National Anthropological Archives

Photographs copied by George Peter Murdock's Strategic Index of Latin America, circa 1942-1948

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.4632
Creators:
Murdock, George Peter, 1897-1985
Dates:
circa 1942-1948
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
700 Copy prints
circa
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs assembled circa 1942-1948, probably as part of the Strategic Index of Latin America, and relating to people and scenery in Latin America. They depict transportation, irrigation, agriculture and industry (including rubber production), cities and villages, and archeological finds. The prints are arranged geographically into the following locations: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, British Guiana, British Honduras, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Leeward Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, and Windward Islands. The photographs were copied from published sources (originals circa 1850s-1940s) and are individually labeled with source information and original captions.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
George Peter Murdock (1897-1985) was an anthropologist of comparative ethnology. Educated at Yale, he received a BA in History (1919) and PhD in Sociology (1925). He taught sociology and anthropology at the University of Maryland for two years before returning to Yale in 1928 as an assistant professor of physical anthropology. In 1931, Murdock was granted a joint appointment with Yale's newly formed anthropology department, in which he served as department chair (1938-1960) and full professor (1939-1960). During his time at Yale, Murdock embarked on his most notable project, the Cross Cultural Survey in 1937. Positioned within the Institute of Human Relations, the CCS was a catalog of anthropological data, indexed according to Murdock's Outline of Cultural Materials (1938) to enable quick reference of cultures and analyses of a unified theory of behavior. During the Second World War, the Strategic Index of Latin America, an auxiliary arm of the CCS, was created to focus on Latin American cultural questions and strategic decision making. After the war, the CCS was reorganized by a consortium of universities as the Human Relations Area Files, with Murdock at the head. Murdock left Yale in 1960 and served as Mellon Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh until 1973.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
Possibly collected in the offices of the Ethnogeographic Board at the Smithsonian Institution and transferred to the Bureau of American Ethnology.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Preferred Citation note
Photo Lot 4632, Photographs copied by George Peter Murdock's Strategic Index of Latin America, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
The National Anthropological Archives also holds Murdock's Pacific Survey File.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Correspondence with Murdock held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7027, MS 4821, American Ethnological Society records, Handbook of South American Indians Records, and collections of personal papers.

Contained in

Contained in
Numbered manuscripts 1850s-1980s (some earlier)

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 4632


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Virgin Islands Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Venezuela Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
British Honduras Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chile Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brazil Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
British Guiana Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colombia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dominican Republic Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of Mexico Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paraguay Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peru Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Puerto Rico Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Suriname Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Leeward Islands (Federation) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mexico Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nicaragua. Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Panama Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Industries Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dwellings Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ecuador Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Honduras Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bolivia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Argentina Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cities and towns Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Transportation Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
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