Guide to the William Earl Carter papers, circa 1960-circa 1980

Scope and Contents

The collection relates to Carter's study of the native Bolivian's use of coca and the Aymara. Materials related to the coca study in Bolivia include: correspondence, administrative documents, and miscellany; "Coca in Bolivia" (final report in English and Spanish); coding sheets and questionnaires; miscellaneous research materials; bio-medical examination forms; punch cards with notes; plant specimens and photographs of plant specimens. Materials related to the Aymara study include notes, miscellaneous materials, and computer tapes.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Biographical Note

William Earl Carter studied English at Muskigum College and Theology at Boston University. His training in anthropology, which came after service as a minister and a teacher in Latin America, was at Columbia University, where he received a PhD in 1963. Carter's main affiliation after that time was with the University of Florida where he was director of the Center for Latin American Studies. From 1979 to 1983, he was chief of the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C.

Carter's main interest as an anthropologist was Latin America, particularly in the people of Bolivia, land use, and the use of drugs. In 1960-1961, he carried out an ethnographic study of Aymara communities in Igavi Province in Bolivia, and in 1962-1963, a survey of Protestant church activities in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. In 1965-67, he studied shifting agriculture in Guatemala, and in 1960-1971, the effect of Bolivian land reform. In 1971-1972, his attention was directed toward Aymara symbolism and ritual. During the following two years, he examined the use of cannabis in San Jose, Costa Rica, and this was followed by his direction of a team of Bolivian Indians in the the study of the role of coca in traditional Bolivian culture.

Related Materials

The Human Studies Film Archives holds the William E. Carter film of an Aymara village, Bolivia, circa 1960-1961 (HSFA 1986.11.7).