Anthropology and Archaeology: A Guide to Selected Resources in the Bentley Historical Library

Introduction to Guide

In 2002, the Bentley Historical Library, in conjunction with the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology (UMMA), was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The grant, titled "Enhancing Access to North American Archaeological Collections," enabled the appraisal, description, and preservation of several major manuscript and archival collections created by former directors, curators, and affiliates of the museum that spanned the anthropological fields of archaeology, ethnobotany, and ethnology. An advisory board comprised of Bentley archivists and UMMA curators and staff expedited the identification and transfer of archival material and provided support to the project archivists in addressing issues unique to the materials.

This guide was designed to promote access to the newly processed records while simultaneously calling attention to related holdings in anthropology at the Bentley Library. These holdings encompass over 500 linear feet of archival, manuscript, visual and printed materials. While the guide illustrates the richness of the library's anthropology and archaeology collections, it is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every published title or collection at the library with an anthropology connection. Additional materials may be found through searches of MIRLYN, the University of Michigan's online catalog, or by consulting the library's reference division.

All of the archival and manuscript collections in the guide have been cataloged and are listed according to their title as given in MIRLYN. Nearly all of the collections listed in this guide have finding aids that provide additional detail about the scope and content of the collections, as well as complete folder listings. All finding aids are available in the Bentley Library reading room. Those that are available online are linked from their entries in this online guide, including all finding aids created during the NEH project.

All collection entries in this guide include the title, date span, and size of the collection, as well as a brief biographical/historical profile and a summary of contents. The entries are divided into four categories:

The Museum of Anthropology and Related University of Michigan Museums section includes collections and record groups related to the Museum of Anthropology, the focus of the NEH grant project, as well as other museums at the University of Michigan that collect anthropological and archaeological materials. The entries are grouped to reflect significant connections between the creators.

The entries in the other three sections are organized alphabetically within their respective sections. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan section contains papers that reflect the broad-ranging research interests of faculty in the department, as well as a small departmental record group that chronicles the development and growth of anthropological teaching and research at the university. The Michigan Archaeology section includes collections from amateur Michigan archaeologists and publications concerning the archaeology of the state. The Selected Other Resources in Anthropology and Archaeology section includes materials on classical archaeology, the collection of anthropological materials from the Arctic, Asia and Middle East, and audiovisual materials and secondary sources.

Notes on Navigation

There are three ways to navigate through this guide in three ways.The left-hand column on each page serves as a table of contents and provides links to the major sections of the guide.To see the collections in one of the four sections or to read the introductory essays, click on the links in the table of contents. The current section is highlighted in red in the navigation bar.

To navigate through the pages sequentially (similar to reading a book or viewing an exhibit), use the links at the bottom of the right-hand column on each page to go to the first, previous, next, or last page of the guide from the current page.

To search for a particular collection orto see a list of all the collections included in the guide, click on the "Alphabetical List of Collections" link.

Christine Di Bella, Project Archivist