National Anthropological Archives

United States Army Medical Museum photographs of skulls, probably 1870s-1880s

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.73-26C
Creators:
Army Medical Museum (U.S.)
Dates:
probably 1870s-1880s
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
100 Negatives
circa
glass
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs of skulls in the United States Army Medical Museum collection, which appear to have been collected for physical anthropological purposes. Included are archeological remains and remains of Native American tribes and some other ethnic groups. Other than tribe or location, data for the specimens include Army Medical Museum specimen number, AMM negative number, and sex; for some, there is also collection data and information on physical or medical conditions. There are also notes identifying donors who included army officers, physicians, scientists, and explorers such as Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, Edward Palmer, Frederic Ward Putnam, George Rolleston, Paul Schumacher, and many others. Some of the photographs may have been made as part of the Army Medical Museumʹs program of distributing images of its specimens.
Represented are Africans, Chinook, Choptank, Dakota, Eskimo of Greenland, Taiwanese peoples, Hawaiians, Hidatsa, Nisqually, Philippine peoples, Ponca, Potowatomi, Pueblo, Tonkawa, and Ute. Archeological specimens are from the Aleutian Islands, California, the Dakotas, England (Roman period), Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, Peru, Vancouver Island, and Vermont. For some, there is also information about the status or physical condition of the individual or observations of medical conditions shown in the specimens. Some additional photographs appear to show specimens at the American Museum of Natural History.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
The United States Army Medical Museum (AMM, renamed the National Museum of Health and Medicine in 1989) was established by US Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond in 1862. Its initial focus was on collecting specimens of unusual pathology, mostly taken from victims of the American Civil War. By 1867, the museum had expanded to include medical, microsopical, anatomical, comparative anatomics, and other sections. The anatomical collection grew in part as a result of Circular No. 2 of 1867, which authorized military medical officers to collect cranial specimens from deceased Native Americans. Additionally, the AMM made an arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution, by which the Smithsonian transferred their collection of human remains in exchange for ethnological artifacts. AMM photographed and measured many of the specimens in its collection as part of the museum's anthropological research.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
Photographs probably transferred by the Army Medical Museum. They were turned over to the Smithsonian's central photographic laboratory in the early to mid 20th century. They were returned to the Department of Anthropology in 1973.

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 73-26C, United States Army Medical Museum photographs of skulls, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Photographs previously filed in Photo Lot 73-26D have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 73-26C. These are also Army Medical Museum negatives of skulls and form part of this collection.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional Army Medical Museum photographs of skulls can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 6A, Photo Lot 6B, Photo Lot 78-42, Photo Lot 83-41, and Photo Lot 97.

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 73-26C
,
NAA Photo Lot 73-26D

Bibliography

Bibliography
Some of the images also relate to John Shaw Billings and Washington Matthewsʹ publication in the Memoirs of the National Academy of Science, volume, 1886.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Indians of North America -- Northeast Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ute Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chinook Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Choptank Indians Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sioux Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eskimos -- depicted Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tonkawa Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africans -- United States -- depicted Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Potawatomi Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taiwan aborigines Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pomo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taiwanese Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nisqually Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hawaiians Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hayden, F. V. (Ferdinand Vandeveer), 1829-1887 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Palmer, Edward, 1829-1911 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Guiteau, Charles J. (Charles Julius), 1841-1882 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Putnam, F. W. (Frederic Ward), 1839-1915 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schumacher, Paul J. F. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rolleston, George, 1829-1881 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Billings, John Shaw, 1838-1913 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Matthews, Washington, 1843-1905 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
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Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu