennsylvania. The Samuel W. Pennypacker Personal papers consists of one box of correspondence, notes on the collection and details of his coursework in archaeology.

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

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J. Alden Mason American Section records, 1924-1964 (bulk) 1898-1968 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.2 linear feet
Abstract:
J. Alden Mason, noted archaeological anthropologist and linguist, was born in Orland, Indiana and attended school in Philadelphia attaining his A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907. He pursued his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley completing his dissertation on the ethnography of the Salinan Indians of California. Mason was influenced by Alfred J. Kroeber while at Berkeley and Edward Sapir of the University of Pennsylvania. The J. Alden Mason curatorial years (1922-1967) produced three archival boxes of correspondence and in-house memos, along with Section reports, research notes and articles and notes for publication. This material, in addition to personal records of Dr. Mason and evidence of his scholarship were arranged into series and placed in chronological order.

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

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A. Frances Eyman American Section records, 1951-1961 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.2 linear foot
Abstract:
A.(Alice) Frances Eyman, Assistant Curator and Keeper of the American section of the Penn Museum was educated at Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and did graduate work at Columbia and the University of New Mexico. While at the University of New Mexico, Eyman participated in archaeological field work with the Navajo. Eyman taught as a part of the education departments of both the American Museum of Natural History and the Penn Museum. Her special interest involved American Indian objects and how they fill the gap in the ethnology of the native people. The American Section records of A. Frances Eyman consist of three boxes of information. The collection is divided into three series; correspondence, notes and writings/manuscripts.

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

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J. Alden Mason Puerto Rican survey records, 1914-1915 (bulk) 1914-1960 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.3 linear foot
Abstract:
J. Alden Mason, noted archaeological anthropologist and linguist and curator of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, conducted ethnographic and archaeological research in Puerto Rico from 1914 to 1915. Holdings include field notebooks, most notably phonetic recordings of Puerto Rican folklore from Utuado, San German, Loiza, Copa, and Coamo. Notable items include a draft of the manuscript "Painted Cave Petroglyphs in Puerto Rico" from 1939 and correspondence regarding wax cylinder recordings. Included also are letters from Mason to his daughter, Kathy, and several translated tales sent to her.

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

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M. Louise Baker papers, 1879-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.0 linear feet
Abstract:
During her employment as museum artist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from 1908-1936, M. (Mary) Louise Baker established an international reputation as the preeminent archaeological artist of her time with unmatched technical skill in scientific illustration. Her work at the University Museum included paintings of Maya pottery for limited edition folio volumes; paintings and reconstructions of Ur of the Chaldees’ royal tombs findings for Sir C. Leonard Woolley and of the Palace of Merenptah at Memphis, and a reconstructed drawing of the Piedras Negras Lintel 3. She spent much of her career dividing her time between the positions of museum artist and as art teacher at the George School in Bucks County, PA. A life-long Quaker, M. Louise Baker was born in Alliance, Ohio, on August 4, 1872. At the age of 19, she came to Pennsylvania to complete her education. By 1900, she had decided to concentrate on art and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Museum...(see more)

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

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Harriet Newell Wardle American Section records, 1929-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.2 linear feet
Abstract:
Harriet Newell Wardle came to the University Museum as a volunteer after resigning her position at the Academy of Natural Sciences. She was named assistant curator in the American Section in 1931. Wardle’s work at the Museum centered on the material culture of the South American Indian tribes particularly the double cloth weaving technique and square pile hats of Peru and textiles from the Uhle expedition. The Wardle curatorial papers consist of three boxes of records. Much of the collection is devoted to correspondence, filed in several categories, alphabetically, by area of the American Section, specific object related and those letters pertaining to textiles. Numerous notes taken as a part of her extensive research on Peruvian textiles are a large portion of the research section along with general research notes. Wardle's research notes include texts for 1940s era radio broadcasts on American Indian tribes. Several of Wardle's research papers, mostly unpublished outside of the...(see more)

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

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