Scope and Contents note

Photographs relating to or made during Setzler's archaeological work. Images depict surveys and excavations, artifacts and burials, archaeological crew members, and other individuals. They document work in Ohio (including the original Hopewell site on Paint Creek, Turner site, Newark site, High Bank Works, Tremper Mound, Seip Mound, Turner Group, Miamisburg Mound, Serpent Mound, and the Madisonville site), Wisconsin (including the Schwert group, Nicholls mound, and Trempealeau group), Louisiana (including the Marksville works and sites at Saline Point, Johnson place, and West Carroll, Madison, and Union parishes), Arkansas (including the Foster Place site). Some photographs portray the excavation of an Indian canoe on Cumberland Island in Georgia, and a body found in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Photographs of views in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida relate to the work of the De Soto Commission. Photographs from the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition largely relate to Yirrkala, Milingimbi, Oenpelli (Gunbalanya), and Groote Eylandt, and include travel scenes, dances, and the preparation of face masks and bark for drawing. Some lantern slides are associated with a lecture at the Smithsonian Institution, while others depict Latin American ruins and artifacts from Jalapa, Palenque, Uxmal, Chichén Ítza, Xochicalco, and Cuzco that once belonged to William Henry Holmes.

Setzler annotated many of the negative enclosures with image information. Photocopies of the enclosures are available in the collection, as well as one box of empty original enclosures. Also in the collection is an index card bibliography on Australia, and an index card catalog of individuals from Groote Eylandt.

Biographical/Historical note

Frank Maryl Setzler (1902-1975) was an archaeologist with the United States National Museum who served as Head Curator in the Department of Anthropology from 1937 until his retirement in 1960. Setzler specialized in the archeology of the midwestern states, especially the Hopewell mounds, and was also interested in the southeastern states. During his career, he conducted fieldwork throughout the United States, and in 1948 was the deputy leader for the Australian-American Arnhem Land Expedition sponsored by the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society, and the Australian government.

Location of Other Archival Materials

The National Anthropological Archives holds the Frank Maryl Setzler papers.

Location of Other Archival Materials

Artifacts collected during the Arnhem Land expedition are held in the anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History in accession 178294.

Location of Other Archival Materials

The National Geographic Society holds motion picture film from the Arnhem Land Expedition.

Location of Other Archival Materials

The National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection holds some of Setzler's papers relating to the Arnhem Land Expedition (Frank Maryl Setzler - Records, 1948-1973, MS 5230).