Guide to the Bruce Smith papers, 1970-2012

Scope and Contents

The papers of Bruce Smith contain materials relating to research, lectures, publications, and conferences as well as his NMNH administrative files. Present in the collection are field materials relating to Smith's work at the Gypsie Joint site in Ripley County, Missouri. His research files also include data and photos of wild plants, chenopodium fruits, gourds, and squash from various sites including the Ozarks, Guila Naquitz, Balsas River valley, Coxcatlan Cave, Valenzuela's Cave, and Phillips Spring. Material concerning the Mound Division Conference of the Lower Mississippi Survey pertain to a meeting arranged by Smith at the Smithsonian. The collection also contains artwork for his publications, including paintings of Powers Phase settlements for a chapter Smith wrote for the Smithsonian publication "The American Land."

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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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

Bruce David Smith is Curator Emeritus of North American Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1973 and taught at Loyola University of Chicago and at University of Georgia before joining the staff of NMNH in 1978. He is a specialist in the archaeology of eastern United States, particularly Mississippian (Temple Mound) culture, focusing on human-environmental interaction. Since 1985, his research has focused on the origins of agriculture. He has also collaborated with geneticists in studying evolutionary changes in ancient crop plants. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.