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National Anthropological Archives
Ralph S. Solecki photographs of Anthropologists, 1922-circa 1980
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.PhotoLot.92-35
- Creators:
-
Solecki, Ralph S.
- Dates:
-
1922-circa 1980
- Languages:
-
Multiple languages.
- Physical Description:
-
24 Printssilver gelatin7 Negatives
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
Photographs include informal and formal portraits and candid images of anthropologists, including William Duncan Strong, Waldo Wedel, Carlyle Smith, Philip Smith, A.T. Hill, Rose Solecki, Robert Stigler, Ruth Bunzel, George Metcalf, and others. Some of the photographs were taken by archaeologist Ralph S. Solecki (1917-2019), but others are not. Handwritten labels on the back of most photographs indicate the photographer and the subjects.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Some photographs are grouped together in a file, following original order. The collection is then arranged chronologically by date of the photograph or first photograph within a file.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Stefan Ralph Solecki (1917-2019) was born on October 15th, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Newtown High School in 1936, he attended the City College of New York from 1936-1941 and received a B.S. in Geology in 1942. Solecki then served in the US Army and fought in World War II. He was discharged in 1945. In 1946, Solecki enrolled at Columbia University to study Anthropology, and he received a M.A. degree in 1950. During this time, Solecki worked for the River Basin Surveys at the Smithsonian Institution. He also accompanied a geological survey to northern Alaska in 1949 (and later in 1961). In 1951, he became an associate curator of archaeology at the Smithsonian Institution. In that same year, he traveled to Iraq to survey prehistoric sites and began Season I of excavation at Shanidar Cave. Solecki then received a Fulbright fellowship to return to Iraq in 1953-1954 to continue excavations at Shanidar Cave (Season II) and conduct research at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. In 1955, he married Rose M. Lilien (b. 1925). From 1956-1957, both Ralph and Rose Solecki travelled to Iraq, where Ralph conducted a third season of excavation at Shanidar Cave and Rose excavated the nearby Zawi Chemi Shanidar village site. In 1958, he received his PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University and accepted a faculty position within the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University. In 1960, the Soleckis returned for a fourth and final field season of excavation at Shanidar Cave and Zawi Chemi Shanidar, where they were accompanied by Smithsonian Institution curator of Physical Anthropology, T. Dale Stewart. Following the final two seasons of excavation at Shanidar Cave, Solecki led a number of Columbia University expeditions to various locations around the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. He also spent three seasons (1963-1964, 1981, 1987) surveying and excavating the site of Yabroud in Syria and three field seasons excavating the sites of Nahr Ibrahim (1969, 1970, 1973) and El Masloukh (1969) in Lebanon. Ralph and Rose Solecki both held positions at Columbia University until Ralph's retirement in 1988. In 1990, Ralph and Rose served as adjunct professors at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. In 2000, they left Texas A&M University and moved to South Orange, New Jersey. Ralph Solecki died in Livingston, New Jersey on March 20, 2019.
Administration
Author
Sarah Ganderup and Molly Kamph
Custodial History
Donated by Ralph S. Solecki, 1992.
Processing Information
The collection was initially processed and described by Sarah Ganderup in 2012.
In December 2022, Molly Kamph added photographs separated from the Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki papers and updated the collection's finding aid including the collection-level descriptive notes and adding file-level descriptions.
Using the Collection
Preferred Citation
Photo Lot 92-35, Ralph S. Solecki photographs of Anthropologists, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Related Materials
Related Materials
The National Anthropological Archives holds the Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki papers, Ruth Leah Bunzel papers, William Duncan Strong papers, the Waldo Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel papers, the Carleton Stevens Coon papers, and several collections created by or featuring Frank H. H. Roberts, Alfred Kroeber, James A. Ford, and A.T. Hill.
The National Museum of the American Indian holds the Marshall Saville photograph collection.
More Information
Local Call Number(s)
Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 92-35
Keywords
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu