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Annual Report of the Board of Regents
of the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
. br) a BV HS S 1 SHINGTO
PUBLICATION 4392
Showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the
Institution for the Year Ended June 30
1959
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1960
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, December 31, 1959.
To the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, I have the honor, on behalf of the Board of Regents, to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ended June 30, 1959. I have the honor to be,
Respectfully, Lronarp CarMIcHaEL, Secretary. It
CONTENTS
Page HERS DRO LEOSICT A Ges sae ot tN ho Ree ayy ie Be Ree a v Generalistatement=—— 2-5-5. oe. 2 eee ee ee eee ee ee a 1 ier StAabisShMentea. so s—" a ok ee ee Ae ee ye 4 Pe CHOATE OF ARE RCIU Se a Depart ge = age re ee 2 ee ere ee eae 5 INDENT COS 9 eee ore a eG ee oe re Ge 5 \ WATE HOT Searcy ot) me a oe ee ae ee ey BE eee ae oe 6 Summary of the year’s activities of the Institution_____-_-------------- 7 Reports of branches of the Institution: United StatessNational Museum. 242 2 - eee ee a 11 IBUreaueoleAm ericanert him) 0 lays ne ee ee ee ee 55 ASiTOphysical ODSerVAlOL irs. osetia = 02 ee ee 96 National" Collection/of WinerAntes ony 5a a Pane ese Ssc kes 111 reer GalloryaGreArus es == se anes eA UO Es i ee 127 INationaleAiraMuseumens. 45 sissies ete se ooo cease eee ee 141 NationaluZ@oLopicalyParkelte Mh eas oe eel ee ooo 2a Se 150 Canal-Zone- Biological Ares 245 2s ¥b saws hen <sss beet senecete 2 SOE 190 International-Exchange- Services = a Le BD 197 NationaltGalleryofrArt ites 22 hate 0 ine te eS eee ese EES 206 eporvron the ibrany ees = sa = eas 2 eee eo LE ee SUS Se 220 VepOEWOnepUbiicationse== 2-6 See Ha == alee ee ae oe en wae eh ED 224 GH ORI SE Livaties = meee ste ir aT oP SPAR PE Le SE SENOS TB TORR ETO 231 Set Rese == 5 Se eae eat i eS eh) OA tL OES OIE 231 Bio-Sciences Information Eixelianives: 2-224 s= ===2 S04 = eeoieL 2 232 Aviation ducationt Institute: 2e-es-= Sees © + ee aoe s eee a % 233 Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents_---___------ 234 GENERAL APPENDIX The transuranium elements, by Glenn T. Seaborg______---_----------- 247 The IG Y-in retrospect, by’ Hiltott'B. Roberts_2 2/012. 05.) JaL_. aos? 263 Astronomy from artificial satellites, by Leo Goldberg___________---_--_-- 285 polar radio astronomy; ‘by Alan’ Maxwell.) 1so0%ai6 so] sorely 2 buble 299 The new uses of the abstract, by George A. W. Boehm___--_----------.- 309 Miraces, byadames Hi. \Gordone===-—- ss See Be Be 8 ee 327 Lessons from the history of flight, by Grover Loening______-__--_-_------ 347 Hhewscml oceanography, Dy .G: a... Deacone. 3 seas. 9 Se 361 Ambercris—Neptune’s:.treasure, by C. P. Idyll-_-.2..2-_ =. 2-2 --_-=-- Bye The rhythmic nature of animals and plants, by Frank A. Brown, Jr____-- 385 The survival of animals in hot deserts, by E. B. Edney_____-_---------- 407
Amphibians, pioneers of terrestrial breeding habits, by Coleman J. Goin-- 427 A study of saturniid moths in the Canal Zone Biological Area, by A. D.
IV ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Page
Evolution of knowledge concerning the roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides, by, Benjamin ochwartz-2< =.= Se) 2. ese 22 es ee 2 soe eee 465 The protection of fauna in the U.S.8.R., by G. P. Dementiev--------_-- 483 Reconstructing the ancestor of corn, by Paul C. Mangelsdorf- ---------- 495 The need: to classity, by Roger (i. Batten® = fy Pe 22 2. 5 Sh eee 509
Current advances and concepts in virology, by staff members of Lilly iReseanchy laboratories = aac. Seeeeeennts te eats ee eee 523
In search of a home: From the Mutiny to Pitcairn Island (1789-1790), by Ho eWViaulGere ce (ete cate cee ce eee ee mae See Ye = ae eee ee renee ee 533
The Chinook sign of freedom: A study of the skull of the famous chief Comcomly by ahs Ds stewarte. 22-20 oe. = ee ee eee eee oe 563
The Muldbjerg dwelling place: An early Neolithic archeological site in the Aamosen Bog, West-Zealand, Denmark, by J. Troels-Smith_---_- SYP
Three adult Neanderthal skeletons from Shanidar Cave, northern Iraq, bys Ralphs: SOleCKi aCe 52 ote cee eee eee eee ee 603 Sumerian technology, by .da Bobula. 2226) stone ee ee eee 637 Brandywine: An early flour-milling center, by Peter C. Welsh____----- Sate (7 /
LIST OF PLATES Secretary’s Report:
Platesil—42 225 2 25 ee oe ee Se ta Re ee a oe ee 70 Plates! 53162220 2. Se ee eee ae ee Fee ee eee 134 Platess7—10. f Seb ee Se Le eee 214 Transuranium’ elements:(Seaborg):-Plate 1. =<. -2- s$.- 25-2 2222 ease 254 Gre GY. (Roberts): Plates .-3. 25-0 5.5.2 Ss se a ee 278 Astronomy from artificial satellites (Goldberg): Plates 1-4__.----------- 294 Solar radio astronomy (Maxwell): Plates 1, 2..----------------------- 302 Nurages"(Gordon)*) Plate 122-2 * 2 ee oe 342 HMastoryiof ficht Cuoening)* Plates 17 ise 22s Se eee 350 Oceanography. (Deacon): Plates 1, 2-2) 24245-0262 fh ot See 366 ihrem oroducnts) (OU KANN Ae de aire Wale Ree 2 8 ee ae eee ea 382 Satunniid mothss(Blest) gels tess] —5 see ee ee ee ee 454 Roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides (Schwartz): Plates 1, 2-_------------- 470 Ancestor of corm (Mangelsdorf): ‘Plates 1—=t2 == 2 =" 222-2 ae 502 INeedatorclassityn (is aGtcr)) is i bE else see ee ee i eee 522 Virology (Lilly Research Laboratories): Plates 1-4_------------------- 526 From the Mutiny to Pitcairn Island (Maude): Plate 1_--_------------- 534 Skull of famous chief Comcomly (Stewart): Plates 1-6__-._._----------- 576 Muldbjerg dwelling place (Troels-Smith): Plates 1-6___.--------------- 598 Neanderthal skeletons from Shanidar Cave (Solecki): Plates 1-6___--_--- 614 Sumerian technology (Bobula):Plates' 1-62... ---- -222:+-.=-2-L--==-=2 646 Plates (=12:.2- 2 5 ee eee. ee ae et oe 662
Brandywine (Welsh):. Plates la@2.5 252226 = 23 Uh 2- S snaeeeb eds eset 2 686
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION June 30, 1959
Presiding Officer ex officio—DwicHr D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States. Chancellor.—HaRL WARREN, Chief Justice of the United States. Members of the Institution: DwicuHt D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States. RicHArD M. Nixon, Vice President of the United States. HARL WARREN, Chief Justice of the United States. CHRISTIAN A. HERTER, Secretary of State. RoBertT B. ANDERSON, Secretary of the Treasury. Neu H. McEroy, Secretary of Defense. WILLIAM P. Rocers, Attorney General. ARTHUR E.. SUMMERFIELD, Postmaster General. Frep A. SEATON, Secretary of the Interior. Hzka Tart BENSON, Secretary of Agriculture. Lewis L. Strauss, Secretary of Commerce. JAMES P. MITCHELL, Secretary of Labor. ArTHoR 8. FLEMMING, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Regents of the Institution: EARL WARREN, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor. RicHaArpD M. Nrxon, Vice President of the United States. CLintTon P. ANDERSON, Member of the Senate. J. WILLIAM K'ULBRIGHT, Member of the Senate. LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Member of the Senate. Frank T. Bow, Member of the House of Representatives. OvERTON Brooks, Member of the House of Representatives. CLARENCE CANNON, Member of the House of Representatives. JoHN NICHOLAS Brown, citizen of Rhode Island. se ARTHUR H. Compton, citizen of Missouri. ROBERT Y. FLEMING, citizen of Washington, D.C. CRAWFORD H. GREENEWALT, citizen of Delaware. CARYL P. HASKINS, citizen of Washington, D.C. JEROME C. HUNSAKER, citizen of Massachusetts. Hzecutive Commitiee.——Rosert V. FLEMING, Chairman, CLARENCE CANNON, CARYL P. HASKINS. Secretary.—LEONARD CARMICHAEL. Assistant Secretaries.—J. L. Keppy, A. REMINGTON KELLOGG. Assistant to the Secretary — JAMES C. BRADLEY. Administrative assistant to the Secretury.—Mrs. Louise M. Pearson. Treasurer.—T. FE. CLARK. Chief, editorial and publications division.—PAavL H. OEHSER. Tibrarian.—RvtH EH. BLANCHARD. Curator, Smithsonian Museum Service.—G. Carroit LInpsAy, acting. Buildings Manager.—AnvrREW F. MIcHAELS, JR., acting.
VI ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Chief, personnel division.—Mrs. ANN S. CAMPBELL, acting. Chief, supply division —A. W. WILDING. Chief, photographic service division.—O. H. GREESON.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Director.—A. Remington Kellogg. Registrar.—Helena M. Weiss.
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Director.—A. C. Smith. DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY: F. M. Setzler, head curator; A. J. Andrews, exhibits specialist. Division of Archeology: W. R. Wedel, curator; Clifford Evans, Jr., Ralph S. Solecki, associate curators. Division of Ethnology: S. H. Riesenberg, curator; G. D. Gibson, E. I. Knez, associate curators; R. A. Elder, Jr., assistant curator. Division of Physical Anthropology: T. D. Stewart, curator; M. T. Newman, associate curator. DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY : Herbert Friedmann, head curator. Division of Mammals: D. H. Johnson, curator; C. O. Handley, Jr., H. W. Setzer, associate curators. Division of Birds: Herbert Friedmann, acting curator; H. G. Deignan, as- Sociate curator. Division of Reptiles and Amphibians: Doris M. Cochran, curator. Division of Fishes: L. P. Schultz, curator; H. A. Lachner, W. R. Taylor, associate curators. Division of Insects: J. F. G. Clarke, curator; O. L. Cartwright, R. E. Crabill, Jr., W. D. Field, associate curators; Sophy Parfin, assistant curator. Division of Marine Invertebrates: F. A. Chace, Jr., curator; F. M. Bayer, T. H. Bowman, C. E. Cutress, Jr., associate curators. Division of Mollusks: H. A. Rehder, curator; J. P. E. Morrison, associate curator. DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY (NATIONAL HERBARIUM): J. R. Swallen, head curator. Division of Phanerogams: L. B. Smith, curator; R. S. Cowan, E. C. Leonard, Velva E. Rudd, E. H. Walker, associate curators. Division of Ferns: C. V. Morton, curator. Division of Grasses: J. R. Swallen, acting curator. Division of Cryptogams: M. B. Hale, Jr., acting curator; P. 8S. Conger, as- sociate curator; R. R. Ireland, Jr., assistant curator. DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY: G. A. Cooper, head curator. Division of Mineralogy and Petrology: G. S. Switzer, curator; R. 8S. Clarke, Jr., P. E. Desautels, E. P. Henderson, associate curators. Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany: G. A. Cooper, acting curator; R. 8S. Boardman, P. M. Kier, associate curators. Division of Vertebrate Paleontology: C. L. Gazin, curator; D. H. Dunkle, Nicholas Hotton, 3d, P. P. Vaughn, associate curators; F. L. Pearce, ex- hibits specialist.
MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
Director.— F.. A. Taylor. Assistant Director.—J. C. Ewers.
SECRETARY’S REPORT VII
Chief exhibits specialist —J. EB. Anglim.
Chief zoological exhibits specialist —W. L. Brown.
Assistant chief exhibits specialists —B. S. Bory, R. O. Hower, B. W. Law- less, JY.
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: R. P. Multhauf, head curator.
Division of Physical Sciences: R. P. Multhauf, acting curator.
Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering: ®. S. Ferguson, curator; Hi. A. Battison, associate curator; R. M. Vogel, assistant curator.
Division of Transportation: H. I. Chapelle, curator; K. M. Perry, associate eurator ; J. H. White, assistant curator.
Division of Hlectricity: W. J. King, Jr., acting curator.
Division of Medical Sciences: G. B. Griffenhagen, curator; J. B. Blake, associate curator.
DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES: P. W. Bishop, head curator.
Division of Agriculture and Wood Products: W. N. Watkins, curator; HE. C. Kendall, associate curator.
Division of Textiles: Grace L. Rogers, acting curator.
Division of Ceramics and Glass: P. V. Gardner, acting curator.
Division of Graphic Aris: Jacob Kainen, curator; A. J. Wedderburn, Jr., associate curator; EF. O. Griffith, 3d, assistant curator.
Division of Industrial Cooperation: P. W. Bishop, acting curator.
DEPARTMENT OF Civm. History: A. N. B. Garvan, head curator; P. C. Welsh, associate curator; A. P. Krimgold, Jr., junior curator.
Division of Political History: W. ©. Washburn, curator; Mrs. Margaret B. Klapthor, associate curator; C. G. Dorman, Mrs. Anne W. Murray, assist- ant curators.
Division of Cultural History: C. M. Watkins, acting curator; J. D. Shortridge, associate curator; Rodris C. Roth, assistant curator.
Division of Philately and Postal History: G. T. Turner, acting curator , F. J. McCall, associate curator.
Division of Numismatics: Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli, acting curator; Mrs. Hivira Clain-Stefanelli, assistant curator.
DEPARTMENT OF ARMED Forces History: M. L. Peterson, head curator.
Division of Military History: BH. M. Howell, acting curator; C. R. Goins, Jr., assistant curator.
Division of Naval History: M. L. Peterson, acting curator; P. K. Lundeberg, associate curator.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
Director.—¥. H. H. Roberts, Jr.
Anthropologist —H. B. Collins, Jr.
Hthnologists.—W. C. Sturtevant, W. L. Chafe.
River Basin Surveys.—I’. H. H. Roberts, Jr., Director; R. L. Stephenson, Chief, Missouri Basin Project.
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
Director.—¥. L. Whipple.
Associate Directors.—J. A. Hynek, T. EB. Sterne.
Astrophysicists.—R. J. Davis, EH. L. Fireman, L. G. Jaecchia, Max Krook, F. B. Riggs, Jr., C. A. Whitney.
Mathematician._R. HE. Briggs.
TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAULIF., FIELD STATION.—A. G. Froiland, physicist.
VIII ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS: Chief.—W. H. Klein. Plant physiologists.—V. B. Elstad, Leonard Price. Electronic engineer.—J. H. Harrison. Instrument maker.—D. G. Talbert.
NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS
Director.—T. M. Beggs. Associate curator.—Rowland Lym. SMITHSONIAN TRAVELING EXHIBITION SeRvice.—Mrs. Annemarie H. Pope, Chief.
FREER GALLERY OF ART
Director.—A, G. Wenley.
Assistant Director.—J. A. Pope.
Associate in Near Fastern art.—Richard Ettinghausen. Associate in technical research.—R. J. Gettens. Associate curators.—J. F. Cahill, H. P. Stern.
NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM
Advisory Board: Leonard Carmichael, Chairman. Maj. Gen. Reuben C. Hood, Jr., U.S. Air Force. Rear Adm. R. HE. Dixon, U.S. Navy. Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle. Grover Loening. Director.— P. 8S. Hopkins. Head curator and historian.—P. HE. Garber. Associate curators.—L. 8S. Casey, W. M. Male, K. EB. Newland. Junior curator.—R. B. Meyer.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
Director.—T. H. Reed. Associate Director.—J. L. Grimmer. Veterinarian.—James F. Wright.
CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA Resident Naturalist—_M. H. Moynihan.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
Chief—J. A. Collins. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Trustees: EARL WARREN, Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman. CHRISTIAN A. HEeRTER, Secretary of State. ROBERT B. ANDERSON, Secretary of the Treasury. LEONARD CARMICHAEL, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. F. LAmMMorT BEtin. DUNCAN PHILIPS. CHESTER DALE. PAavuL MELLON. RusH H. Kkgsss.
SECRETARY’S REPORT IX
President.—CHESTER DALE.
Vice President.—IF. LAMMoT BELIN. Secretary-Treasurer.—HUNTINGTON CAIRNS. Director—JOHN WALKER. Administrator.—ERNEST R. FEILER. General Counsel.—HUNTINGTON CAIRNS. Chief Curator.—PERRY B. Corr.
Honorary Research Associates, Collaborators, and Fellows OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY John B. Graf Unirep States NATIONAL Museum
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Anthropology
Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood. H. Morgan Smith, Archeology. N. M. Judd, Archeology. W. W. Taylor, Jr., Archeology. H. W. Krieger, Ethnology. W. J. Tobin, Physical Anthropology. Betty J. Meggers, Archeology.
Zoology Paul Bartsch, Mollusks. W. M. Mann, Hymenoptera. J. Bruce Bredin. Allen McIntosh, Mollusks. M. A. Carriker, Insects. J. P. Moore, Marine Invertebrates. C. J. Drake, Insects. C. F. W. Muesebeck, Insects. tsaae Ginsberg, Fishes. W. L. Schmitt. D. C. Graham, Biology. Benjamin Schwartz, Helminthology. Horton H. Hobbs, Jr., Marine R. EH. Snodgrass, Insects.
Invertebrates. 'T. BE. Snyder, Insects.
A. B. Howell, Mammals. Alexander Wetmore, Birds. Laurence Irving, Birds. Mrs. Mildred S. Wilson, Copepod W. L. Jellison, Insects. Crustacea.
Botany Mrs. Agnes Chase, Grasses. F. A. McClure, Grasses. Ky. P. Killip, Phanerogams. J. A. Stevenson, Fungi.
Geology R. 8S. Bassler, Paleontology. C. Wythe Cooke, Invertebrate R. W. Brown, Paleobotany. Paleontology. Preston Cloud, Invertebrate J. B. Knight, Invertebrate Paleon-
Paleontology. tology.
W. T. Schaller, Mineralogy. MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY History Elmer C. Herber. | F. W. MacKay, Numismatics.
x ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
J. P. Harrington. M. W. Stirling. Sister M. Inez Hilger. A. J. Waring, Jr.
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
C. G. Abbot. FREER GALLERY OF ART Oleg Grabar. Max Loebr. Grace Dunham Guest. Katherine N. Rhoades. NATIONAL Air MusEuM Frederick C. Crawford. | John J. Ide.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
W. M. Mann. | BE. P. Walker. CanaL ZONE BrotogicaL AREA
C. C. Soper.
1959
Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
LEONARD CARMICHAEL For the Year Ended June 30, 1959
To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit a report showing the activ- ities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1959.
GENERAL STATEMENT
The activities of the 113th year of the Smithsonian Institution are presented in this report. In many ways this has been an outstanding year at the Smithsonian. Once again the services rendered by the Institution demonstrate the wisdom of our distinguished founder and man of science, James Smithson, in establishing in Washington an institution for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” The increase in knowledge is embodied in research, and this year the investigations of the Smithsonian staff have been very fruit- ful, as the details given herein will indicate. The diffusion of knowl- edge has involved the answering of some 260,000 specific quiries re- lated to the fields of expertness found in the Smithsonian’s various divisions, laboratories, and libraries. The diffusion of knowledge has also been actively carried on by the publication of scholarly and semipopular works, which are also described elsewhere in this report. Possibly, however, the main means by which the Smithsonian Insti- tution diffuses knowledge is through its museum exhibits and the edu- cational and inspirational opportunity that these displays give to our millions of visitors each year.
As pointed out in recent annual reports, real progress has been made in the past few years in transforming the old, outmoded museum dis- plays of the Smithsonian into modern, effective, teaching exhibits. The visitors who now come to the Smithsonian Institution are deeply grateful that Congress has made it possible to bring about this grad- ual transformation of Smithsonian exhibition halls from what in too many respects was until recently an old-fashioned place for “visual storage.”
2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
In 1954, for the first time in the long history of the Smithsonian Institution, a fully outlined program was adopted for the progressive improvement of all its exhibition halls and for the modern presenta- tion of tens of thousands of appropriate objects from the great na- tional collections that are in its charge. This modernization is now complete in 17 major galleries. To put this in another way, a total of about 80,000 square feet of exhibition space has now been transformed, and 673 separate exhibit units have been fully reorganized and mod- ernized for the benefit and education of the public.
Before this modernization program began, many of the Smith- sonian Institution exhibits had not been changed for as long as 75 years. Amazing as it may seem, the great and often unique treasures of the Institution, which today include over 52 million cataloged ob- jects, were still being displayed in a manner that had long before be- come outmoded in almost every other national museum in the world. When the present transformation began, for example, gas fixtures were still in place, although not in use, in some of our exhibition halls. In a few large sections of Smithsonian buildings there was as recently as 5 years ago no provision for artificial light of any kind either in display cases or in public spaces. This meant that on many winter afternoons some of the great treasures of the Smithsonian were almost invisible to visitors.
It may be pointed out that all around the globe, especially since the Second World War, there has been a new recognition of the role of the museum as a public information center. More and more mu- seums are seen as places needed to inspire each new generation with the kind of patriotism that is based on a valid understanding of the factors that have led to national growth. The history of the devel- opment of science, for example, as displayed in a modern museum has a significant function in interesting and inspiring a real interest in science on the part of school boys and girls.
This new museum philosophy has been wholeheartedly accepted and adopted at the Smithsonian. The experts in each of its great sub- ject-matter fields have given much thought to developing the best ways to present their exhibits so as to meet this modern and challenging view of what a museum should be. The present objective of renova- tion at the Smithsonian, therefore, is not only to show many interest- ing objects in a clear way but also to explain how and why the partic- ular items selected for display are intellectually significant. An old shoe with a wooden sole is unimportant alone, but when shown as part of the field equipment of a soldier of the Confederate States of America it explains much about the problems of equipment during the Civil War.
At the present time as a visitor studies the presentation of objects in any of the modernized exhibition halls of the Institution, he can
SECRETARY’S REPORT >
see clearly illustrated such great ideas as man’s use of natural re- sources and man’s gradual triumph in the long development of specific arts and sciences.
The newly modernized exhibits of the Smithsonian cover diverse fields. For example, the displays of the anthropology, ethnology, and archeology of the New World before Columbus have been admirably rearranged. ‘The birds of the world are presented as important and beautiful in themselves and as significant elements in the economy of nature and in zoological science in general. <A large section is de- voted to the great mammals of America, showing in artistic and ac- curately composed habitat groups the way in which such animals as the bison, the wolves, and the elk lived. The geological sciences are presented in a new exhibition hall, which has been called the most notable display of its kind in the world. Here minerals, gems, and the new Vetlesen jade collection are most clearly displayed. But the minerals actually shown are not more than 3 percent of the total Smithsonian study collections in this field.
For more than a century the Smithsonian Institution has been as- sembling unequaled collections of important items dealing with the history of the United States. Some of the most significant of these have never been displayed for the benefit of the public. Now thou- sands of these objects are presented in an appropriate and instructive manner. Typical of the display of historic materials is the hall in which the dresses of the First Ladies of the White House are shown, each in an authentic setting. In the period room in which Martha Washington’s dress is shown, for example, there are exhibited only objects that belonged to and were used by George Washington him- self. The halls of American military history have been transformed, and the displays of many of the arts and manufacturing processes have also been entirely made over. Among other new displays is a hall for the presentation of machines and products used in the graphic arts and one for textiles and textile machinery. In the latter hall a great Jacquard loom has been installed in operating condition, with its amazing punch-card mechanism clearly explained to the visitor. Another new exhibit is a complete 17th-century American house brought piece by piece from Massachusetts and carefully and authentically reerected and furnished with objects of everyday use of just the sort employed by early New England Colonial families.
One indirect result of the still far from complete modernization program of the Smithsonian has been an increase in the use of the study collections of the Institution by research workers. Students in schools and colleges now also come in larger numbers to the new exhibition halls of the Institution. Some come alone or with par- ents and some under the supervision of teachers. In the new hails
4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
they learn as they cannot elsewhere important lessons about the nat- ural resources of America, the natural history of the world, and special aspects of the history of their own United States. Many leave better informed and are more truly patriotic Americans than when they came. As noted elsewhere in this report, volunteer, unpaid but well-trained docents from the Junior League of Washington instruct thousands of schoolchildren each year as they carefully lead them through specially selected halls on educational tours.
The modernization program has had a great effect on attendance at the Smithsonian. The number of visitors to the Smithsonian, not including the National Gallery of Art or the National Zoological Park, in 1954, when the modernization of exhibits program began, was 3,658,000. The attendance of the year covered by this report, 1959, was, as is elsewhere noted, 6,351,000. This phenomenal in- crease in number of visitors is certainly due in considerable measure to the new interest generated by the modernized exhibits.
The staff of the Smithsonian Institution has planned and is con- tinuing active work on the modernization of an additional 28 exhibi- tion halls in our existing buildings. It is also engaged in planning and preparing exhibits for 47 large halls in the Smithsonian’s new Museum of History and Technology Building, which is being erected on Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets,
This total exhibit-development program in the Smithsonian, there- fore, will, when it is completed, have included well over a hundred large galleries or major halls and literally thousands of specific ex- hibition units. These units will in sum total display for the public more than a million objects from our unrivaled national collections in new, clear, and intelligible settings.
The Smithsonian Institution has long been called the Nation’s Treasure House. When the modernization program described in the preceding paragraphs is complete and when the new Museum of His- tory and Technology Building is opened, certainly this great national treasury will at long last be presented in a way that is worthy of modern America.
When James Smithson specified that he wished his institution to be concerned not only with research but also with the diffusion of knowl- edge, he set a pattern that has inspired the devoted and effective work of the staff of his institution that has made this modernization pro- gram so successful.
THE ESTABLISHMENT
The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of Congress in 1846, in accordance with the terms of the will of James Smithson, of England, who in 1826 bequeathed his property to the United States of America “to found at Washington, under the name of the Smith-
SECRETARY’S REPORT 5
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” In receiving the property and accepting the trust, Congress determined that the Federal Government was without authority to administer the trust directly, and, therefore, constituted an “establishment,” whose statutory members are “the President, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of the executive departments.”
THE BOARD OF REGENTS
The current year brought the retirement of two members of the Board of Regents: Senator H. Alexander Smith and Representative John M. Vorys. At the time of the annual meeting the Speaker of the House of Representatives appointed Representative Frank T. Bow of Ohio to succeed Representative John M. Vorys. On February 5, 1959, the Vice President appointed Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkan- sas to succeed Senator H. Alexander Smith.
The roll of Regents at the close of the fiscal year was as follows: Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, Chancellor; Vice President Richard M. Nixon; members from the Senate: Clinton P. Anderson, J. William Fulbright, Leverett Saltonstall; members from the House of Representatives: Frank T. Bow, Overton Brooks, Clar- ence Cannon; citizen members: John Nicholas Brown, Arthur H. Compton, Robert V. Fleming, Crawford H. Greenewalt, Caryl P. Haskins, and Jerome C. Hunsaker.
On the evening of January 15, 1959, preceding the annual meeting, an informal dinner was given in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building amid various exhibits showing the present-day phases of the work of the bureaus and departments. Dr. Richard Ettinghausen spoke on “Objects Dealing with Christian Themes in the Freer Gallery Collections”; Dr. Charles Lewis Gazin on “Eocene Mammals of the Bridger Formation in Southwestern Wyoming”; Dr. Vladimir Clain- Stefanelli on “Comparative Die Studies: A Method of Numismatic Investigation and Its Historical Significance”; and Edgar M. Howell on “Private Hermann Steiffel—Sometime Artist of the West.”
The annual meeting was held on January 16, 1959. The Secretary presented his published annual report on the activities of the Institu- tion together with the 1958 Annual Report of the United States Na- tional Museum. The Chairman of the Executive and Permanent Com- mittees of the Board, Dr. Robert V. Fleming, gave the financial report for the fiscal year ended June 80, 1958.
FINANCES
A statement on finances, dealing particularly with Smithsonian private funds, will be found in the report of the executive committee
6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
of the Board of Regents, page 234. Funds appropriated to the Insti- tution for its regular operations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1959, totaled $7,587,800. Besides this direct appropriation, the Insti- tution received funds by transfer from other Government agencies as follows:
From tke District of Columbia for the National Zoological Park______ $953, 800 From the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, for the River: Basin SUBVGY see 2 a ee ee eee 162, 000 VISITORS
Visitors to the Institution’s exhibition halls continue to increase. Visitors to the Smithsonian group of buildings on the Mall reached a total of 6,351,352, an all-time high and nearly a million more than the previous year. April 1959 was the month of largest attendance, with 978,230; May 1959 second, with 867,817; August 1958 third, with 769,- 086. Largest attendance for a single day was 92,945 on April 12, 1959. Table 1 gives a summary of the attendance records for the five buildings; table 2, groups of schoolchildren. ‘These figures, when added to the 951,608 visitors recorded at the National Gallery of Art and the 4,055,673 estimated at the National Zoological Park, bring the year’s total number of visitors at the Institution to 11,358,633.
TaBLE 1.—Visitors to certain Smithsonian’ buildings during the year ended June 80,
1959 Smithsonian Arts and Natural Aircraft Freer Year and month Building Industries History Building | Building Total Building Building
1958 hh eee See eee 105, 654 310, 882 150, 153 | 97,050 | 12, 872 676, 611 AI CUS Ge ee 141, 457 312, 426 175, 188 }125, 124 | 14, 891 769, 086 September _ ___ 49, 885 122, 427 68, 848 | 40, 766 8, 682 290, 608 Octobers2= 45, 002 PRS 621! 96, 748 | 34, 129 7, 502 299, 002 November____| 55,269 | 127,064] 146,618 | 38,483] 7,488] 374,922 December___-_-_ 27, 724 57, 956 Gos 2208 e208 22i1 4,018 183, 139
1959 vanwanye see 32, 672 C2 Dili 86, 980 | 25, 461 6, 248 223, 876 February == -_- 46, 899 103, 074 109, 682 | 36, 037 6, 218 301, 910 Mian ehweaeee 110, 821 229, 864 209, 894 | 69, 695 | 10, 825 631, 099 Apress 3-252 170, 520 392, 353 303, 991 | 96, 800 | 14, 566 978, 230 Mitsivaees eee ere: 139, 186 301, 701 319, 018 | 95, 398 | 12, 514 867, 817 Wincea saa es 126, 039 286, 978 217, 407 |111, 119 | 13, 509 755, 052
Motalc. ase 1, 051, 128 |2, 432, 861 |1, 957, 747 |790, 283 |119, 333 |6, 351, 352
SECRETARY’S REPORT Vf
TaBLE 2.—Groups of schoolchildren visiting the Smithsonian Institution during the year ended June 30, 1959
Year and month Number of Number of children groups 1958 Dilys SABO TLS SUP PO SES OR eee 7, 670 301 ATIgUSt UL = ot om vice. srtedeaetinnes VL erm etes Leonean) 8, 648 405 Septem bert. 8 $s mh 2s 1 ee te Bg 4, 433 145 (QYatsl sii See Se Ee hE ees 19, 534 644 INOV.eI Deri aren tere re ae ee eee ee eee en een 21, 083 612 ECE pe eas eee A NO) hes Sty USERRA Et SE EE 9, 801 295 1959 STEN At SO oe SR ee eee Sek © Nee ere en ae 9, 769 346 IEG Lrg aay pee tes Sree ne ewes ee NO Se eS 18, 339 581 TN EEC Geant tla hon eh i lla hai Af dec UE Se ga al 54, 235 1, 426 Steyr a limon, a kts AGRON _ OER! Lied hes AEM eee oa i te 110, 950 2, 431 VTi epee: BS reg ATS Oe. I eal 2 OA 148, 789 3, 338 ASD a s\4 Scone ug! Cour ch cea PEATE, ca, Oe eR, er wep ay 44, 424 1, 354 ATSC Gt eee ee i Re ere ae ae Pee el ee 457, 675 11, 878
SUMMARY OF THE YEAR’S ACTIVITIES
National Museum.—The national collections were augmented dur- ing the year by a total of 1,144,445 specimens, bringing the total catalog entries in all departments to more than 52 million. Some of the outstanding items received included: In anthropology, a 12th-cen- tury stone Buddha from Cambodia, 4 collections of Micronesian ethnological material, and a cast of the Génovce (Slovakia) Neander- thal skull; in botany, the entire herbarium of Goucher College, con- sisting of about 6,100 specimens; in geology, the legendary Hope diamond, a superb collection of Chinese jade carvings, the largest dinosaur bone known from this country, and more than 7,300 speci- mens of Carboniferous plants; in zoology, large lots of mammals and birds from Panama, 2 large collections of fishes from the eastern United States; the Monrés collection of more than 54,000 chrysomelid beetles, and many mollusks and marine invertebrates collected by the Bredin-Smithsonian Caribbean Expedition; in civil history, an entire room from the Gothic Revival Harral-Wheeler house in Bridgeport, Conn., an entire 18th-century loghouse from Wilmington, Del., addi- tions to the White House china collection, and important lots of philatelic and numismatic material, including the Dwight D. Hisen- hower collection of coins, medals, and memorabilia; in Armed Forces history, early U.S. military and naval insignia from the W. Stokes
536608—60—2
8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Kirk collection and 117 original drawings of U.S. sailing ships; in arts and manufactures, several important gifts of ceramics and glass, a group of fine prints, and an 18th-century French hand-and-foot treadle loom for the new textile hall; and in science and technology, a collection of early handmade locks, bolts, and decorative handware, an acquisition of dental instruments, furniture, and equipment re- lating to the history of dentistry, and a group of scientific instruments used by Ira Remsen at Johns Hopkins University.
Members of the staff conducted fieldwork in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and many parts of the United States.
Under the exhibits-modernization program, three new halls were opened to the public during the year—the Graphic Arts Hall, the Hall of Gems and Minerals, and the Textile Hall. An event of the year of particular public interest was the unveiling of the Fénykévi elephant in the rotunda of the Natural History Building. Fitting ceremonies were also held in connection with the opening of the room displaying the Maude Monell Vetlesen collection of Chinese jade carvings.
Bureau of American Ethnology—The members of the Bureau staff continued their research in archeology and ethnology: Director Rob- erts particularly on matters pertaining to the River Basin Surveys, Dr. Collins his Arctic and Eskimo studies, Dr. Sturtevant his Semi- nole and Seneca researches, Mr, Miller his archeological work at Rus- sell Cave in Alabama.
Astrophysical Observatory—tThe year’s researches of the Smith- sonian Astrophysical Observatory have embraced solar astrophysics, upper atmosphere studies, meteoritical studies, and satellite science. The satellite-tracking program was continued, with notable results. The division of radiation and organisms continued its researches on the photomorphogenic mechanism in plants as controlled by radiant energy.
National Collection of Fine Arts—The Smithsonian Art Commis- sion accepted for the Gallery 19 bronzes, 1 bronze plaque, 4 medal- lions, 3 oils, and 4 watercolors. The Gallery held 17 special exhibitions during the year; and the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service circulated 100 exhibitions (29 new and 71 held from previous years) to 240 museums.
Freer Gallery of Art.—Purchases for the Freer Gallery Collec- tions included outstanding examples of Syrian glass; Indian lacquer- work; Indian and Persian metalwork; Indian, Chinese, and Japanese painting; and Chinese and Japanese pottery. The Gallery continued its program of illustrated lectures by distinguished scholars in the auditorium, the 1958-59 season numbering six.
National Air Museum.—Site for the new building for the National Air Museum was approved during the year, and preliminary studies
SECRETARY'S REPORT 9
and estimates of planning costs are in progress. During the year 341 specimens in 56 separate accessions were added to the aeronautical collections, including an early example of a German one-man heli- copter, a DM-1 delta-winged glider of World War II, the Jupiter “C” missile and the recovered nose cone of the Jupiter “C,” the “Data- Sphere” (a recovered instrumented capsule from a long-range ballistic missile), and a large quantity of documents and memorabilia pertain- ing to the pioneer rocketry research by Dr. Robert H. Goddard.
National Zoological Park.—The Zoo accessioned 1,286 animals dur- ing the year. The net count at the close of the year was 2,384. Note- worthy among the additions were a herd of 14 reindeer from Kotzebue, a trio of Rocky Mountain goats and 5 pronghorns, 6 albatrosses, the first Dall sheep ever to be exhibited in an American zoo, and a pair of Pallas’s cats. A female wisent was born in captivity.
Canal Zone Biological Area.—About 400 persons visited the island during the year, including 54 scientists, students, and observers using the station’s facilities for special researches, particularly in plant and insect studies, wildlife observation, nature writing, and photography.
International Exchange Service——As the official U.S. agency for the exchange of governmental, scientific, and literary publications be- tween this country and other nations, the International Exchange Service handled during the year 1,129,476 packages of such publica- tions, weighing 767,389 pounds.
National Gallery of Art.—The Gallery received 370 accessions dur- ing the year, by gift, loan, or deposit. Eight special exhibits were held, and 27 traveling exhibitions of prints from the Rosenwald Col- lection were circulated elsewhere. Exhibitions from the “Index of American Design” were given 43 bookings in 17 States and the Dis- trict of Columbia, and 1 in Germany. More than 40,500 persons attended the general tours conducted by Gallery personnel, and more than 11,500 attended tours, lectures, and conferences by special ap- pointment. The Sunday afternoon auditorium lectures drew 14,500 persons. The Sunday evening concerts in the east garden court were continued.
Library.—The library received a total of 52,669 publications during the year, and 159 new exchanges were arranged. At the close of the year the holdings of the library and its branches aggregated 982,596 volumes, including 586,722 in the Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress but excluding unbound periodicals and reprints and separates of serial publications.
Publications.—Highty-one publications appeared under Smithso- nian imprint during the year. (See Report of Publications, p. 224, for full list.) Outstanding among these were: “Studies in Inverte-
10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
brate Morphology,” papers by 18 contributors published in honor of Dr. Robert Evans Snodgrass; “Pueblo del Arroyo, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico,” by Neil M. Judd; “The Journals of Daniel Noble Johnson (1822-1863), United States Navy,” edited by Mendel L. Peter- son; “First Book of Grasses,” third edition, by Agnes Chase; “Check- list of the Millipeds of North America,” by Ralph V. Chamberlin and Richard L. Hoffman; “Ichneumon-flies of America North of Mexico,” by Henry and Marjorie Townes; “The Native Brotherhoods: Modern Intertribal Organizations on the Northwest Coast,” by Philip Drucker; “The North Alaska Eskimo: A Study in Ecology and Society,” by Robert F. Spencer.
Personnel.—Lawrence L. Oliver, buildings manager, retired on May 31, 1959, after 38 years of service with the Institution. Charles C. Sinclair, assistant buildings manager, retired on February 24, 1959; he had been with the Smithsonian since 1935.
Other changes in staff made during the year are noted as appro- priate in the reports of the various branches of the Institution that follow.
Report on the United States National Museum
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the condi- tion and operations of the U.S. National Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1959:
COLLECTIONS
Specimens incorporated into the national collections totaled 1,144,445, distributed among the eight departments as follows: An- thropology, 14,497 ; zoology, 452,163 ; botany, 50,641; geology, 189,070; Armed Forces history, 934; arts and manufactures, 12,699; civil history, 469,612; science and technology, 4,829. This increase is smaller than last year, when an unusual accretion resulted from the accession of a large number of stamps. This year’s total is a more normal figure. Most of the accessions were acquired as gifts from individuals or as transfers from Government departments and agen- cies. The Annual Report of the Museum, published as a separate document, contains a detailed list of the year’s acquisitions, of which the more important are summarized below. Catalog entries in all departments now total 52,022,520.
Anthropology—Prince Norodom Sihanouk, formerly King of Cambodia and now Prime Minister of that country, presented to the people of the United States through President Dwight D. Hisen- hower a fine example of a stone Buddha, seated on a coiled serpent (the King Muchilinda) and protected by a crown of seven heads of the serpent. The Buddha was made in the Cambodian city of Angkor Thom during the reign of King Jayavarmon VII, A.D, 1181-1215.
Four collections, totaling 249 specimens, were received by transfer from the Department of the Interior, through Delmas H. Nucker, High Commissioner, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, from the districts of Yap, Truk, Ponape, and the Marshall Islands. These specimens, obtained especially for the division of ethnology, con- siderably enrich the material from Micronesia, an area until now not well represented in the national collections. Among them are two fishing kites from Ifalik, which are flown from canoes and from which dangle a ball of cobwebs for catching garfish. After a fish strikes the sticky substance it cannot open its mouth. There is a war club from Satawan, some excellent knuckle dusters and weather charm
11
12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
idols, belt looms with ring-woven fabrics, and a good stick chart used as a native navigational device by the Marshall Islanders.
Several archeological accessions are of especial interest. One is a plaster cast of a colossal stone head of the Olmec culture (ca. 500 B.C.), the original of which was found near San Lorenzo in southern Vera- cruz, Mexico. The cast was received in 31 pieces, which were assembled, painted, and placed on exhibit in the Highlights of Latin American Archeology Hall. <A collection of primitive stone implements from northern Australia, collected by F. D. McCarthy, of the Australian Museum, and Frank M. Setzler during the Smithsonian-National Geo- graphic Society Arnhem Land Expedition in 1948, constitutes an un- usual accession. Type samples and all unique specimens collected in British Guiana in 1952-53 by the Smithsonian Institution-Fulbright Research Fellowship Expedition have added much to the Museum’s collections from South America.
New accessions in the division of physical anthropology include a plaster cast of the Ganovce Neanderthal skull found in 1926 in a travertine quarry in northern Slovakia. The original is a travertine cast of the endocranial cavity with only a little adherent cranial bone still in place. So far as is known, no other copy of this important specimen has reached the United States. A skull (with parts of the skeleton) exhibiting filed teeth was found in January 1954 by Dr. Preston Holder in a burial pit at the great Cahokia Mound site in East St. Louis, Ill. Although the pit contained the skeletal remains of a number of individuals, only the one skeleton has filed teeth, and the fact that it alone was articulated suggests that filed teeth were a sign of distinction. One of the conclusions reached, in a report published in the November 1958 Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, is that the custom of tooth filing in the Mississippi Valley probably had its origin in Middle America but became attenuated and modified.
Botany.—Significant gifts to the department of botany were 130 slides of diatoms, presented by Mrs. Eloise Stump, Oak Park, IIL; 6,183 specimens given by Goucher College, Baltimore, Md., consisting of their entire herbarium, including a large number of cryptogams; 388 plants of Australia from Dr. C. L. Wilson, Hanover, N.H.; and 1,749 mosses contributed by E. C. Leonard from his personal collection.
Among the numerous exchanges were 4,875 specimens of Sumatra and the East Indies from the University of Michigan; 1,152 specimens of Canadian and Arctic plants, received from the Canada Department of Agriculture; 1,403 specimens from Cuba received from the Colegio de la Salle, Havana; 921 specimens, collected in Argentina by T. M. Pedersen, from the Botanical Museum, University of Copenhagen; 1,002 specimens of New Guinea and Australia from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Canberra, Australia;
SECRETARY'S REPORT 13
352 plants, collected by Dr. Bassett Maguire in the “Lost World” region of Venezuela, from the New York Botanical Garden; and 282 plants from the V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, consisting of issues 81-84 of their “Herbarium of the Flora of the USSR” and “Decas I-V Hepaticae and Musci USSR Exsiccati.”
Several large collections were received with identifications requested, including 490 specimens, collected in Colombia by Jean Langenheim, from the University of California; 948 plants of Santa Catarina, Brazil, from the Herbirio “Barbosa Rodrigues,” Itajai, Santa Cata- rina, Brazil; and 268 miscellaneous South American specimens from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
Dr. Mason KE. Hale and Robert R. Ireland collected 4,295 lichens and 1,491 mosses on field trips in Virginia in connection with their research projects. Transferred from the Department of the Interior were 1,851 plants of Polynesia collected by Dr. F. R. Fosberg. ‘There were purchased from the Archbold Expeditions 1,902 specimens col- lected by L. J. Brass on the Fifth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea; from Paul Aellen, Basel, Switzerland, 1,140 specimens col- lected by Dr. K. Rechinger in Ivan and Greece; and from Winifred M. A. Brooke, Liss, England, 830 plants she collected in Sarawak.
Geology—The legendary Hope diamond, the largest and most no- tuble of all blue diamonds, was presented on November 10, 1958, by Harry Winston, New York gem merchant and connoisseur. ‘The Hope diamond ranks in importance with other famous gems, such as the Kohinoor, Cullinan, and Regent, found only in the Crown Jewels of Europe. Because of its long and dramatic history, the legends built around it, and its rare, deep-blue color, the Hope dia- mond is probably the best known diamond in the world. Mr. Win- ston acquired it in 1949 from the estate of the late Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington, who received it from her husband, Edward B. McLean, in 1911. Its known history prior to the McLean pur- chase dates from 1830, when David Eliason, a noted gem dealer, sold the stone to Henry Thomas Hope, an Irish squire and banker. ‘The stone was shown at the London Exposition in 1851. In 1867 it was sold at Christie’s in London. It was acquired in 1908 by the Sultan Habib Bey, but after the Young Turks Revolt the gem was again placed on the market and purchased by Mr. McLean in 1911.
One of the world’s finest collections of Chinese jade carvings was presented by the estate of Mrs. Maude Monell Vetlesen through her son, Edmund C. Monell. The collection comprises 130 pieces, carved in one or the other of the two jade minerals, nephrite or jadeite. Some of the specimens date from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but most are from the Ching Dynasty (1644-1912). Noteworthy gifts in min-
14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
erals received from individuals are: genthelvite, Colorado, from Glenn R. Scott; opal, Nevada, from Mark C. Bandy; jade, Burma, from Martin L. Ehrmann; milky quartz crystals, Colorado, from E. M. Gunnell; gorceixite, French Equatorial Africa, from Mahlon Mil- ler; spangolite, Arizona, from Arch Oboler; and clinchedrite and roeblingite, New Jersey, from John S. Albanese.
Important additions to the Roebling collection by purchase and ex- change include a collection of 249 specimens of exceptional rarity and quality; a fine large crystal of phosphophyllite from Bolivia; a crys- tal of beryl, variety aquamarine, from Brazil; bikitaite from South- ern Rhodesia; an unusually large mass of thorite from Colorado; danburite from Mexico; and four tourmaline crystals from Mozambique.
Several items of outstanding exhibition quality were added to the Canfield collection by purchase, Among these are proustite from Chile; spodumene from Brazil; pyrite from Colorado; euclase from Brazil; smoky quartz from Switzerland; and cyrtolite from Colorado.
Gems and jewels acquired for the Isaac Lea collection by purchase from the Chamberlain fund include a 10.8-carat kornerupine from Madagascar; an 18.5-carat golden sphalerite from Utah; a colorless zircon from Ceylon, weighing 48.2 carats; a star garnet sphere weigh- ing 67.3 carats, from Idaho; and a 43.4-carat sinhalite from Ceylon.
Important additions to the meteorite collection include the follow- ing: Ladder Creek, Kans., from the Argonne National Laboratory ; Vera, Santa Fé, Argentina, from Lorenzo Orestes Giacomelli; Belle Plaine, Kans., from Prof. Walter Scott Huston; Idutwa, Cape Province, South Africa, from Dr. Edgar D. Mountain; Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, from C. C. Patterson; and Sikhote-Alin, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, from the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In the division of vertebrate paleontology the outstanding acces- sion of the year resulted from fieldwork by Peter P. Vaughn, who obtained excellent materials representing a number of genera of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles from the Clyde and Arroyo formations of Baylor County, Tex. A dinosaur bone, the largest known from this country, 6 feet 10 inches long, a humerus of the Jurassic genus Brachiosaurus, was donated by D. E. Jones. Two accessions of fossil fishes received in exchanges furnished exhibition material: one, a specimen of the Triassic coelacanth Diplurus newarki, together with its life restoration to scale, was received from Princeton University ; the other includes 81 specimens of fossil sharks and ray-finned fishes from two marine Upper Cretaceous formations in Lebanon from the School of Engineering, American University of Beirut, through Dr. Harry M. Smith. Of mammalian materials acquired, the skull of the Miocene whale Cetotherium megalophysum is outstanding. It was
SECRETARY’S REPORT 15
collected by Capts. Daniel and Edward Harrison of Ewell, Md., and was presented by the Ewell Junior High School.
Among the important gifts received in the division of invertebrate paleontology and paleobotany are 7,345 specimens of Carboniferous plants collected by Dr. Harvey Bassler, received from the Maryland Department of Geology, Mines, and Water Resources, Johns Hopkins University ; 23 type specimens of Miocene mollusks from the Chesa- peake Bay area from Dr. John Oleksyshyn, Boston University; 144 slides of Recent Foraminifera and Ostracoda from the Antarctic from Rear Adm. Charles W. Thomas; 63 specimens of Oligomiocene ostracods from the Brasso formation of Trinidad from Dr. W. A. van den Bold; 200 Mesozoic invertebrate fossils from Israel from Dr. J. Wahrman; and 263 foraminiferal concentrates and well cuttings from Italian Somalia from the Sinclair Oil and Gas Co.
Through funds provided by the Walcott bequest 438 invertebrate fossils, including over 400 goniatites from Oklahoma, were acquired by the Museum. A grant from the National Science Foundation permitted Associate Curator Porter M. Kier to collect 1,490 echinoids and other invertebrate fossils in Belgium, France, Holland, and Switzerland.
Among the important exchanges received are 750 specimens of as- sorted invertebrate fossils from the Mesozoic and Tertiary of Great Britain from Sgt. Philip Cambridge; 61 blocks of Permian lime- stone from West Texas from Harvard University through Dr. H. B. Whittington ; and one specimen of the very rare brachiopod /’nantios- phen from the Devonian of Germany donated by Dr. Wolfgang Struve, Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.
Zoology.—The largest accession and the largest single collection to be received in the division of mammals in several years includes more than 1,600 specimens from Panama collected by C. O. Handley, Jr., and Bernard Feinstein in cooperation with the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory. More than a hundred mammals, including a specimen of the rare suni antelope, were collected in East Africa and presented by Judge Russell E. Train. Antarctic explorations connected with the International Geophysical Year, under the auspices of the Na- tional Academy of Sciences, brought a specimen of the rare Ross seal. Individual specimens of unusual interest are the skin of a snow leopard collected in the Himalayas by Maj. Gen. M. Hayaud Din and pre- sented by the Embassy of Pakistan, and the unique type specimens of a new race of the large spiny rat Haplomys gymnurus collected by Dr. A. Wetmore on the tiny island of Escudo de Veraguas, Panama.
An important accession to the bird collection consisted of 572 bird- skins amassed in Panama by Dr. A. Wetmore. Another large acces-
16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
sion of 591 skins of birds and other ornithological material from North America was transferred from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. The Public Health Service, Depart- ment of Health, Education, and Welfare, also transferred 75 bird- skins from Arctic America. The rarest single specimen received was a lyre-tailed honeyguide, Malichneutes robustus, from Cameroons, a gift from the Zoological Society of London. ‘This is the second known example of this bird to come to an American museum.
In reptilian and amphibian material a number of accessions of types and paratypes of recently described species was received, the most notable single lot being a gift of 172 specimens from Haiti, Cuba, and Trinidad, received from Dr. W. G. Lynn.
The division of fishes received two large collections of fresh-water fishes from the eastern United States. One of these, comprising 25,057 specimens, is an exchange from the University of South Caro- lina through Dr. Harry Freeman; the other, consisting of 25,000 fishes, was donated by the University of Maryland through Dr. G. W. Wharton. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution gave 852 fishes from Labrador through Dr. Richard H. Backus. A very fine collection totaling 2,449 fishes from the eastern Pacific was presented by the University of California through Wayne J. Baldwin. This group includes numerous species not otherwise represented in the national collections.
Several outstanding collections were acquired by the division of insects: the Monrds collection of 54,245 chrysomelid beetles trans- ferred by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; 30,507 insects col- lected in El Salvador by O. L. Cartwright; 26,385 specimens of beetles from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, collected and donated by Paul J. Spangler; the Fish and Wildlife Service transferred 33,063 miscellaneous New World insects through Dr. Daniel L. Leedy ; N. L. H. Kraus presented 6,924 insects from Asia, from many locali- ties not previously represented in the national collections. Other im- portant accessions are as follows: From Dr. W. B. Muchmore some 800 New York State centipedes, providing valuable records being in- corporated into a statewide survey that is currently in preparation; from Dr. Thomas C. Barr, Jr., a number of cave collections of centi- pedes, giving information about unexplored fauna; and from Dr. George E. Ball, some 1,000 centipedes, comprising the largest chilopod collection known to date from Alaska and adjacent islands.
The outstanding accession of mollusks was a gift from Dr. R. L. Alsaker of some 280 specimens of marine species of the family Volu- tidae, including many rare and beautful forms. Other notable ac- cessions include 900 lots, 3,100 specimens, of mollusks from the British Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands, collected by the Bredin-
SECRETARY’S REPORT 19
Smithsonian Caribbean Expedition; 178 lots, 1,225 specimens, of marine, fresh-water, and land mollusks from Chile, a gift of Dr. Walter Riese; and 279 lots, 521 specimens, of marine mollusks from Mozambique, purchased through the Frances Lea Chamberlain fund.
The division of marine invertebrates received 7,685 specimens col- lected by the Bredin-Smithsonian Caribbean Expedition. Dr. R. E. Coker donated over 38,400 crustaceans, largely copepods, and Dr. T. E. Bowman presented his collection of 7,154 miscellaneous invertebrates. Type material was included in the following gifts: 897 copepod crusta- ceans from Dr. Arthur G. Humes; 8 hermit crabs, including 3 para- types of three species from Anthony J. Provenzano; and 3 paratypes of a species of an ostracod crustacean from Dr. Eugene W. Kozloff. One small accession, a gift from R. P. Higgins, of the holotype and two paratypes of a species of /chinodera added the first representa- tives of this little-known phylum of the Animal Kingdom to the na- tional collections.
Ciwil history—Several gifts enhanced the furniture collection in the division of cultural history. A Louis [TV commode with marble top, labeled with the maker’s name, “M. Cresson,” was given by Mr. and Mrs. William W. Wickes, and a painted Tyrolean wardrobe on frame was presented by the estate of Dr. Elisabeth Lotte Franzos. Mrs. H. B. Blackmar gave a Connecticut cherry “highboy,” an Em- pire sofa, and several chairs; Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rothschild donated an American secretary-bookcase, a chest of drawers, and a card table, all Jate 18th century; and Mr. and Mrs. Edmund C. Monell presented several examples of Chinese lacquered furniture.
Three outstanding acquisitions of architectural importance were made this year. An entire room and numerous fragments were ob- tained from the Gothic Revival-style Harral-Wheeler house in Bridge- port, Conn., designed by Andrew Jackson Davis about 1848. The material was given by the city of Bridgeport upon dismantling. A wide variety of cast-iron architectural fragments from office buildings and store fronts of the now-demolished old mercantile section of St. Louis was transferred by the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial of the National Park Service. An entire loghouse, built in Wilming- ton, Del., in the German tradition in the late 18th century, was given by the Board of Trustees and Building Commission of the Henry C. Conrad School Department of Wilmington. Other gifts include a pair of 18th-century wine coolers used in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg and a silver tea and coffee service originally owned by Czar Alexander I from Col. William E. Shipp, an American Empire- style silver tea and coffee service from Mrs. Mary A. Swanton, and a Pennsylvanian stove plate, dated 1784, from the Union Fork & Hoe Co.
18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
The division of political history received important new additions to the White House china collection. Henry Francis Du Pont donated a dessert service purchased for the White House during the administration of Monroe. The china has an amaranthine border with vignettes representing military might, agriculture, commerce, art, and science, and was made in France by Dagoty. Outstanding accessions to the collection of American period costume were an early dress of homespun cotton, given by Mrs. Charles D. Collins; a dress and wedding petticoats of the early 19th century, a gift of the Misses Marion and Elinor Abbot; a collection of late 19th- and early 20th- century costumes, presented by Miss Eleanor P. Custis; and a wedding dress and other costumes of the 1890’s of historic importance because of their connection with famous South Carolina families, the gift of Mrs. Pinckney Alston Trapier. A flag which had been hung out in mourning at the time of Lincoln’s death was donated by John M. Harlan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
The donation of Mrs. Catherine E. Bullowa, consisting of 21,531 coins, medals, and paper currencies, is an important addition to the numismatic collection. Of special interest in this series is a group of 504 early German and Italian silver and copper coins, dating from the 11th through the 16th centuries, and a collection of 62 German patterns engraved by C. Goetz at the Munich Mint after World War I. Another noteworthy accession is the President Dwight D. Hisen- hower collection of coins, medals, and memorabilia, including a group of 149 gold, silver, and copper mintings covering all periods of his- tory from Ancient Greece to modern times. Especially remarkable are the silver shekel from Judea struck during the first revolt against the Romans in A.D. 66-70 and a silver shekel from Tyre, Phoenicia, considered similar to the “thirty pieces of silver” of the Bible. A set of 14 gold medals issued by the Italo- Venezuelan Bank portray- ing World War II leaders and a 20-dollar gold piece engraved on the reverse “Reims, May 7, 1945, 0240” are part of a group of coins bearing special dedications to President Eisenhower.
A collection of nine medals and plaques engraved by the American medalist Victor D. Brenner was received from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society of St. Louis. An important collection of 807 proclamation pieces, struck by different Mexican cities and or- ganizations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in commemora- tion of the late Spanish kings, was presented by Joseph B. Stack.
Former Postmaster General James A. Farley converted two addi- tional units from loan to gift in the division of philately and postal history, thus concluding the transaction begun in 1956. Two collec- tions of inestimable reference value were transferred from the Library of Congress—the Ackerman collection of U.S. die and plate proofs in
SECRETARY’S REPORT 19
three volumes features postage, and the Clarence H. Eagle collection of U.S. revenue proofs and essays includes a comprehensive showing of match and medicine varieties. John P. V. Heinmuller donated his prize-winning collection of Zeppelin covers. Housed in 21 volumes, the collection portrays the early experimental flights of the 1908-10 period, World War I, and all flights of the Graf Zeppelin. One in- teresting specimen is a scorched cover carried on the ill-fated flight of the Zeppelin Hindenberg, which burned at Lakehurst, N.J., May 6, 1937. Comdr. W. R. Anderson, Commanding Officer, U.S. Navy submarine Vautilus, presented in the name of the Navy and his crew the rubber canceling devices made by the crew members and used to cachet envelopes in commemoration of the first navigation by sub- marine beneath the polar icecap.
Armed Forces history—Among the outstanding material received in Armed Forces history were early U.S. military and naval insignia from the unique W. Stokes Kirk collection, a very rare pair of epaulets owned by Gen. George Washington acquired from Mrs. Janet Ran- dolph Ball Haden, and an early 19th-century broadax from the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. Transferred from the U.S. Naval Academy were 17 builders’ half models of early naval vessels, and examples of diving gear were received from the Experimental Diving Unit, Department of the Navy.
Original drawings numbering 177 of plans for U.S. sailing ships were presented by Howard I. Chapelle, author of the important work “The History of the American Sailing Navy.” Frank Mather Archer presented an excellent example of the type of uniform coat worn by a lieutenant of the U.S. Infantry during the period of 1828-36. An outstanding collection of prints and books illustrating European uniforms and equipment was presented by Col. William E. Shipp. Edward B. Tucker of Somerset, Bermuda, donated objects recovered from 16th- and 19th-century shipwrecks. Collections of objects re- covered from 18th-century shipwreck sites in Florida were received through the courtesy of Edwin A. Link, Arthur McKee, and Dr. and Mrs. George Crile, Jr. Aniron shot from the site of the 16th-century fortress of San Lorenzo was given by Karl P. Curtis of Panama.
Arts and manufactures—An outstanding addition to the division of ceramics and glass is a collection of 600 pieces of Dutch and German pottery and stoneware, the gift of the Honorable Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr., Chief of Protocol, and Mrs. Buchanan. The collection is especially rich in Medieval Dutch household wares and Rhenish stoneware types, many of which are exhibited nowhere else in the United States. A noteworthy slip-decorated Rhenish jar from Pingsdorf, Germany, dated 12th or 13th century, is representative of the beginnings of the very important German stoneware industry. A ewer from Rheren
20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
dated 1585, in almost perfect condition, is exceptional in that most wares of this type lack the spout or handle or both. The collection of 170 glass items donated by Mrs. Clara W. Berwick includes a rare group comprising early American glass pieces of Stiegel and Amelung type, as well as later wares from the famous Sandwich factory in Mas- sachusetts. Mrs. Mary Roebling gave three sculptured birds and the figures of horses by Edward Marshall Boehm. Mrs. George Hewitt Myers presented 48 pieces of Castleford porcelain made in England between 1790 and 1820. Among these rare items are teapots and pitchers decorated with an American eagle after the design of con- temporary coins.
The division of graphic arts acquired an important group of fine prints. The selection of these examples by outstanding printmakers from the year 1500 to the present day made it possible to fill a number of significant gaps in the collection. The prints include an engraving by the Italian Renaissance master Marcantonio Raimondi, “St. Ce- celia”; two prints by important French artists of the turn of the 20th century—a lithograph by Edouard Manet, “La Barricade,” and a color lithograph by Edouard Vuillard, “Les Deux Belles Soeurs”; and an exceptionally fine impression of an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn, “Landscape with a Flock of Sheep.” A 50-line halftone screen was presented by Max Levy & Co., Philadelphia, through Howard S. Levy; R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, through Walter L. Howe, gave a panel describing the rotogravure process; and the firm of Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, Inc., Boston, donated the first battery-operated portable electronic flash unit, invented by Dr. Harold EK. Edgerton.
The division of textiles received from Arthur E. Wullschleger an 18th-century French hand-and-foot treadle loom to which a Jacquard head had been added in the 19th century. Mr. Wullschleger obtained the loom in Lyons, France, and it was renovated at Wedgewood Mills, Jewett City, Conn. An excellent model of the 1787 patent of Cart- wright’s power loom, an invention unrepresented in the national collection, was made by Robert Klinger of the exhibits staff. A fine collection of 46 18th- and 19th-century printed cottons was given by Mrs. Kenneth Franzheim. Beautiful examples of contemporary hand- and power-woven fabrics were presented by the Irish Linen Guild, Potomac Craftsmen, Designer-Weavers, the American Cotton Manufacturers Institute, the Corduroy Council, the International Silk Association, and the Man-Made Fibers Association.
The division of industrial cooperation received the original equip- ment used in 1956-57 to carry out the experiments suggested by Nobel prize winners Dr. T. D. Lee of Columbia University and Dr. C. N. Yang of the Institute for Advanced Studies to demonstrate that in
SECRETARY’S REPORT 21
the decay of an elementary particle into another particle parity is not conserved. Examples of early seismometers used in exploration for oil were presented by the Continental Oil Co.
Science and technology.—The most noteworthy accession acquired in the division of agriculture and wood products comprised 111 au- thentic wood samples of Santa Catarina, Brazil, collected and donated by Dr. Lyman B. Smith. <A portable farm steam engine made in 1877 by Frick & Co. was donated by this firm.
Among the pieces of major importance added to the division of electricity are the following: A group of pieces constructed by Thomas Davenport, a Vermont blacksmith who obtained the first patent on an electric motor, given by Frank Chandler; and from the General Electric Research Laboratory, replicas of Dr. Irving Langmuir’s vacuum distillation pump and of his apparatus for measuring surface tension which was basic to the work for which he received the Nobel prize. Mrs. Edith Earle donated two examples of the telephone that her father, James H. Earle, made in the winter of 1876-77 at Brown University under the direction of a group of professors there. The acoustical design of the group at Brown was incorporated in the design of the Bell telephone.
The following significant objects were acquired in the division of mechanical and civil engineering: The personal watch of Edward Howard, considered the parent of all American factory-made watches, from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association; a rare and fine wagon-spring clock given by Mrs. Francis Boutelle Allen; and three noteworthy precision clocks presented by the Georgetown Uni- versity Observatory through Father F. J. Heyden. A valuable and attractive collection of early handmade locks, bolts, and decorative hardware, with pieces dating from the 16th century, was presented by the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. Two important early machine tools were received—an 1851 Robbins and Lawrence chain- feed lathe given by Curtis Woodruff, and a Jones & Lamson turret lathe of about 1880 donated by George F. Kiley. A Porter-Allen steam engine, prototype of the compact high-speed steam engine which dominated the medium-size engine field for many years, was presented by the Philadelphia Electric Co.
The most significant acquisition in the division of medical sciences is a collection of dental instruments, furniture, and equipment relat- ing to the history of dentistry, totaling 2,869 specimens, received from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry. This provides an excellent cross section of the equipment used by the dentist from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century, containing rare individual items such as an early ether inhaler and two extraction instruments. An important collection of material relating to the dis-
22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
covery and development of the Salk poliomyelitis vaccine was con- tributed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. This collection includes original flasks used by Dr. John F. Enders to grow polio viruses in cultures of human embryonic skin and muscle tissue; a bottle and automatic rocker used at the University of Toronto Connaught Laboratories to grow polio virus in quantity ; syringe and residues of the first vaccines given by Dr. Jonas E. Salk; and the original draft of the report by Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr., evaluating the 1954 field trials of poliomyelitis vaccine.
The division of physical sciences continued its efforts to acquire early scientific apparatus used in colleges. The majority of the ap- paratus collected this year is chemical, and the most noteworthy ac- cession is a group of instruments used by Ira Remsen at Johns Hop- kins University. Other outstanding items obtained are the first equa- torial telescope (1876) of the Warner & Swasey Co., the gift of that firm, and the first helium liquefier built in the United States in 1931 donated by the National Bureau of Standards.
Specimens of major importance acquired in the division of trans- portation are a model representing the sister ships /ndependence and Constitution, modern American liners, received from American Ex- port Lines, and the models of the Hudson River steamer Francis Skiddy from F. Van Loon Ryder and the Narragansett Bay steamer Mount Hope from Mary T. Campbell. Other outstanding accessions include an oil-tank wagon from the Esso Standard Oil Co., a private coach, presented by Mrs. Richard Saltonstall through the interest of Senator Leverett Saltonstall, and a Conestoga wagon from Howard C. Frey. The private coach, a most significant addition, was built in 1851 by the famous carriage maker Thomas Goddard of Boston.
EXPLORATION AND FIELDWORK
The department of anthropology has underway an extensive pro- eram to revitalize the famous paintings of Indians by George Catlin. F. M. Setzler, head curator, went to Boston between May 26 and 28, 1959, to investigate the progress of the renovations, which are being carried out under the guidance of Henri Courtais. Cleaning the painted surfaces involves a variety of methods and chemical solutions, depending on the condition of the painting and the canvas. A large percentage of the original Catlin paintings had been relined with a canvas about 75 years ago, when someone repainted the backgrounds of most of the paintings involved. This repainting was done on top of dirt, smoke, and water blemishes. The overpaint requires addi- tional time and effort to remove before Mr. Courtais and his assistants can clean the original painted surface. After this overpaint is re- moved, the excellence of the painting can be truly appreciated and
SECRETARY’S REPORT 23
furthermore the garments, feathers, and Indian and European orna- ments as depicted by Catlin can be readily identified. Mr. Courtais is continuing his work, and it is hoped that the entire program will be completed within the next 2 or 3 years.
Between January 18 and 20, 1959, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, curator of archeology, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to examine duplicate Egyptian antiquities with a view to obtain- ing objects suitable to our exhibits program. With the aid of Mrs. Virginia M. Pollak, Dr. Wedel selected 33 items for purchase. These include several reliefs, two baskets, a bedstead and stool, a wooden hawk case with hawk mummy, and a bronze hawk and small bronze mummy case. Practically all these will be suitable for exhibit and will provide displays that do not now exist in our Egyptian collec- tions. Karly in May, following the annual meetings of the Society for American Archeology in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Wedel de- voted several days to examination of the collections of the University of Utah Museum, with particular reference to materials that are re- lated to Western Plains cultures. He also visited Ogden, Utah, where he examined an unusual collection, including many stone bowls and manos and a considerable variety of projectile points and stone orna- ments. The material acquired will be useful for exhibit and study purposes.
Between July 7 and September 20, 1958, Dr. Clifford Evans, asso- ciate curator of archeology, and Dr. Betty J. Meggers, honorary research associate, visited Panama, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. They spent 4 days in Panama City examining collections in the Museo Nacional and discussing problems of museum modernization with the director. ‘They also discussed in detail the possibilities of collabora- tive research, using the services of H. Morgan Smith, involving arche- ological sites now being discovered or destroyed by road or building construction. Subsequently Mr. Smith was appointed a collaborator of the Smithsonian Institution .
Between July 19 and July 28, Drs. Evans and Meggers participated in the 83d International Congress of Americanists at San José, Costa Rica. This very successful meeting was attended by a large repre- sentation of scientists from Latin America, North America, and Europe. The Smithsonian Institution representatives participated in several important symposia dealing with the problem of the Forma- tive Period in Mesoamerica and South America, in addition to deliver- ing a scientific paper on the preliminary results of their archeological investigations in the headwaters of the Orinoco. At this meeting, Middle American and South American specialists decided that a coordinated program of research toward a solution of a specific prob- lem will produce better results than individual research projects. A
536608—_60——3
24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
committee was appointed to organize research centering on the im- portance of Mesoamerican and northern South American connections from the Formative Period up to Spanish Contact, and Dr. Evans accepted the secretaryship of this committee.
Proceeding to Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 28, Drs. Evans and Meggers continued their archeological research in cooperation with Emilio Estrada, Director of the Museo Arqueolégico “Victor Emilio Kstrada.” This research was principally directed toward filling in certain gaps in the sequences that have been worked out in the past 5 years by Estrada, Evans, and Meggers for the south coast. It is felt that progress toward the solution of this problem is now being made. On their return trip Drs. Evans and Meggers stopped briefly in New Orleans and visited specialists at Tulane University. In March 1959, Dr. Evans examined collections at the Heye Foundation in New York City to study important material referring to coastal Ecuador; many photographs were taken which will serve as a basis for future study.
Dr. Ralph S. Solecki, associate curator of archeology, visited Uni- versity Park and Philadelphia, Pa., between September 15 and 19, 1958. At Pennsylvania State University he consulted with staff mem- bers about fieldwork in the Near East and viewed the ceramic collec- tions made by Dr. Dupree and Dr. Matson of the State University staff, in connection with the material recovered by the Smithsonian Insti- tution Shanidar project. At the University Museum at Philadelphia, Dr. Solecki conferred with staff members concerning fieldwork in Iran and Iraq. A general survey of the Old World archeological collections was made in order to ascertain what materials are lacking in the Smithsonian collections.
During the period March 15 to April 8, 1959, Dr. Solecki was de- tailed to participate in a UNESCO meeting in Paris, called to discuss measures to minimize the unfavorable effects of large-scale engineer- ing works upon items of cultural interest as well as upon the ecologi- eal conditions of the regions affected. Dr. Solecki conferred with the Secretariat of UNESCO and the Bureau of the International Com- mittee on Monuments on matters of procedure regarding the prob- lem. He prepared a summary statement of the problems involved and suggested solutions, and subsequently participated in a regular meet- ing of the Bureau of the International Committee on Monuments on April 2. In Paris, and also in London, Dr. Solecki visited several museums and scientific institutions to arrange possible archeological exchanges between these institutions and the Smithsonian Institution.
From December 1 to 14, 1958, Dr. S. H. Riesenberg, curator of eth- nology, visited the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., and Harvard University. He continued his study of Micronesian ethnographical collections at the Peabody Museum and also examined and abstracted
SECRETARY’S REPORT 25
pertinent Caroline Islands materials from important collections of early American ships’ logs, journals, and manuscripts of early voy- ages contained in the archives of that museum and the Essex Insti- tute. Parallel] studies were made in the Harvard Peabody Museum and in the Houghton Library of Harvard University, where many pertinent ethnohistorical manuscript records of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions are housed. Such museum and library studies are aiding Dr. Riesenberg in his projected analysis of Micronesian material culture, which is an attempt to place Micro- nesia in its proper ethnological position with respect to Pacific island cultural development and history. A trip for the same purposes was made by Dr. Riesenberg to the Chicago Natural History Museum be- tween March 9 and 13, 1959. At this important museum he examined and studied the collections of important ethnographical materials from the Caroline and Marshall Islands.
In continuation of his African studies, Dr. Gordon D, Gibson, asso- ciate curator of ethnology, spent the week of May 18 to 23, 1959, examining ethnological materials from Angola in the collections of the Chicago Natural History Museum and in conferring with staff mem- bers with respect to the identification of African specimens in our collections, certain problems of museum display, the possibility of exchanging specimens, and problems connected with his research. The Chicago Natural History Museum has probably the largest col- lection of Angolan ethnological materials in the United States, and therefore the opportunity to study these materials at firsthand was a significant aid to the progress of Dr. Gibson’s research on the eth- nology of the southwestern Bantu.
In the latter part of July and early in August 1958 Dr. T. Dale Stewart, curator of physical anthropology, visited several coun- tries in Central America. Together with Dr. Evans and Dr. Meggers, he visited the National Museum in Panama, where, as indicated above, the Smithsonian Institution party was very well received. They made a brief trip to the San Blas Islands on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus, in order to see firsthand the San Blas or Cuna Indians liv- ing thereon. These Indians have kept themselves pureblooded and therefore offer opportunities for research. Dr. Stewart also attended the 83d International Congress of Americanists in San José, Costa Rica. Like Drs. Evans and Meggers, he was asked to act as chairman at one of the sessions, and in addition he read an invited paper. It is felt that the Smithsonian Institution staff has been and still is at work in a critical area for the solution of problems referring to pre- historic cultures of Central America and the coast of Ecuador.
Following the congress, Dr. and Mrs. Stewart went north to Guate- mala, where they were joined by about 20 anthropologists. On
26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
August 1, as guests of the Guatemalan Government, they were flown into Tikal, a great Mayan ruin being excavated and restored by the University of Pennsylvania. The travelers also made a quick trip to Lake Atitlan and to Chichicastenango. Because of his work on the living Indians in this area in 1947 and 1949, Dr. Stewart was inter- ested to observe the rate of acculturation here. As far as he could judge, there was very little change since his last visit. In Mexico City Dr. and Mrs. Stewart called at the National Museum and subsequently examined some promising fossil sites in the Valley of Mexico, where a new excavation is being made and a human skull was found at the Pleistocene level. During the visit to Mexico City Dr. Stewart ob- tained considerable information that will be of use to him in working for the Handbook of Latin American Studies and the projected Hand- book of Middle American Indians,
Between March 25 and April 13, 1959, Dr. Stewart was detailed to travel to Czechoslovakia to act as the official U.S. representative at ceremonies honoring the 90th birthday of the late Dr. Ale’ Hrdli¢ka, who for so long was curator of physical anthropology at the Smith- sonian Institution. At formal ceremonies in Prague, Dr. Stewart had the opportunity to stress the fact of Hrdlitka’s American citizen- ship. In his address to the delegates he was able to point out that only in America could Hrdli¢ka have achieved his fame as an anthro- pologist. Later the celebration moved to Humpolec, Hrdlitka’s birthplace, 80 or 90 miles from Prague. Here Dr. Stewart and other delegates were taken through the loca] high school, which has been renamed for Hrdlicka. They also visited the site of his home, saw the street named for him, and visited various local institutions. Ata celebration Dr. Stewart again had an opportunity to say something about Dr. Hrdlitka’s life in America and the opportunity for scien- tific research in this country. On March 31 he participated in scien- tific meetings at the Institute of Anthropology at Charles University in Prague, on this occasion giving the delegates a report of his study of the Shanidar skeleton. This visit to Prague gave Dr. Stewart an opportunity to meet several of his colleagues whom he has previ- ously known by correspondence. On his return trip Dr, Stewart made a brief stop in Zurich to visit the Anthropological Institute. In Lon- don he visited the British Museum to examine the Mount Carmel Neanderthal remains, this visit providing him with a very profitable 2 days of research.
In March 1959 Dr. Lyman B. Smith, curator of phanerograms, vis- ited Cambridge, Mass., to study Herbarium material and to verify bibliographic references in the Harvard Herbarium in connection with his research on the family Bromeliaeae and the flora of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
SECRETARY’S REPORT Dil
Dr. Richard S. Cowan, associate curator of phanerogams, visited the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University and the New York Botanical Garden in November 1958 in connection with his work on the Index Nomina Genericorum, the flora of Santa Catarina, and plants of the Guyana Highland. At the second of these institutions he conferred with Drs, Maguire and Wurdack for the purpose of outlining in a general way the structure and content as well as the geo- graphic limits of the proposed Flora of Guyana. Dr. Cowan also represented the department of botany on the 1959 Smithsonian-Bredin Expedition,
In connection with her continuing studies of Ormosza and other genera of the family Leguminosae, Dr. Velva E. Rudd, associate curator of phanerogams, visited New York and Philadelphia in No- vember and Chicago in December 1958. At the New York Botan- ical Garden, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and the Chicago Natural History Museum she surveyed the available study materials in groups of interest to her, and selected specimens for borrowing.
Between August 20 and 24, 1958, C. V. Morton, curator of ferns, participated in the annual summer foray of the American Fern So- ciety in southern Ohio, after which he attended the meetings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Indiana University. In November and December he studied in the herbarium and library of the Harvard University Herbarium in Cambridge in order to check the bibliographical citations for the Index Nomina Genericorum. In connection with the same project he also visited the New York Botanical Garden.
In July 1958 Dr. Mason E. Hale, associate curator of cryptogams, spent several days in southwestern Virginia and the adjacent area of Tennessee in company with R. R. Ireland, assistant curator of cryptogams, in pursuance of his fieldwork on Appalachian lichens. This study, undertaken with the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation, has resulted in the collection of many specimens of lichens in the area. In February 1959 Dr. Hale spent several days in the cryptogamic herbarium of Duke University, examining lichens in the very important Harmand Herbarium with particular reference to the study of the lichen flora of the central Appalachian Mountains. In May he continued his work on the same project by studying in the rich cryptogamic library and herbarium of Harvard University.
Dr. Herbert Friedmann, head curator of the department of zoology, spent the period between July 7 and 26, 1958, in England, principally to attend the 15th International Congress of Zoology in London and a colloquium on zoological nomenclature. The congress, attended by
28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
more than 1,900 zoologists from all over the world, marked the cen- tenary of the first announcement of the theory of evolution by natural selection by Darwin and Wallace. Dr. Friedmann presented a paper on some of his current work on wax digestion in honeyguides and its microbiological implications. In October 1958 Dr. Friedmann repre- sented the Museum of Natural History at a conference bringing to- gether the directors of systematic collections, held at the New York State Museum in Albany.
On January 21, 1959, Dr. Alexander Wetmore, honorary research associate and retired Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, re- turned to Panama to continue the survey of the birdlife of the Isthmus. The first few days, at Juan Mina, on the Rio Chagres, he devoted to study of limpkins, tropical yellow rails, least bitterns, and other water birds concerning which little information has been available. On February 6 he left Panama City for El Real in eastern Darién, where, through the kind assistance of Frank L. Greene, resident man- ager of the oil company, Panamanian Delhi Petrolera, Inc., in Panama City, and Heinz Meyer, in charge at El Real, storage for part of the field outfit and other facilities were made available. On February 9 he continued by dugout canoe (piragua) up the Rio Tuira and the following day reached the point where the Rio Paya, which has its headwaters in Colombia, enters the larger stream. This is a region of high forest with few small, scattered clearings, made by Chocé Indians or an occasional pioneer settler from elsewhere. Tropical- zone forest birds were present in great variety of species, but so widely scattered through the vast forests of huge, tall trees that much search was required to find the more unusual kinds. Many are of South American affinity, as there is only a low divide between the upper Paya drainage and the lower Atrato Basin of northwestern Colombia. The collections and notes obtained here were thus of especial importance.
On March 18 Dr. Wetmore returned to El Real, to continue by dugout the following morning up the Rio Chucunaque in company with the engineer, William Sun, to a camp of the oil company above the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa. This also is a region of vast primitive forest, with a few Indian families living along the streams. Birds were common, with numbers of unusual kinds not found on the Tuira, so that the work here added much of value, particularly since the region worked between the Tuquesa and Ucurganti Rivers was one that scientifically had been unknown. Im addition, there was the advantage of the engineer camp, with its small screened houses, elec- tric light at night, and other facilities. The work closed on April 3 with return to El Real and from there to the Canal Zone on April 6 and to Washington on April 14.
ie)
SECRETARY’S REPORT 2
During April and early May 1959, three members of the staff of the Museum of Natural History accompanied the 1959 Smithsonian- Bredin Caribbean Expedition, made possible through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs, J. Bruce Bredin, of Wilmington, Del. This was the fifth of a series of expeditions organized by Mr. Bredin in collabora- tion with the Smithsonian Institution, and the third in which he has personally taken an active part. As on the previous expeditions, Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt, research associate, was in charge of field opera- tions. The other Smithsonian scientists participating were Dr. Thomas E. Bowman, associate curator of marine invertebrates and specialist on copepods, and Dr. Richard S. Cowan, associate curator of phanerogams. Dr. Cowan left in advance of the other members and spent the period between March 19 and April 2 on the island of Trinidad, where he made headquarters at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, near Port-of-Spain. Excellent facilities pro- vided by this college enabled him to reach several areas in Trinidad from which our department of botany had only limited collections heretofore.
The expeditionary party included, besides Mr. Bredin, John Finlay of Varadero, Cuba, expert malacologist; Dr. Richard F. Darsie, Jr., entomologist of the College of Agriculture of the University of Del- aware, especially interested in tropical mosquitoes and their life his- tories; and William H. Amos, head of the science department of St. Andrews School, Middletown, Del., photographer to the expedition. They departed from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on the yacht Caribee on April 8 for the island of Tobago. Following several days of inten- sive work on the famed Bucco Reef off the west side of Tobago, where they obtained valuable invertebrate material, and a visit to the bird- of-paradise sanctuary on Little Tobago, the party made brief stops at Dominica, St. Lucia, Montserrat, Barbuda, and Antigua, where the labors of the expedition were concluded on May 5. Most interest- ing specimens of reef fishes were obtained off the windward side of Barbuda. On this island a series of caves explored by earlier Smith- sonian-Bredin expeditions had yielded several] unknown species of crustaceans, of which more extensive material was much desired; supplementary specimens were taken in traps carried along this year for the purpose. Many bats inhabiting a large cave on Antigua were captured primarily for a study that Dr. Darsie wished to make of their ectoparasites. This third trip to the Lesser Antilles sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Bredin has still further enhanced the collections of the Smithsonian Institution from that important area, in which still further undescribed species of marine life have been discovered.
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Dr. Charles O. Handley, Jr., associate curator of mammals, spent December 1 to 12, 1958, visiting the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard Uni- versity, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York to study types and other specimens pertinent to research projects in progress. Accompanied by Bernard R. Feinstein, museum aide in the division of birds, Dr. Handley continued his mammal survey of Pan- ama between January 15 and March 27, 1959, working in the portion of Darién adjacent to the Colombian boundary. Members of the party reached mountainous areas where zoologists have not previously collected. As a result of the trip, collections totaled more than 1,500 mammals and several hundred birds, reptiles, and various insects and other animals. Conditions for netting bats were especially good, and new techniques were developed. No fewer than 45 species of bats were obtained, possibly a record high for this country. It is planned to continue this project, which is sponsored by the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, Panama. In continuation of his research on the mammal fauna of the southeastern United States, Dr. Handley spent two pe- riods collecting in Virginia in May 1959. One of these trips took him to the peninsulas on the west side of Chesapeake Bay and the other to some of the northernmost ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains. The mammal specimens preserved on these trips will add to the back- ground material for his continuing research.
Between March 18 and 23, 1959, Herbert G. Deignan, associate curator of birds, visited England, primarily to participate in the cen- tenary celebration of the British Ornithologists’ Union, which was held at Cambridge. The meetings were largely devoted to series of symposia on various aspects of ornithology.
Dr. Ernest A. Lachner, associate curator of fishes, attended the annual meetings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in Bloomington, Ind. While there he examined the fish collections of the university and on the return trip to Washington studied the fish collection at the University of Louisville. Dr. Lachner was accom- panied by Dr. William R. Taylor, associate curator of fishes. On their return east the two ichthyologists made collections in streams draining Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Between November 8 and 8, 1958, Drs. Lachner and Taylor made a trip to the University of South Carolina to prepare and pack major portions of the fish collection of that institution for shipping to the Smithsonian Institution. This valuable collection, consisting of about 25,000 specimens, is composed of preserved material that is sure to be very useful for future group revisionary studies, especially since it comes from an area of the country not too well represented in the national collections. On the return trip Drs. Lachner and Taylor
SECRETARY’S REPORT 31
collected at an important locality in North Carolina and also visited the Marine Laboratory at the University of North Carolina, Morehead City, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Laboratory at Beaufort, N.C.
With the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. J. F. Gates Clarke, curator of insects, made a trip to South America between December 29, 1958, and March 24, 1959, the major purpose of which was to obtain material of Microlepidoptera in localities not otherwise represented in the collections of the Smithsonian Institu- tion. Dr. Clarke traveled widely in Colombia, making headquarters at Bogota, Cali, Popayan, Pasto, and Barranquilla. In Peru Dr. Clarke centered his work in Lima and Cusco, from which cities he was able to reach interesting collecting territory. <A brief stop was made in the area of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and then he proceeded to Argen- tina, making his principal headquarters at Tucumin. While at Tucumin Dr. Clarke prepared the valuable Monrés collection of chrysomelid beetles for shipment to the National Museum. This collection adds greatly to the value of the holdings of South American insects in the Smithsonian Institution. He spent the latter part of his visit in Chile, collecting in the southern part of the country in areas reached from Punta Arenas, Puerto Varas, Peulla, and Petrohue. Dr. Clarke collected about 15,000 specimens of insects of all groups, but particularly of the Microlepidoptera, which will serve as the major basis of his proposed revision of the South American species of this large and important group.
Between May 9 and June 4, 1959, Oscar L. Cartwright, associate curator of insects, engaged in field research in Florida to collect Scara- baeidae, especially species of Onthophagus and Ataenius, genera he is at present revising. The trip traversed peninsular Florida as far south as Big Pine Key. Of the 2,356 insects collected, few have yet been identified to species, but there are among them new records for Florida and the United States and quite possibly some undescribed species.
Dr. Ralph E. Crabill, Jr., associate curator of insects, spent the period July 14-18, 1958, in Cambridge, Mass., carrying on studies at the Museum of Comparative Zoology in connection with several re- search projects in chilopod systematics.
Dr. Frederick M. Bayer, associate curator of marine invertebrates, visited Europe between July 17 and August 25, 1958, to attend the 15th International Congress of Zoology in London and to visit several European museums for the purpose of evaluating the significance of their collections of octocorals to future studies and to examine speci- mens. Following the congress he visited museums in Leiden, Amster- dam, and Copenhagen, as well as the British Museum (Natural His-
32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
tory) in London, and had an excellent opportunity to study important historic collections in the field of his speciality.
In addition to participating in the Smithsonian-Bredin Caribbean Expedition discussed earlier, Dr. Thomas E. Bowman, associate curator of marine invertebrates, visited Puerto Rico for 2 weeks in early April 1959, at the request of Dr. Robert M. Coker, who is directing a study of the zooplankton of the bays along the south- western coast. With headquarters at the Institute of Marine Biology, Dr. Bowman made extensive collections that will materially assist him in his project of identification of the copepods of the region.
Dr. Harald A. Rehder, curator of mollusks, spent the week of February 16-23, 1959, in Florida, primarily to act as one of the judges of the annual show of the St. Petersburg Shell Club. The Smith- sonian Institution offers an annual award for the best exhibit in this show. Subsequently he visited the Marine Laboratory of the Uni- versity of Miami, where he observed some of the current studies of staff members of level bottom marine invertebrate communities along the south Florida coast.
Dr. G. A. Cooper, head curator, department of geology, accom- panied by Dr. Richard S. Boardman, associate curator of invertebrate paleontology and paleobotany, spent the period May 18-30, 1958, on a field trip to central New York. They were accompanied by Dr. Ger- trude Biernat, of Polska Akademia Nauk, Zaklad Paleozoologii, Warsaw, Poland, a visitor to the museum for several months, and by two members of the Geological Survey staff. They spent several days studying and collecting from the type section of the Hamilton group of the Devonian, which extends from Stockbridge Falls on the north to North Norwich on the south. The party was joined by other geologists, including Dr. Paul Sartenaer, of Belgium, and mem- bers of the staff of the New York State Museum, and with this com- pany a study of the facies changes which take place in the Tully formation was made. Subsequently sections were examined in the area of Cooperstown, Cobleskill, Albany, Kingston, N.Y., and Stroudsburg, Pa. Following this trip Dr. Boardman spent a few days at the New York State Museum at Albany to investigate the possibility of identifying bryozoan fragments in well cuttings in the Middle Devonian in New York State.
During August 1958 Dr. George Switzer, curator of mineralogy and petrology, made an extended collecting trip to western localities, particularly to various individuals and well-known localities in Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Montana. He obtained much material of value to the Smithsonian for purposes of study or exhibit. Accompanied by Paul E. Desautels, associate curator of mineralogy and petrology, Dr. Switzer made several other trips for the purpose
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of visiting mineral dealers and obtaining material for the Smith- sonian collections. Short visits were made to the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; a valuable collection of minerals from the famous zinc mine at Franklin, N.J., was examined and purchases from it were made for the Smithsonian collections. During August 1958 and March 1959 Mr. Desautels made separate trips to Asheville, N.C., and to several cities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Mas- sachusetts to acquire and examine mineralogical specimens for the Museum.
K. P. Henderson, associate curator of mineralogy and petrology, spent the period November 80-December 10, 1958, in Boston, New Haven, and New York. He discussed meteorites with members of the staffs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Yale University, and the American Museum of Natural History.
In addition to participating in the field trip to New York State discussed above, Dr. Richard S. Boardman traveled in Tennessee and southern Virginia between September 22 and October 24, 1958, in the company of two visiting paleontologists, one from Australia and one from Norway. The principal objectives were to study the regional stratigraphy and to collect Bryozoa in the Middle Ordovician rocks of the Central Basin area of Tennessee and the southern Appalach- ians of eastern Tennessee and southern Virginia. This preliminary survey will form the basis for planning a continuing program in the largely unstudied bryozoan faunas of the Middle Ordovician of the region. Collections totaled 2,500 pounds and include many bryozoan colonies that have biological and taxonomic interest in addition to their potential stratigraphic value.
In connection with his work on fossil echinoids, Dr. Porter M. Kier, associate curator of invertebrate paleontology and paleobotany, spent the period between July 19 and August 29, 1958,in Europe. Dr. Kier’s trip was sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation. He spent several days in England examining speci- mens in the British Museum (Natural History) in London and the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge and subsequently visited museums at the University of Liége and the Institute Royal des Sciences Naturelles in Brussels. In Paris he visited three museums where there are important collections of fossil echinoids. During part of his stay in Europe. Dr. Kier collected fossils in Belgium, Holland, and France in company with various specialists. Between March 9 and 13, 1959, he visited the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Har- vard University to study the fossil echinoid collections. Several
34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
valuable and overlooked European type specimens were found there, in addition to specimens that will subsequently be described as new species. Accompanied by Henry B. Roberts, museum aide, he made a field trip to Alabama and Florida, April 6-16, 1959. Collecting was particularly productive in the Ocala area.
Dr. C. Lewis Gazin, curator of vertebrate paleontology, visited Princeton University and the American Museum of Natural History in New York between November 16 and 23, 1958, to study their collec- tions of lower Eocene primates and to make comparisons between lower Eocene Knight materials and various Eocene collections and type materials at those institutions. In June 1959 he made a further visit to these same institutions and also to Yale University, Amherst College, and Harvard University to study lower Eocene and Paleocene insectivores, primates, condylarths, creodonts, and related groups.
Dr. David H. Dunkle, associate curator of vertebrate paleon- tology, spent September 24-30, 1958, at the University of Kansas, studying their excellently curated collections of fossil fishes. In par- ticular, he made anatomical observations upon an extensive series of syllaemid fishes. In May 1959 he visited the site of the new airport construction at Chantilly, Va., where he examined and collected some Triassic bones reported by a member of the U.S. Geological Survey staff. The bones have been tentatively identified as pertaining to a phytosaur, an extinct reptile quite crocodilian in appearance, dis- tantly related to the dinosaurs. This specimen is believed to be the first such animal in the national collections from the Virginia Triassic.
Dr. Peter P. Vaughn, associate curator of vertebrate paleontology, made a trip to the University of Michigan and the Chicago Natural History Museum between September 1 and 14, 1958, to study Permian vertebrates in those important collections. Between October 6 and 13, 1958, he undertook a reconnaissance study in the Permian Cutler for- mation of southwestern Colorado. The information gained on this trip will be incorporated into a report on the fossil fauna of the re- gion which he is preparing in collaboration with staff members of the Geological Survey.
The Director of the Museum of History and Technology, Frank A. Taylor, spent 2 days in September 1958 near Essex, N.Y., where he visited the site of a 1776 gunboat.
Dr. Robert P. Multhauf, head curator of science and technology, made several extensive field trips during the year for the purpose of examining new exhibits and inspecting or acquiring important ap- paratus to illustrate the development of the physical sciences. He visited many institutions and individuals in the San Francisco area, in the vicinity of New York, and in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Fred-
SECRETARY’S REPORT 35
ericksburg, Va., and Lexington, Ky., and acquired many items of interest to the Smithsonian Institution exhibits and study collections. Among them were materials associated with Ira Remsen, the famous Johns Hopkins University chemist. At the Stevens Institute of Technology he examined the residues of the formerly extensive mu- seum. These comprise about 100 items, mostly models of considerable importance. Of particular interest also was a visit to Transylvania College, in Lexington, Ky., where Dr. Multhauf examined a collection of early 19th-century “philosophical apparatus,” which proved to be the most complete representation of instructional apparatus for a single period that has yet been located. There are about 150 pieces, all obtained between 1815 and 1839. Dr. Multhauf offered to give his advisory assistance to Transylvania College to carry out plans for the exhibition and study of these materials.
In continuation of his efforts to build up the exhibit and study materials pertaining to the division of mechanical and civil engineer- ing, Eugene S. Ferguson, curator of that division, visited many indi- viduals and institutions throughout the eastern United States, in Con- necticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Mr. Ferguson’s most extensive trip, however, took him to various European countries between February 28 and April 13, 1959. During the 6 weeks that he spent in looking critically at European technical museums, he visited Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, and Holland, seeing altogether 31 museums. He acquired many impressions and ideas that will be useful in designing new halls in the Museum of History and Technology. In his opinion the best technical museum that he visited was the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It is extravagant in its use of space and dioramas, and of all museums he believes it to be the one that is most meticulous in the details of exhibit design and execution.
Edwin A. Battison, associate curator of mechanical and civil engi- neering, made several trips to various points in the eastern United States to examine clocks and other timepieces, particularly examples of early electric watch models and historic instruments. He visited many watch factories, with a view to the acquisition of material with potential value in the exhibits and study collections of the Museum of History and Technology.
Robert M. Vogel, assistant curator of civil and mechanical engineer- ing, made several visits to museums and other institutions in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware in connection with the planned Smithsonian Hall of Engineering. He examined exten- sive collections of photographs of bridges, tunnels, and other struc- tural works and investigated various historic examples of refrigera-
36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
tion, farm machinery, elevators, and mills, with a view to the possible acquisition of materials for exhibit in new Smithsonian halls.
Primarily to study models of ships, Howard I. Chapelle, curator of transportation, visited various institutions and individuals in New England, New York, and Virginia. He made arrangements for photographing ships and investigating some builder’s models. Of particular value was a visit to the Mariners’ Museum at Warwick, Va., where plans are available for several ships built in the late 18th cen- tury. Mr. Chapelle’s most extensive trip took him to Rome, Paris, and London between April 3 and 18, 1959. In Rome he attended the International Fishing Boat Congress and delivered a paper on hull form. He inspected fishing fleets and shipyards near Rome and also saw models of fishing boats built around 100 B.C. By visiting mu- seums in Paris and London, Mr. Chapelle acquired some very useful information in reference to details of the planned Smithsonian Trans- portation Hall.
Kenneth M. Perry, associate curator of transportation, made several trips through the Eastern States to acquire models of ships and to ex- amine other models that are being built for the Smithsonian Insti- tution. His visits took him to many museums and shipyards. At the Mariners’ Museum at Warwick, Va., Mr. Perry examined a card file of prints and paintings in the collection and recorded those pertaining to clipper ships, pilot boats, and Hudson River steamers with their descriptions.
John H. White, assistant curator of transportation, traveled to mu- seums and other institutions in the eastern United States to acquaint himself with materials pertaining to land transportation. He dis- cussed problems of model making with staff members of various insti- tutions, with particular emphasis on various railroad and street rail- way collections.
In July 1958 E. C. Kendall, associate curator of agriculture and wood products, spent a few days in New York visiting museums and examining exhibits especially relating to forestry and agriculture. A valuable trip was made to Waynesboro, Pa., on December 4, 1958, to examine the 1877 steam engine owned by the Frick Co., of particu- lar interest since practically all the farm steam engines now available date from the early 1900’s. Mr. Kendall also accompanied Mr. Vogel on a trip to the vicinity of Wilmington, Del., on March 24,1959. At Chadds Ford they visited an old mill now owned by Andrew Wyeth and examined the equipment and machinery. The mill dates from 1762 and was enlarged in the late 18th century by adding another story; it was in operation until 1950. Some machinery of the type in this mill would be useful in the new Agriculture Hall to illustrate early processes relating to flour milling. Between March 27 and
SECRETARY’S REPORT ilk
April 10, 1959, Mr. Kendall made a western trip to examine certain pieces of farm machinery. In Detroit he visited the Henry Ford Museum, which has a large collection of machinery including an early mowing or reaping machine made by Enoch Ambler. In Omaha he was much impressed by the Joslyn Art Museum, where he saw good examples of ingenuity in producing effective exhibits at rela- tively low cost. In California he visited the Caterpillar Tractor Co. near San Francisco and the Holt Brothers in Stockton, examining machinery of potential use in Smithsonian exhibits.
With the intention of examining and perhaps acquiring examples of electrical equipment for the Smithsonian Institution, W. James King, acting curator of electricity, made several field trips. In July 1958 he visited Cornell University to study Anthony’s dynamo and a Westinghouse alternator of the late 1880’s. In Pittsfield, Mass., he visited the General Electric Co. to examine William Stanley’s papers in the Stanley Library and to see the Stanley transformer at the Crane Museum, and at Housatonic, Mass., the site of Stanley’s pioneer a.c. power installation. In September Mr. King discussed the new Hall of Electricity with several officials of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. Visits to the General Electric Research Laboratory, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and the Westinghouse Electric Co. in Pittsburgh, Pa., were productive of ideas for new exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution. Between February 2 and 8, 1959, Mr. King made a tour of various institutions in New England and New York to gain information regarding equipment in connection with the history of radio.
George B. Griffenhagen, curator of medical sciences, made several field trips to museums and pharmaceutical houses throughout the Eastern States, traveling to Chicago, Missouri, and Wisconsin. He investigated several health museums to obtain ideas that might be useful in planning details of new exhibits for the Museum of History and Technology. Mr. Griffenhagen’s most extended trip took him to England, Spain, Italy, and Belgium, between August 14 and Sep- tember 16, 1958. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend the 17th general assembly of the International Pharmaceutical Federa- tion, held in Brussels. Included was an all-day meeting of the World Union of Pharmaceutical Historical Societies, during which Mr. Griffenhagen presented a paper on “The Equipment of the Early American Pharmacy.” He also visited the Brussels Universal Ex- hibition. In Spain, and also in Italy, he saw some outstanding col- lections of pharmaceutical antiquities and apothecary shop and al- chemical laboratory restorations.
Between November 17 and 21, 1958, Dr. John B. Blake, associate curator of medical sciences, studied the clinical amphitheater at the
38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and the Fry collection of medical prints in New Haven and examined the outstanding micro- scope collection of Dr. George S. M. Cowan in New York. He also made trips to institutions and individuals in the Eastern States to study problems of historical importance in the medical field.
Dr. Philip W. Bishop, head curator of arts and manufactures, visited Chicago between October 26 and 29, 1958, to inspect the Whiting refinery and meet its officials, primarily to discuss the origins of thermal cracking of crude petroleum. He also visited the Museum of Science and Industry to see and measure the Nasmyth steam hammer. In November 1958 he visited the Ethyl Corp. and the Esso Standard Oil Co. in New York to discuss matters of mutual interest pertaining to the Hall of Petroleum of the Museum of History and Technology. Between January 19 and 23, 1959, he visited several institutions in southern California, primarily to inspect nuclear re- search activities and to examine data on various geological formations as an ald to planning some of the new halls for the Smithsonian Insti- tution. In New York in April and June he inspected a model of a deep-sea drilling barge and examined details of a fluid catalytic cracking model.
Between September 28 and October 4, 1958, Miss Grace L. Rogers, acting curator of textiles, visited New Haven, Boston, and other areas in New England. She made an extensive study of an original model of the Whitney cotton gin in the collections of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. At Jewett City, Conn., she examined the old Jacquard loom that was being assembled for the renovated Textile Hall of the Smithsonian Institution. The Old Slater Mill Museum in Pawtucket, R.I., provided a valuable opportunity to study a collection of old textile machinery and noted exhibition techniques.
Paul V. Gardner, acting curator of ceramics and glass, made several trips during the year to Norwood, Mass., to select, list, and pack vari- ous pieces of rare glass presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Mrs. Clara W. Berwick. Between August 20 and 23, 1958, he visited the Corning Museum of Glass at Corning, N.Y., where he studied many samples of different glass objects. Here it was possible to run ultraviolet light tests on a number of glass objects from the Smith- sonian collections to determine their origin and age. From September 8 to 15, 1958, Mr. Gardner visited New York and various points in New England to talk with collectors and dealers in the interest of obtaining additional ceramics and glass collections for the Smith- sonian.
Between September 25 and 30, 1958, Jacob Kainen, curator of graphic arts, visited Kansas City to study the engravings of Hen- drick Golzius (1558-1617) in pursuance of a research project, particu-
SECRETARY’S REPORT 39
larly in the Print Department of the William Rockhill Nelson Gal- lery of Art. He visited New York between March 22 and 28, 1959, to check data for his study of John Baptist Jackson, to study the work of Hendrick Golzius, and to select prints for possible purchase for the new Museum of History and Technology. Mr. Kainen visited the New York Public Library, the Frick Art Reference Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Between May 20 and 24, 1959, he made a trip to Sarasota, Fla., to gather further background data in connection with his research project on Golzius. An extended visit to the Ringling Museum permitted Mr. Kainen to study the largest collection of baroque art in this country and to note its international influences.
Alexander J. Wedderburn, associate curator of photography, visited New York City between May 27 and 29, 1959, to discuss material for exhibit in the Museum of History and Technology with a number of manufacturers and distributors.
Fuller O. Griffith, assistant curator of graphic arts, spent 3 days in New York in November 1958, carrying out research for his catalog of lithographs of the American artist Childe Hassam (1859-19385). He visited the Knoedler, Kennedy, and Weyhe galleries, where he ex- amined numerous prints by Hassam, as well as the Grand Central Art Galleries, the New York Historical Society, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the New York Public Library, where there is a large body of Hassam’s lithographs.
Rudolph G. Morris, museum aide, division of graphic arts, visited the Rochester, N.Y., Museum of Arts and Sciences in January 1959 to discuss with staff members the role of photography and the Museum’s audiovisual program. Extending his visit to Holyoke, Mass., he made an extensive tour of inspection of the facilities of the Technifax Corp. and discussed research facilities with members of the staff.
The head curator of civil history, Dr. Anthony N. B. Garvan, made several trips to institutions and other organizations in the eastern half of the country in connection with his historical studies. In July he visited the Marine Historical Association in Mystic, Conn., where he discussed with staff members the possibility of acquiring objects relat- ing to marine industry for exhibit in the Growth of America Hall. In October he went to St. Louis, Mo., where he spent some time with the National Park Service, selecting structural and decorative iron from the vast accumulation preserved by that Service. At Williams- burg, Va., Dr. Garvan visited the Information Center in February 1959, and examined new exhibits and material of possible value to the Smithsonian Institution. He viewed a superb series of plaster models of houses showing their outline and linking them with horizontal photographs and labels. He also examined a complete archeological
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40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
site made of a new plastic material so realistic and so colored to re- semble earth, brick, stone, etc., that the visitor feels that the actual site has been transported into the museum. At Jamestown Dr. Garvan examined a variety of objects recovered from the area in the anticipa- tion that some of these may be used in the Smithsonian’s hall demon- strating the growth of the United States.
In August 1958 Dr. Wilcomb E. Washburn, curator of political history, spoke at a dinner meeting of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society on the personalities of Governor Sir William Berkeley and rebel Nathaniel Bacon. Subsequently he examined sev- eral historic sites in the area, including St. George’s Church, where archeological work is taking place, and Hungars Church. In Novem- ber 1959 he went to Princeton, N.J., to participate in a conference of the Institute of Early American History and Culture of Williams- burg, Va., following which he did some research in the manuscript collections of the University Library. In Baltimore he examined the observation platform that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad expects to donate to the Smithsonian Institution for use in a political history exhibit.
Mrs. Margaret B. Klapthor, associate curator of political history, traveled to New York in January 1959 to pursue her research on matters pertaining to the First Ladies Hall. She selected samples of fabrics and discussed in some detail two mannequins to be used.
Charles G. Dorman, assistant curator of political history, visited Dover and Wilmington, Del., in March 1959 to study 18-century tax lists. He located hitherto unknown midcentury cabinetmakers and followed the movements of others who moved about the colony after their apprenticeships had been served. Mr. Dorman also spoke on the subject of “Philadelphia Presidential Mansion” at a meeting of the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pa. Between May 19 and 24, 1959, he visited several towns in New England to study museum design and exhibits installation. He also gave a tallx before the Quincy Historical Society of Quincy, Mass., on “The Adams Family in Washington, 1800-1847.”
To examine collections offered the Smithsonian Institution by vari- ous individuals, C. Malcolm Watkins, acting curator of cultural his- tory, made several trips to points in the Eastern States. At Wilmington, Del., in December 1958, he examined a loghouse offered to the Institution for exhibit purposes and discussed ways and means of dismantling it and shipping it to Washington.
Rodris C. Roth, assistant curator of cultural history, visited Phila- delphia in September 1958 for research at the American Swedish Historical Foundation and Museum pertaining to an exhibit on Scandinavian backgrounds planned for the Hall of Everyday Life in
SECRETARY’S REPORT 41
Early America in the new Museum of History and Technology. In connection with planning for this hall, she visited the Winterthur Museum in Delaware in December 1958 and again in June 1959. At the Baltimore Museum of Arts, Miss Roth studied an imaginative display entitled “Age of Elegance, the Rococo and Its Effect,” con- sisting of an assemblage of fine and decorative arts of the 18th century grouped by country of origin.
George T. Turner, acting curator of philately and postal history, and Francis J. McCall, associate curator of that division, attended the American Stamp Dealers’ Show in New York in November 1958. They displayed a special Smithsonian exhibit, and Mr. Turner gave a talk on the history of the National Postage Stamp collection and its development under the preceding curators. During the first 10 days of 1959 Mr. Turner visited several cities in California to meet numerous philatelists, to inform them of the material needed in the exhibits planned for a new hall, and to tell them something of the stamps missing in the National collection. Hespoke before a meeting of the Philatelic Research Society on the “Activities of the Smithso- nian’s Division of Philately and Postal History.”
On two occasions Francis J. McCall visited New York City to discuss with several philatelists material of potential interest to the Museum of History and Technology. At the New York Historical Society, the Philatelic Society, and the New York Public Library he supplemented previous studies and strengthened contacts with staff members. Between October 31 and November 2, 1958, he attended the American Philatelic Congress in New York. From March 15 to 20, 1959, he visited Boston and Cambridge, Mass., to discuss with philatelists matters of mutual interest and to study documents at various libraries. |
Dr. Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli, curator of numismatics, made sev- eral trips to New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and cities in Mas- sachusetts during the year to select material missing from the Smithsonian library. On September 16, 1958, he gave an illustrated address to the Philadelphia Coin Club concerning the history of the Smithsonian and of the national coin collections. In October 1958 he spent several days in Worcester, Mass., where he visited the American Antiquarian Society and studied their collections of colonial notes. At the Worcester Numismatic Club he discussed the Smith- sonian’s modernization program and examined a collection of German Renaissance medals, multiple talers, and ancient Greek coins. In February 1959 he spent several days in New York, principally at the museum of the American Numismatic Society, where he studied post- humous Lysimachus gold and silver coinages struck in various ancient Greek cities.
42 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
In Philadelphia, Mrs. Elvira Clain-Stefanelli, assistant curator of numismatics, examined a collection of Mrs. Catherine Bullowa, from which she was able to select for the national collections numerous coins, medals, and tokens in silver, copper, and other metals, repre- senting practically all periods, from the early 13th century to date. In September 1958 she went to New York to study Italian numismatic periodicals at the library of the American Numismatic Society in order to complete a study on modern Italian coin engravers.
From May 14 to 18, 1959, Dr. and Mrs. Clain-Stefanelli went to Albany, Gloversville, and New York, N.Y. In the New York State Museum they had useful discussions with staff members about early trade and examined unusual collections of wampum beads and cere- monial belts. Dr. Albert F. Goodwin, of Gloversville, permitted them to study his very fine collection of foreign medals and decorations.
During the year Mendel L. Peterson, head curator of Armed Forces history, made several trips to Boston, New York, and several other east-coast cities. In Trenton, N.J., at the State Museum Build- ing, he attended an open meeting on the subject of underwater ex- ploration, where he delivered a lecture. The Museum of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., disclosed some material that will be useful to the Smithsonian exhibition series, including, for example, a letter written by John Paul Jones.
Edgar M. Howell, acting curator of military history, made several trips to points in the eastern United States and Canada in connection with material needed by the Smithsonian for exhibit. Between Sep- tember 8 and 12, 1958, he visited the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, the Citadel in Quebec City, Fort Henry at Kingston, On- tario, and Fort Niagara, in New York, studying collections and ex- hibit techniques and photographing specimens. He made especially valuable contacts with curators specializing in the French and Indian War and the War of 1812 periods. Between April 20 and 24, 1959, Mr. Howell visited the Fort Sumter National Monument, the Con- federate Museum, and the Charleston Museum in Charleston, S.C., the Museum at Grant Park in Atlanta, Ga., and the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Fla., studying collections and observing new exhibit techniques.
Craddock R. Goins, Jr., assistant curator of military history, visited several] museums in New York State during the period August 25 to 30, 1958, to study ordnance material, observe special exhibit techniques, and arrange for the acquisition of specimens needed in the Hall of Ordnance, in the Museum of History and Technology. The most comprehensive collections of ordnance material in New York State are part of the Museum of the U.S. Military Academy at
SECRETARY’S REPORT 43
West Point. Here Mr. Goins was particularly interested in the ex- tensive collection of artillery tubes. The library of the Military Academy also includes a considerable quantity of material concerning ordnance boards, which is missing from the Ordnance Department records in the National Archives. In February 1959 he made a short trip to Harpers Ferry, W. Va., to examine records in the custody of the National Park Service pertaining to a study he is preparing on the Hall rifle.
Lucile McCain, assistant registrar, visited museums in London and in Leiden, Holland, between September 17 and October 27, 1958, to examine their registration methods. At the British Museum (both Natural History and Bloomsbury), the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Rijksmuseum in Leiden Miss McCain learned much from the methods in use, particularly as they refer to customs matters and to plans for reviewing permanent files after 25 years.
Members of the staff of the office of exhibits traveled during the year in order to examine exhibits techniques used by various museums, with a view to their application to the new halls in the Museum of History and Technology and the Museum of Natural History.
John E. Anglim, chief exhibits specialist, spent the period April 24 to June 20, 1958, in Europe, where he visited 16 cities in 10 coun- tries and inspected about 70 museums and attended the World’s Fair in Brussels. His general impression of European museums is that nearly everywhere they are attempting to bring their exhibitions up to higher standards.
R. O. Hower, supervisory exhibits specialist, visited New York in November 1958, to examine new exhibition techniques in the Ameri- can Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where many new techniques are being developed in the exhibits laboratories.
Benjamin Lawless, supervisory exhibits specialist, and Robert Wid- der, exhibits designer, visited New York between September 16 and 18, 1958, to discuss with specialists various types of illumination for the new exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution. In March 1959 Mr. Lawless visited the new Museum of Military History and Science at the U.S. Military Academy, at West Point, where he examined the extensive modernization that has been completed there. In May 1959, accompanied by James A. Mahoney, exhibits designer, he went to Chicago and Cleveland to examine various types of exhibition cases now being devised or in use.
Between August 19 and 22, 1958, Judith Borgogni, exhibits de- signer, and Violet Moyer, exhibits worker, went to New York to study exhibit techniques and to discuss trends in the exhibition of costumes and fashions. Among institutions visited were the Museum
44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
of the City of New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library.
William E. Geoghegan, exhibits technician, with Kenneth Perry, visited Warwick and Richmond, Va., between October 29 and 31, 1958. At the Mariners’ Museum in Warwick and at the Confederate Museum in Richmond they worked on models of ships that will be exhibited in the Museum of History and Technology. In November 1958 Mr. Geoghegan went to Providence, R.I., and Essex, Conn., to examine the models of certain historic ships. Work on several such models is progressing as anticipated and it is expected that they will greatly enhance the educational value of the hall being planned by the division of transportation.
Exhibits technician Chris Karras made a field trip in May 1959 that took him to several museums in the eastern half of the country. He was mainly interested in marine biological displays in connection with the new Hall of Oceanic Life that is being planned for the Museum of Natural History.
Mrs. Ann Karras, exhibits designer, visited the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in June 1958 to acquire background information for details of the Hall of Musical Instruments of the Museum of History and Technology. Between November 15 and 26, 1958, she visited several museums for the pur- pose of studying fossil mammal exhibits, in connection with a pend- ing renovation of a hall in our Museum of Natural History. This visit took her to the Chicago Natural History Museum, the University of Nebraska State Museum, the Denver Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale, and the American Museum of Natural History.
Between November 17 and 21, 1958, James A. Mahoney, exhibits designer, visited George Eastman House, Eastman Kodak Co., and Bausch & Lomb Co. in Rochester, N.Y., for technical data needed in the Hall of Photographic History, in the Museum of History and Technology. He obtained much valuable information, and got a general view of present methods of displaying photographic and historical topics.
William Pennock, exhibits designer, went to New York in the com- pany of Dr. Clain-Stefanelli between August 7 and 9, 1958, to examine various exhibit methods, color and lighting techniques, case designs, architecture, and manufacturing processes pertaining to numismatic displays.
John C. Widener, exhibits specialist, attended sessions of the Na- tional Plastics Exposition held in Chicago from November 17 to 21, 1958. He discussed the utilizations of various plastics with specialists who attended the exposition and visited several companies in order to
SECRETARY'S REPORT 45
investigate their products and techniques, in connection with the use of plastics in exhibit construction at the Smithsonian Institution.
EXHIBITIONS
The progressive modernization of the exhibition halls of the Smith- sonian Institution was carried forward. The program has now com- pleted 5 years. Construction bids were received in May 1959 for the second North American Archeology Hall, and in June 1959 for the halls that will be devoted to the geological and fossil record of the age of mammals; medical and pharmaceutical history; and the his- tory of money or numismatics.
The formal opening of the renovated Graphic Arts Hall in the connecting range of the Smithsonian Institution Building was held on the evening of July 10, 1958. Prentiss Taylor, president of the Society of Washington Printmakers, was the principal speaker. Hand processes employed to produce etchings, wood engravings, lithographs, and silk-screen prints are displayed in this hall. The history of printing from the invention of the alphabet to the commercial pro- duction of the printed book is illustrated by an original woodcut for a page of a very old Chinese block book, a reproduction of ancient Korean movable type, and a page from the Gutenberg Bible of about 1454,
The newly modernized Hall of Gems and Minerals in the Natural History Building was dedicated by Secretary Leonard Carmichael on the evening of July 31, 1958. Mrs. W. F. Foshag, wife of the late head curator of the department of geology, was invited to cut the ribbon at the formal opening. Exhibits in this hall include the most extensive collection of gems on display in this country, and a large and representative sampling of specimens from the national min- eral collection, which is regarded as the world’s finest. Nearly every variety of gem is represented. Included in this display are: A 316- carat star sapphire; an 18.3-carat canary-yellow diamond; a 66-carat alexandrite; and a 3810-carat peridot. Among the historic items shown is a set of pearls consisting of a necklace, choker, and earrings given by the Imam of Muscat to the U.S. Government; the original gold nugget responsible for the initiation of the California gold rush which was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 by James Marshall; and the world’s largest flawless quartz crystal ball, a sphere almost 13 inches in diameter and weighing 10634 pounds. The Hope dia- mond, a gift of Harry Winston, world-famous gem merchant of New York, is spotlighted against a dark-red velvet in a centrally located, specially designed case. In the mineral section of this hall are shown examples of all the principal kinds of minerals, arranged in accord-
46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
ance with a chemical classification, and selected and lighted to make a colorful display of their natural beauty. A fine large specimen of smithsonite, a carbonate of zinc, named for its discoverer James Smithson, whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution, is ex- hibited in this hall. The spectacular display of fluorescent minerals on a revolving stand has attracted considerable visitor interest.
The room designed solely for the display of the Maude Monell Vetlesen collection of Chinese jade carvings of the 16th to 19th cen- turies was opened to the public on the evening of December 11, 1958, in ceremonies featuring addresses by the Vice President of the United States and Regent of the Smithsonian Institution Richard M, Nixon, Edmund C. Monell, the Honorable Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr., Chief of Protocol of the United States, and Dr, Leonard Carmichael, See- retary of the Smithsonian Institution. These pieces of exquisitely carved jade include an apple-green chrysanthemum dish of nearly 1114 inches in diameter, a massive white imperial altar incense burner and cover of classic design, a pair of deep spinach-green altar boxes in the shape of the divine tortoise, and two imperial scepters, made of gold filigree and each inset with three large carved jade plaques.
The basic contract construction of the Hall of Fossil Fishes and Primitive Tetrapods, as well as the Hall of Fossil Invertebrates and Plants, was completed in May 1959. Shortly thereafter the exhibits staif placed in their respective cases the giant fish Yiphactinus and the slab displaying the skeleton of the Triassic amphibian Fupelor fraasi, Materials for other display units have been prepared for in- stallation. In addition to the materials prepared by the museum's exhibit staff, two habitat groups, depicting Cretaceous and Ordo- vician life associations, were completed and two additional groups were being prepared with the help of George Marchand of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Preparators in the paleontology laboratory commenced the assem- bly of mammalian skeletons for the Age of Mammals Hall. Skeletons of the Eocene horse Orohippus, the Oligocene AMesohippus, and the Miocene Parahippus are in various stages of completion.
The unveiling of the Fénykévi elephant on the evening of March 6, 1959, was witnessed by a large number of invited guests following a lecture in the auditorium of the Natural History Building by the donor. This record specimen of African bush elephant, standing 18 feet 2 inches at the shoulder, is the largest land mammal ever to be placed on display. Josef J. Fénykovi, Hungarian-born engineer and big-game hunter who tracked down and shot this elephant in the largely unex- plored Cuando River region of southeastern Angola on November 13, 1955, and who presented the specimen to the Smithsonian Institution, came to Washington with his wife from Madrid to participate in the
SECRETARY'S REPORT 47
ceremonies. This elephant has been placed in the center of the rotunda of the Natural History Building.
The preparation and installation of the habitat groups and topical displays were nearing completion at the end of the fiscal year in the two halls featuring the World of Mammals, following the contract construction of the exhibit fixtures in June 1958. Nearly all the topical units have been installed and much of the work on the habitat groups is completed. Staff zoologists under the chairmanship of Dr. Herbert Friedmann, head curator of zoology, continued to develop plans for the Hall of Oceanic Life.
Associate Curator Clifford Evans, in cooperation with John C. Ewers, Assistant Director of the Museum of History and Technology, Howard Cline of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress, and John Corbett of the National Park Service, prepared the scripts and supervised the installation of an exhibit, “Anthropology and the Nation’s Capital,” which was shown in the foyer of the Natural History Building during November and December 1958 coincident with the annual meetings in Washington of the American Anthropological Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Three types of prehistoric surgery, assembled by Dr. T. Dale Stewart, curator of physical anthropology, were shown at the January 1959 meeting of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: (1) Amputa- tion of the right arm in the Shanidar I Neanderthal skeleton from Traq (45,000 years old); (2) cranial trephining from Peru; and (3) filed teeth from the Mississippi Valley.
The panels of photographs at the south end of the hall devoted to Highlights of Latin American Archeology were removed and a large, full-size plaster cast of a colossal stone head of the Olmec culture was installed in February 1959. This cast of San Lorenzo Monument No. 1 from southern Veracruz was delivered in 31 sections and was as- sembled by Paul Willis of the cabinet shop, with the artwork and final painting performed by A. Joseph Andrews, chief exhibits specialist of the department of anthropology. Three carved jade figures from La Venta in Tabasco, Mexico, as well as other Olmec jade objects such as beads, ceremonial axes, pendants, and ear ornaments, were installed in June 1959 in an exhibit adjacent to the head. This exhibit also illus- trates aboriginal methods of working jade by drilling, sawing, pecking, and polishing. The Andean arts and crafts exhibit was renovated in December 1958 and a few objects were withdrawn to permit the installa- tion of a gold Chimu mask from Peru.
At the close of the fiscal year construction of the exhibit fixtures for Hall 21, which will feature the archeology of the southwestern United States, the Pacific coast and Columbia River Valley, and Arctic
48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
America, was well advanced toward completion. A series of general displays, such as native mines and quarries, Indian stoneworking methods and products, Euroamerican trade items from Indian sites, native smoking devices, and the diffusion of tobacco are planned for topical purposes.
The Third Biennial Creative Crafts Exhibition was shown from August 27 to September 26, 1958, in the foyer of the Natural History Building. This was organized and installed by local craft organiza- tions and sponsored by the division of ceramics and glass. Con- temporary examples of ceramics, textiles, jewelry, and woodworking were displayed, and daily demonstrations of pottery making, weaving, and other craftwork conducted.
A ceremony of acceptance was held on the afternoon of Decem- ber 11, 1958, to open the E. Stanley Wires collection of decorative tiles in the specially reconditioned room in the foyer of the National History Building. New acquisitions of glass from Mrs. Clara W. Berwick and of Castleford porcelain from Mrs. George Hewitt Myers were also put on exhibition, and two appropriate cases were built to house a collection of paperweights lent by Mrs. Florence Bushee.
Historic Dutch and Rhenish pottery and stoneware now displayed in a large alcove at the west end of the Cultural History Hall in the Natural History Building were formally accepted by Secretary Leonard Carmichael as a gift from the Honorable Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr., Chief of Protocol of the United States, and Mrs. Buchanan on the afternoon of January 5, 1959. AJ] these examples of ceramics were excavated at sites in the Netherlands and assembled by P. Weers of Vooburg. The exhibit illustrates household ceramics from the Roman and Merovingian periods to the beginning of the 19th century, and provides a basis for an understanding of the materials exported to America during the period of early settlement as well as its influence on the workmanship of American potters of the 17th century.
The renovated textile exhibit located in the main south hall of the Arts and Industries Building was formally opened to the public on the evening of January 20, 1959, by A. E. Wullschleger and Sec- retary Carmichael. In this hall the exhibits trace the history of the fibers and fabrics used by man in the context of the implements and machines that produced them, with the emphasis placed on the technological developments from colonia] times through the ensuing years. The Eli Whitney cotton gin and the Samuel Slater cotton machinery from the Pawtucket Mill of 1790, both unique examples of the work of these skilled mechanics, are supplemented by many other historic devices. Among these are a well-preserved Jacquard loom from Lyons, France, presented by Mr. Wullschleger, of New
SECRETARY’S REPORT 49
York. No more than 4 or 5 inches of fabric could be woven on this loom in a day. Fabrics from ancient Egypt, Colonial America, and contemporary hand- and power-woven fabrics show the develop- ment of the art of weaving. Another featured exhibit is an early 18th-century Don Quixote tapestry presented by Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt.
Contract construction work on the fixtures in the south hall gallery of the Arts and Industries Building for display of the dyeing and printing of fabrics, needlework and lace crafts, and the development of the sewing machine was nearing completion in June 1959. Reno- vation of the southeast range of the Arts and Industries Building, which will be utilized for the display of farm machinery and other agricultural implements, was completed in April 1959 by the con- struction contractor. ‘These exhibits will trace the growth of labor- saving farm machines in America, with particular emphasis on the 19th century, during which various types of machinery were in- vented or perfected for efficient planting, cultivating, and harvesting of the Nation’s rapidly expanding farm acreage.
With the cooperation of a number of leading concerns in the petro- leum industry, plans have been developed for a small hall to illustrate the history of this important industry.
During March and April 1959 the Atomic Energy Commission’s traveling exhibition “You and the Atom” was presented to the public in the rotunda of the Arts and Industries Building.
On June 24, 1959, a construction contract was awarded for the renovation of the east gallery of the Arts and Industries Building in which will be installed a series of new display units interpreting the history of medicine and pharmacy. These display units will be moved to the Museum of History and Technology where they will comprise portions of the more comprehensive exhibits in the fields of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical history. The most important new exhibits installed in the division of medical sciences during the year were the two cases prepared and contributed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which illustrate the discovery and development of the Salk poliomyelitis vaccine.
An exhibit of “World Ebonies,” selected from the Rudolph Block collection of walking sticks, was installed in the corridor through the hall of wood products; and four exhibit units displaying Ameri- can oaks, other important American hardwoods, fruitwoods, and for- eign cabinet woods are being renovated.
A temporary exhibit was prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Stanley. He was responsible for the design of the first practical electrical transformer and for the first demonstration of an a.c, power distribution system in the
50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
United States. The use of transformers made it possible to send electrical power over great distances, instead of being limited to a mile or so from the generating station.
Additions to the horological exhibits included a large operating model of the Hamilton electric clock, constructed on a scale of 8 to 1, and a group of recently cleaned and restored Japanese clocks. Dur- ing the annual meeting of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors in May 1959, a number of New England watches were placed on display.
The completely renovated 1893 Duryea automobile was returned to the exhibition series and the Cornell-Liberty Mutual survival car was placed on temporary exhibition.
A special exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln was opened in the west hall of the Arts and Industries Building on February 11, 1959. Selected items from the Museum’s collection of Lincoln memorabilia and a life-size figure on which is displayed the office suit worn by President Lincoln on the morning of his assassination comprise the essential elements of this exhibit. Included are many of the items that have recently been donated to the Institution by Lincoln Isham, of Dorset, Vt., great-grandson of President Lincoln. At the same time the division of philately prepared a special exhibit, “Lincoln on Stamps,” in- cluding free franked covers of Mrs. Lincoln lent through the assist- ance of Mrs. Morton Dean Joyce of New York, and the division of numismatics arranged groups of Lincoln medals to portray Lincoln’s life and impact on history. The division of numismatics also pre- pared a large exhibit of U.S. commemorative coins, presidential medals, and American medallic art for the first Ibero-American Numismatic Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, which opened November 24, 1958.
The department of Armed Forces history presented two special exhibitions in the rotunda of the Arts and Industries Building dur- ing the year. From July through September 1958 a special showing of the Tole paintings of Mrs. Irving Olds and naval prints from the collection of Mr. Olds was displayed under the joint sponsorship of the U.S. Marine Corps and the division of naval history. <A spe- cial exhibition featuring the submarines Wauwtilus and Holland was set up during May 1959.
During the year the appearance of the uniforms exhibited on the west gallery of the Arts and Industries Building was materially en- hanced by placing them on adjustable mannequins.
DOCENT SERVICE
In January 1959 the general direction of the educational program of volunteer docent guide service, conducted with the cooperative as-
SECRETARY’S REPORT 51
sistance of the Junior League of Washington, was transferred to the Smithsonian Museum Service, This program had been under the direction of Frank M. Setzler, head curator of anthropology, since its inception in 1955. This transfer was made in accord with the purposes for which the Museum Service was established. The pro- gram continued under the supervision of G. Carroll Lindsay, acting curator of the Smithsonian Museum Service, working with Mrs. Peter Macdonald, volunteer chairman of the Smithsonian Docent Commit- tee of the Junior League of Washington. After serving for 2 years as chairman of this committee, Mrs. Macdonald submitted her resig- nation at the conclusion of the tours season. She was succeeded as chairman by Mrs. C. Clarke Gearhart, formerly cochairman of the docent committee. Mrs. Dean Cowie will serve as co- chairman of the committee with Mrs. Gearhart.
During the 6-month season beginning in October 1958, 398 tours were conducted, in which 11,996 children were escorted through the 3 exhibit halls included in the docent program—the American Indian Hall, the Hall of Power Machinery, and the Hall of Everyday Life in Early America. This represented an increase of nearly 50 percent in the total number of children participating in this program over the previous year.
In addition to Mrs. Macdonald and her cochairman, Mrs. Gearhart, the following members of the Junior League of Washington partici- pated in the docent work: Mrs. George Armstrong, Mrs. Harrison Brand III, Mrs. Dean Cowie, Mrs. Walter Edwards, Mrs. William Graves, Mrs. H. F. Gregory, Miss Mary Harbert, Mrs. Edward La- mont, Mrs. Ralph W. Lee III, Mrs. John Manfuso, Jr., Miss Grace C. Marshall, Mrs. William McClure, Jr., Mrs. Robert McCormick, Mrs, John A. Medaris, Mrs. William Minshall, Mrs. Minot Mulligan, Mrs. George Pendleton, Mrs. John Schoenfeld, Mrs. W. James Sears, Mrs. William D. Sloan, Jr., Mrs. Walter Slowinski, Mrs. James H. Stallings, Mrs. E. Tillman Stirling, Mrs. G. G. Thomas, Mrs. David Toll, Mrs. Richard Wallis, Mrs. Marc A. White, and Mrs. George A. Wyeth, Jr.
In the coming season, the docent service will be extended to two more exhibit areas—the Hall of Gems and Minerals and the Hall of
Textiles. BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT
Senator Clinton P. Anderson, Regent of the Smithsonian Institution and chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Construction of a Building for a Museum of History and Technology, turned the first shovelful of earth on August 22, 1958, and excavation for the foundations was commenced immediately. At the close of the fiscal year the excavation and driving piles had been accomplished. Work-
52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
ing drawings and specifications for the building were completed by the contract architects, McKim, Mead & White, and reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution and the General Services Administration. The construction of the superstructure was advertised for bids on June 23, 1959.
Working drawings for the construction of additions to the Natural History Building were completed by the contract architects, Mills, Petticord & Mills, and were reviewed in detail by the staff of the Smithsonian Institution. Thus the architectural planning for these wings, which are urgently required to house the increasing scientific collections and to provide efficient working facilities for the staff, has been accomplished. The Congress recognized the immediate need for these additions when it appropriated the funds for the archi- tectural services to prepare the working drawings. The Smithsonian Institution is now prepared to contract for the construction of the additions when funds are appropriated for the purpose.
John E. Cudd, architect of the Public Buildings Service assigned to the Smithsonian Institution, continued to advise on both building projects, assisting in the transmittal of requirements to the architects and in the review of the drawings and specifications. Many individ- uals and sections of the Public Buildings Service contributed counsel and advice.
The contract work for replacement of the roof covering on the Natural History Building, the first phase of which was started in the fiscal year of 1957, has been completed. This project included the removal of the skylight glass, the installation of sheathing and metal covering, and the installation of fluorescent lighting to provide uni- form illumination in the three large halls.
The floors of the auditorium in the Natural History Building have been re-covered to minimize the hazards of the sharply inclined aisles as well as to provide a more noiseless walking surface.
A revised electrical system has been installed to serve the Arts and Industries, Smithsonian, and Freer Buildings. This project required the construction of two additional transformer vaults, the installation of two transformers, and the extensive revision of the electrical serv- ice in order to provide sufficient electrical capacity to serve the con- stantly increasing needs of the Institution.
The east entrance of the Arts and Industries Building has been remodeled to permit installation of a heavy-duty hydraulic elevator for use in the handling of large and heavy objects from truck height to floor level. The combination of this elevator with a full-height rollup-type door will be especially useful during the transfer of mu- seum objects from the Arts and Industries Building to the Museum of History and Technology on its completion. Many former hazards oc-
SECRETARY'S REPORT 53
curring during handling of heavy objects at this entrance have been eliminated.
All exterior surfaces of window sash and frames of the Natural History Building were painted and glass replaced where necessary. During the year many offices and workrooms have been renovated, including those of the registrar, division of political history, and the library. CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION AND STAFF
Dr. A. C. Smith was appointed Director of the Museum of Natural History effective August 28, 1958, following transfer from the Na- tional Science Foundation.
John C. Ewers was promoted to Assistant Director of the Museum of History and Technology on November 29, 1958.
Dr. Ralph S. Solecki, associate curator of archeology, resigned on June 30, 1959, to accept an associate professorship in anthropology at Columbia University. In the division of ethnology of the depart- ment of anthropology, Dr. Gordon D. Gibson accepted an appoint- ment as associate curator on July 30, 1958, and Dr. Eugene Knez as associate curator on April 30, 1959.
Dr. Peter P. Vaughn, associate curator of vertebrate paleontology, resigned on January 15, 1959, to accept an appointment tendered by the University of California at Los Angeles. This vacancy was filled by Dr. Nicholas Hotton ITI, who reported for duty June 1, 1959.
George B. Griffenhagen, curator of medical sciences since Decem- ber 8, 1952, resigned on June 27, 1959, to accept the position of direc- tor of communications for the American Pharmaceutical Association.
The curatorial vacancy in the division of philately and postal his- tory was filled by the appointment of George T. Turner on July 7, 1958.
Dr. Philip K. Lundeberg was appointed as associate curator, divi- sion of naval history, effective June 10,1959. Dr. Lundeberg has been serving as consultant in the department of Armed Forces history since January 19, 1959. Peter C. Welsh accepted an appointment as asso- ciate curator in the department of civil history and reported for duty June 15, 1959.
John D. Shortridge was appointed, effective July 28, 1958, associate curator of musical instruments in the division of cultural history, and G. Carroll Lindsay, associate curator of cultural history, was trans- ferred to the Smithsonian Museum Service.
William L. Brown, zoological exhibits specialist and chief taxi- dermist, retired on June 30, 1959, after 51 years 3 months of service in the taxidermy shop. Mr. Brown was responsible for the modeling and preparing for display of the major portion of the mammals ex-
54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
hibited in the Natural History Building. He was recognized by co- workers as one of the foremost skilled artisans and modelers of naturally posed mammals and gained an enviable reputation for the excellence of his work.
Dr. Egbert H. Walker, associate curator in the division of phanero- gams, retired on June 30, 1959. Dr. Walker, who was appointed to the Smithsonian staff on July 2, 1928, has specialized in the taxonomy and pertinent bibliography of eastern Asiatic flowering plants. He plans to continue, under the aegis of the American Institute of Biolog- ical Sciences, his preparation of a supplement to Merrill and Wal- ker’s “Bibliography of Eastern Asiatic Botany” (1988).
Clarence R. Shoemaker, who was appointed research associate fol- lowing his retirement on March 30, 1944, as assistant curator of marine invertebrates after having served more than 34 years as an employee of the Institution, died on December 28, 1958, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Shoemaker was a recognized amphipod specialist.
Dr. Frederick L. Lewton, research associate who retired on June 30, 1946, as curator of arts and industries after 44 years of service in the U.S. National Museum, died on February 21, 1959, at Winter Park, Fla.
Dr. John B. Reeside, Jr., research associate in invertebrate paleon- tology since June 19, 1944, died in Hyattsville, Md., on July 2, 1958. Dr. Reeside has also served for 17 years as chief of the paleontology and stratigraphy branch of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Paul A. Straub, research associate in numismatics since July 6, 1955, died at Summit, N.J., on December 9, 1958. Mr. Straub donated to the division of numismatics over 5,000 gold and silver coins repre- senting a span of 400 years. Because of the many outstanding rari- ties included in the collection, these coins as a whole are priceless and, in addition, enable the Smithsonian Institution to display to its visitors the largest exhibit of gold coins in the world.
Respectfully submitted,
Remineton Kenxoce, Dérector.
Dr. LronarpD CARMICHAEL,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Report on the Bureau of American
Ethnology
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the field researches, oflicework, and other operations of the Bureau of Ameri- can Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1959, conducted in accordance with the act of Congress of April 10, 1928, as amended August 22, 1949, which directs the Bureau “to continue independently or in cooperation anthropological researches among the American In- dians and the natives of lands under the jurisdiction or protection of the United States and the excavation and preservation of archeologic remains.”
SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES (Prepared from data submitted by staff members)
Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Director of the Bureau, devoted a portion of the fiscal year to office duties and the general supervision of the activities of the Bureau and the River Basin Surveys. In September he went to the Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado as a consultant to the Research Committee of the National Geographic Society. While there he visited a number of ruins that are to be excavated to obtain new information on the aboriginal peo- ple of the region and also to provide additional exhibit areas for visitors to the park. Asa result of the conferences on the Mesa Verde, the National Geographic Society made a grant to the National Park Service to assist in the excavation program on Wetherill Mesa. It is contemplated that the digging will continue over approximately six field seasons. Following the sessions on the mesa, Dr. Roberts spent a day at Hovenweep National Monument on the Colorado-Utah line north of the McElmo Canyon area where the late Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, a former Chief of the Bureau, carried on investigations some 50 years ago. Judging from Dr. Fewkes’s report and the condition of the area today, there has been little change since he first described the towers for which the area is famous.
After his return to Washington, D.C., Dr. Roberts went late in September to Athens, Ga., and visited a number of projects in other parts of Georgia and South Carolina where salvage operations were underway, and participated in discussions relative to continuing work
536608—60——5 55
06 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
in the area. During the early part of November he went to Austin, Tex., where he attended the Second International Congress of His- torians which was being held at the University of Texas. He served as one of the commentators at the session on Pre-Hispanic peoples in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Following his return to Washington he took part in the sessions of the American Anthropological Association, and toward the end of the month went to Lincoln, Nebr., to discuss various problems in Plains archeology with members of the Missouri Basin project staff and to attend the sessions of the Annual Plains Conference for Archeology. During December Dr. Roberts was a member of a panel at one of the sessions of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where the subject of “Anthropology in the Federal Service” was presented.
In January Dr. Roberts attended the meetings of the Committee for the Recovery of Archeological Remains held at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., and presented a summary of the results of the preceding year’s activities of the River Basin Surveys. He also took part in discussions pertaining to future plans for the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program. At the end of Jan- uary he went again to Georgia where he met with representatives from the National Park Service, various State and local institutions, and assisted in the preparation of plans for a salvage program along the Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia. Early in June he went to Colorado where he examined collections pertaining to early inhabitants of the Western Plains area at the Denver Museum of Nat- ural History and in the University Museum at Boulder. Returning to Nebraska he spent several days at the field headquarters and lab- oratory of the Missouri Basin project at Lincoln where plans were being completed for the summer’s investigations in reservoir areas along the Missouri River in South Dakota. From Nebraska Dr. Rob- erts returned to Washington.
During the fal] and winter months Dr. Roberts reviewed several draft manuscripts of technical reports and returned them to their authors with suggestions for correction and revision. In addition, he did the technical editing on a series of six reports on historic sites archeology in the Missouri Basin which will appear as Bulletin 176 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Dr. Henry B. Collins, anthropologist, continued his Arctic re- search and activities. Material was assembled for an analysis of the “Tunnit” legends of the Canadian Eskimos, which describe in some detail the aboriginal inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic. On the basis of recent archeological investigations, particularly those by Dr. Collins in the Hudson Bay region, it appears that the mysterious Tunnits were in fact the prehistoric Dorset Eskimos rather than the
SECRETARY’S REPORT 57
Thule as previously assumed. Also in preparation was an article evaluating recent archeological discoveries in Alaska and northeast Siberia and their bearing on pre-Eskimo and Eskimo culture se- quences and relationships in the Bering Strait area.
In December Dr. Collins attended a 2-day conference on polar re- search held at Hanover, N.H., under the auspices of Dartmouth Col- lege and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Polar Re- search. The conference discussed the probable future course of polar research in this country and the advisability of establishing a research institute to coordinate and administer scientific research in the Arc- tic and Antarctic.
In June Dr. Collins went to Burke County, Ga., to examine an old Indian village site near Waynesboro where Dr. Roland Steiner in the 1890’s had collected an unusually large number of flint implements, now in the U.S. National Museum. The implements, numbering some 16,000, were of particular interest because most of them were deeply patinated and were types which are now recognized as belonging to the Archaic period ; one of the types, an unusual form of asymmetric knife or scraper, was identical with a specialized form characteristic of the prehistoric Dorset culture of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Through the cooperation of Raymond De Laigle, clerk of court of Burke County, and his brothers, Ray and Roy De Laigle, it was pos- sible to locate the site from county records. It was found to be very much as described by Steiner 70 years ago and still prolific in stone artifacts and rejectage. A sizable collection of flint implements and flakes from this and other sites around Waynesboro was brought back for study.
Dr. Collins continued to serve as a member of the research commit- tee of the Arctic Institute of North America, which evaluates appli- cations for research grants, and of the publications committee, which exercises supervision of the Arctic Institute’s quarterly journal Arctic, its Technical Papers, and its series of Special Publications. As chair- man of the directing committee, Dr. Collins also devoted considerable time to the planning, supervision, and financing of the Arctic Bibli- ography, which is prepared by the Arctic Institute for and with the support of the Department of Defense. This comprehensive ref- erence work abstracts and indexes the contents of publications in all languages and in all fields of science relating to the Arctic and sub- arctic regions of the world. Volume 8, containing abstracts of 5,623 publications in 1,281 pages, was scheduled for publication by the Government Printing Office early in July 1959, and work on volume 9 is underway. Subject fields receiving special emphasis in volume 8 include body systems, human and other; botany; construction; disease ; ecology ; economic and social conditions; environmental effects
58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
of darkness, light, and low temperature on man, animals, and plants; Eskimos; expeditions, especially Russian; fishes and fisheries; frost- bite; geology; hypothermia; ice and ice conditions; insects; meteorol- ogy; physiology, human and animal; Siberian native peoples; snow; transportation. These and some 230 other topics are listed alpha- betically in the index and, as necessary, also under the name of the particular locality or major geographical region to which they per- tain. Heretofore the Arctic Bibliography has been supported almost entirely by the Department of Defense. During the past year addi- tiona] generous support has been provided by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Geographic Society.
Dr. Collins also made plans for a Russian translation project whereby the Arctic Institute, with the support of the National Science Foundation, would make available to American anthropologists translations of Russian publications on the archeology, ethnology, and physical anthropology of Siberia.
Dr. William C. Sturtevant, ethnologist, spent the first part of the fiscal year in Washington at work on various projects related to his Seminole and Seneca research. He also prepared for publication a paper on the economic uses of Zamia, a cycad with a large under- ground stem from which starch has been extracted for centuries by various Indian and other inhabitants of the West Indies and Florida. Another paper brought to completion reconsiders, with negative re- sults, the ethnological evidence for contacts between Indians of the southeastern United States and the West Indies (previously widely considered to have been quite significant for the history of the culture of the southeastern tribes). Brief papers were completed on the his- tory of the classification of eastern Siouan languages (published in American Anthropologist), on the authorship of J. W. Powell’s famous classification of North American Indian languages published by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1892, and on two new tech- niques for ethnographic fieldwork. Dr. Sturtevant’s pamphlet “Anthropology as a Career,” issued by the Institution in July 1958, proved so useful to students and their advisers throughout the country that a second printing was required in May 1959.
In mid-February Dr. Sturtevant left for Florida to begin 6 months’ fieldwork among the Seminole Indians, with the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation. This was a continuation of the fieldwork Dr. Sturtevant conducted among these people before joining the Smithsonian staff. Besides filling in gaps in informa- tion obtained during previous trips, Dr. Sturtevant has concentrated on studying Seminole knowledge and uses of plants, both wild and cultivated. These Indians are the only ones in the eastern United
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States who still use agricultural techniques once common to all the Indians of this region but heretofore undescribed by careful observers. Fields are cleared by cutting and burning, planted without fertilizer, and soon abandoned for new fields when fertility decreases and weeds become difficult to control. In addition to the ancient North Ameri- can Indian crops—corn, pumpkins, and beans—the Seminole grow a number of plants that were introduced from the West Indies during and after the 18th century (banana, sugarcane, sweetpotato, taro, elephantear [Xanthosoma], manioc, papaya, guava, citrus). Semi- nole knowledge of wild plants is also extensive, and they still use many of them for medicine, food, and in the manufacture of utensils and other artifacts. Dr. Sturtevant found that at least two dozen fields are being cultivated with aboriginal methods, but intensive study of these fields and other aspects of Seminole society and culture has been even more difficult than he anticipated, owing largely to increased political factionalism and antagonism toward inquisitive outsiders.
Dr. Sturtevant compiled genealogical information preparatory to collaboration with Dr. John Buettner-Janusch, a physical anthro- pologist at Yale University, on a study of the genetic characteristics (chiefly blood groups) of the Seminole, who certainly have fewer non-Indian ancestors than any other surviving eastern tribes.
Besides collecting herbarium specimens of plants used and recog- nized by the Indians, Dr. Sturtevant made an ethnological collection to supplement the Seminole holdings of the National Museum. He paid particular attention to clothing, since Seminole styles have changed rapidly but are still unique in many respects, and objects made for sale. The latter are an important part of Seminole econ- omy and involve objects quite different from those usually made for sale by other tribes.
Dr. Wallace L. Chafe, ethnologist, joined the staff of the Bureau in April but did not report for duty until June as he was completing teaching duties at the University of Buffalo. Dr. Chafe spent the 3 weeks before departing on June 29 in preparing for fieldwork on the Seneca reservations in western New York State. He will gather material that will enable him to complete a Seneca dictionary and will make further tape recordings of religious and mythological texts. This work was started under the sponsorship of the New York State Museum and Science Service and is being continued as a cooperative effort.
On June 3, 1958, Carl F. Miller was temporarily transferred from the staff of the River Basin Surveys to that of the Bureau of Ameri- can Ethnology in order that he might continue directing the excava- tions of the Smithsonian Institution-National Geographic Society
60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Expedition which had been started in 1956 at Russell Cave in Ala- bama. This third season of work continued through September 29 and brought to completion the investigations at that site. Russell Cave has contributed extensive information pertaining to Indian peoples who inhabited that area over a considerable period of time. Several cultural horizons are represented, the earliest of which is some 9,020-+350 years old on the basis of carbon-14 dating of charcoal from a hearth at that level. The first peoples apparently had a com- pletely hunting-fishing economy and from that progressed through what is called the Archaic period to a more sedentary mode of life and became makers of pottery. The latter handicraft appeared at about 3500 B.C. The culture subsequently developed into what is known as the Early Woodland and continued through stages known as Middle and Late Woodland. It was during these three stages that agriculture became a part of their economy. The latest occupation seems to have been by Chickamauga Cherokee Indians in the early 1600’s. During the 1958 season Mr. Miller reached the original and lowest floor in the cave, some 43 feet below the present floor. How- ever, no evidence of occupation was found below the 37-foot level. During the course of the digging he found a fifth burial which helped to throw additional light on the mortuary customs of the people who inhabited the cave.
While in northern Alabama, Mr. Miller visited several other caves, also Indian sites in the open, and studied many local collections in order to correlate the cultural remains from Russel] Cave with those of the surrounding areas, particularly those attributable to Early Man phases. Mr. Miller also spoke before different groups of people in Bridgeport and Huntsville, Ala., and in South Pittsburg, Richard City, and Tullahoma, Tenn. Following his return to Washington on October 4, Mr. Miller devoted his time to the preparation of reports. In November and December he attended meetings of the American Indian Ethnohistoric Conference and the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C., and was one of the speakers at the Southeastern Archeological Conference in Chapel Hill, N.C. Mr. Miller returned to duty on the River Basin Surveys staff December 14, 1958.
RIVER BASIN SURVEYS
The River Basin Surveys continued its program for salvage arche- ology in areas to be flooded or otherwise destroyed by the construction of large dams. These investigations were carried on in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, the Corps of Engineers of the De- partment of the Army, and several State and local institutions. Dur-
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ing the fiscal year 1958-59 the work of the River Basin Surveys was supported by a transfer of $162,000 from the National Park Service to the Smithsonian Institution. Of that sum, $137,000 was for use in the Missouri Basin and $25,000 was for investigations along the Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia. The Missouri Basin Project had a carryover of $22,173 on July 1, 1958, and that, with the new appropriation, provided a total of $159,173 for the program in that area. The grand total of funds available for the River Basin Surveys for 1958-59 was $184,173.
Field investigations throughout the year consisted mainly of exca- vations, although some limited surveys were carried on. On July 1, 1958, 10 parties were in the field, all of them working in the Missouri Basin in South Dakota. Five of the parties were doing intensive digging in the Big Bend Reservoir area near Fort Thompson, four were excavating, and one was doing survey testing in the Oahe Reser- voir area north of Pierre. Most of the field parties had returned to their headquarters at Lincoln, Nebr., by the end of August. Two small parties made brief investigations in the Merritt and Big Bend Reservoir areas during December and January. In February three parties began excavations and test excavations along the Chattahoo- chee River in Alabama-Georgia. The latter continued operations until late in June, when work was stopped and the men returned to their headquarters. Early in June a party from the Missouri Basin project headquarters began excavations in several sites in the construc- tion area for the Big Bend Dam in South Dakota.
As of June 30, 1959, reservoir areas where archeological surveys had been made or excavations carried on since the beginning of field- work by the River Basin Surveys in the summer of 1946 totaled 254, located in 29 States. Two lock projects and four canal areas had also been examined. The survey parties have located 4,909 archeological sites, and of that number 1,017 have been recommended for excavation or limited testing. The term “excavation” in this re- spect does not imply the complete uncovering of a site, but rather digging only enough of it to obtain a good sample of the materials and information to be found there. While many of the locations are unquestionably of sufficient importance to warrant complete exca- vation, the needs of the salvage program make it impossible to con- duct so extensive an investigation at any one location.
Preliminary appraisal reports have been issued for all the reservoir areas surveyed, with the exception of the three along the Chattahoo- chee River. The manuscripts of two of those reports have been com- pleted and the third is well underway, so that all of them will be processed early in the coming fiscal year. The preliminary appraisal report for the Big Bend Reservoir area in South Dakota was mime-
62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
ographed and distributed in October 1958. Since the start of the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program, 185 appraisal reports have been issued. In a number of cases the information obtained from several reservoir projects located within a single basin or sub- basin have been combined in one report and for that reason there is a discrepancy between the number of reservoirs surveyed and that of the reports issued.
At the end of the fiscal year, 434 sites in 54 reservoir basins located in 19 different States had been either partially or extensively dug. In some reservoir areas only a single site was excavated, while in others a whole series was studied. At least one example of each type of site recommended by the preliminary surveys had been investi- gated. Where some of the larger and more complex types of village remains were involved, it was necessary to dig a number of somewhat similar sites in order to obtain full information about that particular phase of aboriginal culture. The sites investigated represent cultural complexes ranging from the early hunting peoples of approximately 10,000 years ago to early historic Indian village remains and frontier trading and army posts of European origin. Reports on the results obtained in some of the excavations have appeared in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, in Bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and in various scientific journals. During the year River Basin Surveys Papers Nos. 9 through 14, comprising Bulletin 166 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, were published and dis- tributed. The papers consist of three reports on excavations in the Missouri Basin, one on digging in the Alatoona Reservoir in Georgia, one on investigations in six sites in the Jim Woodruff Reservoir basin in Florida, and one on historic sites in and adjacent to the Jim Wood- ruff Reservoir area in Florida-Georgia. The Missouri Basin reports were written by Paul L. Cooper, Robert B. Cumming, Jr., and Carlyle S. Smith and Roger T. Grange, Jr. Those pertaining to the South- east were prepared by William H. Sears, Mark F. Boyd, and Ripley P. Bullen. River Basin Papers Nos. 15-21, which will constitute Bulletin No. 176 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, were sent to the printer in March. That series of papers pertains to studies in historic sites in the Fort Randall, Oahe, and Garrison Reservoir areas in South Dakota and North Dakota. Nine detailed technical reports were completed during the year and are ready for publication when the funds sufficient to cover their cost are available. In addi- tion, the first and second drafts of seven technical reports were finished. The final drafts should be ready early in the next fiscal year.
As of June 30, 1959, the distribution of the reservoir projects that had been surveyed for archeological remains was as follows: Ala- bama, 4; Arkansas, 1; California, 20; Colorado, 24; Georgia, 8; Idaho,
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11; Illinois, 2; Iowa, 3; Kansas, 10; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 1; Montana, 15; Nebraska, 28; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 18; Ohio, 2; Oklahoma, 7; Oregon, 27; Pennsylvania, 2; South Carolina, 1; South Dakota, 10; ‘Tennessee, 4; Texas, 19; Virginia, 2; Washington, 11; West Virginia, 2; Wyoming, 22.
Excavations were made or were underway in reservoir basins in: Arkansas, 1; California, 5; Colorado, 1; Iowa, 1; Georgia, 7; Kansas, 5; Montana, 1; Nebraska, 1; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 4; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 4; South Carolina, 2; South Dakota, 4; Texas, 7; Virginia, 1; Washington, 4; West Virginia, 1; Wyoming, 2. Only the work of River Basin Surveys or that which was in direct coopera- tion between the Surveys and local institutions is included in the preceding figures. Investigations carried on under agreements be- tween the National Park Service and State and local institutions have not been included because complete information about them is not available.
Throughout the year helpful cooperation was received from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, Corps of Engi- neers and other Army personnel, and various State and local insti- tutions. The Corps of Engineers provided transportation and guides for work in one of the reservoir areas and the Commanding Officer at Fort. Benning in Georgia assigned certain Army personnel to as- sist in some of the investigations made in that portion of the Walter F. George Reservoir basin which lies in the Fort Benning Reserva- tion. Helicopters were also furnished on several occasions to enable the archeologists to take aerial photographs of several sites in the reservoir area. In the Missouri Basin temporary headquarters and living accommodations were provided at several projects and storage space was made available so that much of the field equipment could be left at Pierre, S. Dak., during the winter months. The construction agency lent mechanical equipment in several instances to assist in heavy excavation and the backfilling of trenches and test pits. The various party leaders from the River Basin Surveys were given as- sistance by field personnel of all the agencies and the work was greatly expedited as a result. The National Park Service continued to serve as the liaison between the various agencies in the field as well as in Washington. The estimates and justifications for the funds needed to carry on the salvage program were also prepared by the Park Service. In Georgia the University of Georgia, the Georgia Histori- cal Commission, and various local clubs and groups of citizens were particularly helpful to the parties working along the Chattahoochee River.
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The main office in Washington continued general supervision of the program, while the field headquarters and laboratory at Lincoln, Nebr., was responsible for the activities in the Missouri Basin, and in addition provided equipment and office assistance for the parties engaged in the Chattahoochee River project. The materials collected by excavating parties in the Missouri Basin, as well as those from the Chattahoochee Basin, were processed at the Lincoln laboratory.
Washington office —The main headquarters of the River Basin Sur- veys at the Bureau of American Ethnology continued under the direction of Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. As previously men- tioned, Carl F. Miller, archeologist, was detailed to the regular Bureau staff for the period July 3 to December 14, 1958. After his return to the River Basin Surveys staff, Mr. Miller completed the final revision of his report on the “Archeology of the John H. Kerr Reservoir, Southern Virginia and Northern North Carolina.” The report includes a summary of the many sites located during the course of the original survey of the area, as well as detailed informa- tion on those which were excavated by Mr. Miller. After submit- ting the John H. Kerr report, Mr. Miller began work on the final report pertaining to the investigations that he made at the Hoster- man site (838PO7) in the Oahe Reservoir area, South Dakota, dur- ing a previous field season. The report was approximately one-half complete at the end of the year. During the winter and spring months Mr. Miller spoke before several teachers’ organizations in the Washington area, addressed a meeting of the Narragansett Archeo- logical Society at Providence, R.I., the Archeological Society of Virginia in Richmond, and the Southern Branch of the Archeologi- cal Society of Maryland at Bethesda, Md. Most of his talks pertained to the Russell Cave explorations, although the one given at Bethesda compared the materials from the John H. Kerr Reservoir with those from the Shepard Barracks site in Maryland where excavations were carried on by the Maryland Society. In June, Mr. Miller read proof on an article about Russell Cave, which is to appear in a book on National Parks and Monuments in the United States being issued by the National Geographic Society. In January Mr. Miller received the Franklin L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society in “recognition of his outstanding contributions to the science of geography and early American history through the archeological investigations of Russell Cave, Alabama.” At the end of the fiscal year Mr. Miller was working in the Washington office.
On October 13, 1958, Harold A. Huscher was transferred from the Missouri Basin project to the Chattahoochee River project. He was under the general supervision of the Washington office but con- tinued to work at the headquarters in Lincoln, Nebr., where he
SECRETARY’S REPORT 65
completed reports on the surveys made during the previous year at the Oliver and Columbia Reservoir projects on the Chattahoochee River. He also virtually completed the first draft of his preliminary appraisal of the archeological explorations in the Walter F. George Reservoir area. In early February, Mr. Huscher returned to the Chattahoochee Basin and from then until late June carried on a series of investigations in the Columbia and Walter F. George Res- ervoir basins. While working in Alabama and Georgia, Mr. Huscher spoke before numerous clubs and local groups, took part in several radio broadcasts devoted to archeological problems along the Chatta- hoochee River, and appeared on several TV broadcasts. He returned to the field headquarters at Lincoln, Nebr., on June 30.
In February, Robert W. Neuman and G. Hubert Smith were trans- ferred to the Chattahoochee River project and under general direc- tion from the Washington office proceeded to that area. Mr. Neu- man, during the period February 9 to June 23, carried on excavations in the vicinity of the Columbia Dam axis in Georgia and did test digging in one large mound on the Alabama side of the river. While in Georgia, Mr. Neuman spoke before various local clubs and groups of interested citizens. He also appeared on a TV interview pertain- ing to the salvage program and spoke before the Macon, Ga., Archeo- logical Society. He returned to the field headquarters at Lincoln, Nebr., on June 27. Mr. Smith worked at two locations in the Walter F. George Reservoir area, one in Georgia and one in Alabama. He also talked before a number of local organizations. Mr. Smith returned to the field headquarters on June 17.
Alabama-Georgia.—During the period February through June a series of test excavations was carried on at a number of sites in the areas to be flooded by the Columbia Dam and Lock and the Walter F. George Dam and Lock. Robert W. Neuman worked in seven sites on the Georgia side of the Chattahoochee River in the vicinity of the Columbia Dam axis. Six of the sites dated from the Archaic period and extended into Middle Woodland times. The seventh site on the Georgia side represented a historic Creek occupation dating about A.D, 1830. A good collection of materials was obtained from all these sites and the specimens will aid materially in working out the cultural stages in that area. On the Alabama side of the river Mr. Neuman excavated in the remains of a large mound which was being destroyed by the river. Some work had been done there many years ago by Clarence W. Moore, but there was little information pertain- ing to the general character of the mound. Mr. Neuman obtained information relative to the method of its construction and several stages in its growth. Further work is contemplated at the site.
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Harold A. Huscher carried on a series of excavations in four sites on the axis of the Columbia Dam 214 miles below Columbia, Ala. The area is one of extensive sandy bottoms and, with minor varia- tions, the sites produce Weeden Island pottery types in the surface levels and to a depth of about 2 feet. There is also a scattering of Stallings Island potsherds, steatite fragments, and large heavy- stemmed projectile points down to about 414 feet below the surface. Some of the flint flakes and points from the deeper levels have been completely altered chemically to a chalky residue. Similar points were found previously on the Macon plateau by Dr. A. R. Kelley and were described by him in Anthropological Paper No. 1, which appeared in Bulletin 119 of the Bureau. Mr. Huscher made maps and detailed excavation plans for these sites.
Construction work was underway on the Walter F. George Dam in early February and Mr. Huscher made a series of 10- by 10-foot test. excavations in three sites which were threatened with immedi- ate damage. One of them at the Georgia end of the dam axis yielded a variety of trade goods, including the mechanism of a flintlock. The site probably represents the location of a Creek village of about A.D, 1800. Another site on the Georgia side, a short distance above the dam, and one on the Alabama end of the dam axis, produced plain Early Mississippian pottery. The material from the Alabama site indicated pottery with angled-loop handles similar to the ware that has been called Bibb Plain. The pottery from the Georgia site had flat strap handles with vertical incised decoration. The pottery characteristics are so definite that it is possible to correlate the wares with those from other sites in the general area.
Mr. Huscher later moved upstream and began the investigation of two sites on the Fort Benning Military Reservation. One of them on the Georgia side is an Early Lamar site and seems to contain a single “pure” component. The site had been destroyed to a large extent by Army bulldozers building a road, but trenches in two separate remnants revealed post-hole patterns that apparently rep- resented two rectangular houses. A nearby midden area yielded a good representative sample of pottery types associated with the houses. The second site was on the Alabama side of the river just north of Uchee Creek. It is a Swift Creek-Weeden Island site and has an older underlying level. Sgt. David W. Chase, curator of the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Ga., had done some work there, and because of the evidence he had obtained, indicating that it would be a type site for the Swift Creek-Weeden Island phase of Middle Woodland in the area, it was extensively tested by the Huscher party. Beneath the Middle Woodland levels in a portion of the site there is a bed of white sand which has yielded fiber-tempered potsherds of
SECRETARY’S REPORT 67
the Stallings Island type and fragments from steatite vessels. This stratigraphic evidence augments that found in other locations along the river. Sergeant Chase turned over to the River Basin Surveys party extensive notes and collections resulting from his previous work at both sites. He also assisted Mr. Huscher in making detailed plane-table maps of the sites and plans of the excavations.
G. Hubert Smith excavated in two historic sites in the Walter F. George Reservoir Basin. One of them on the Georgia side of the river was the location of the village of Roanoke, a colonial settlement that had originally been occupied by Creek Indians but was subse- quently taken over by the whites who lived there from 1831 until the community was destroyed by Indians in May 1836. Because of the long period in which the area was under heavy cultivation, Mr. Smith was unable to determine the settlement pattern or to obtain outlines for any of the village structures. He did, however, obtain an ex- tensive collection of specimens attributable both to the white occupa- tion and that by the Indians. Careful study of the material may provide information that will be useful in dating some of the other late Indian sites along the river. From the Roanoke site Mr. Smith went to one on the Alabama side in Russell County, which was the location of a fort built and occupied by the Spaniards from 1689 to 1691. The fort known as Apalachicola was probably the most north- ern outpost of the Spanish occupation in the Southeast and was erected for the purpose of stemming the southward expansion of the English. The Spaniards possibly did not occupy the fort con- tinuously, but lived at times in an adjacent Indian village. The fort was destroyed by the Spaniards to prevent its falling into the hands of English traders from the Carolinas who were operating among the Creek Indians. Mr. Smith did not dig in the fort proper but confined his investigations to the area immediately surrounding it in order to delimit the extent of the fortifications and to determine the proximity of Indian occupation. The fort remains will not be sub- jected to flooding by the Walter F. George Reservoir, but the maxi- mum pool level will not be far distant and may damage the remains to some extent asa result of seepage. Consequently it is thought that a thorough study should be made of the site at a later date. Further- more, associations between Spanish and Indian objects will provide a helpful checking point in establishing chronology of the area, par- ticularly since the exact dates for the fort are known. After complet- ing the investigations at the two sites, Mr. Smith assisted Mr. Huscher in making detailed plane-table maps and trench plans for both.
In addition to the test excavations described above, Mr. Huscher located and recorded 10 new sites in the Walter F. George and Co- lumbia areas and made collections from 46 sites. At the end of the
68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
season’s work along the Chattahoochee, all the records and collections of the three field parties were sent to the laboratory of the River Basin Surveys at Lincoln, Nebr., for processing there and for use in the preparation of reports on the investigations.
The only other work by the River Basin Surveys pertaining to Georgia was that of Carl F. Miller, who completed a report en the test digging that he did during the previous year at the Tugaloo site in the Hartwell Reservoir area. However, the University of Georgia in cooperation with the National Park Service carried on a series of investigations in the Oliver Reservoir Basin and at the Standley Farm site, also known as Stark’s Clay Landing, in the Walter F. George Reservoir on the Georgia side of the river. Work was con- tinuing at the latter location at the end of the fiscal year.
Arkansas.—No fieldwork was carried on in Arkansas during the year ended June 30, 1959. However, a detailed technical report, “Archeological Investigations in the Dardanelle Reservoir Area of West-Central Arkansas,” was completed by Dr. Warren W. Caldwell. The report consists of 85 typed pages, 2 maps, 8 plates, and 6 text figures. It will be published as a River Basin Surveys paper when printing funds for that purpose are available.
Kansas.—The only work done by the River Basin Surveys pertain- ing to Kansas during the fiscal year was the completion of a detailed technical report on the excavation of four sites in the Lovewell Reser- voir area on White Rock Creek in Jewell County in the north-central part of the State. The report was written by Robert W. Neuman and is entitled, “Archeological Salvage Investigations in the Lovewell Reservoir Area, Kansas.” It consists of 84 typed pages, 12 plates, and 3 text figures, and will be published as a River Basin Surveys paper.
The Kansas State Historical Society at Topeka carried on surveys and did some test digging in the Pomona and Melvern Reservoir areas under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. The Pomona Dam is to be built on the 110-Mile Creek, and Melvern Dam will be in the Marais de Cygnes River.
Missouri River Basin—The Missouri Basin project continued to operate from the field headquarters and laboratory at 1517 O Street, Lincoln, Nebr. Dr. Robert L. Stephenson served as chief of the project throughout the year. Activities included work on all four phases of the salvage program: (1) Survey, (2) excavation, (3) anal- ysis, and (4) reporting. Most of the effort during the summer months was directed toward the second phase, with only minor attention to the first phase. The third and fourth phases received the major at- tention in the winter months. The special chronology program, be- gun last fiscal year, was continued.
SECRETARY’S REPORT 69
At the beginning of the fiscal year the permanent staff, in addition to the chief, consisted of six archeologists (one of whom was on loan to the National Park Service), one clerk-stenographer, one file clerk, one clerk-typist, one photographer, one illustrator, and four museum aides. ‘Temporary employees included 1 archeologist, 1 physical an- thropologist, 2 field assistants, 3 cooks, and 90 crewmen.
During the year, 1 archeologist was transferred to the staff from the Chattahoochee Project on July 21, 1 cook joined the temporary staff on July 9, and 16 temporary crewmen were added in July. Dur- ing the last week of August and the first week of September, all temporary crewmen and three cooks were terminated, and one cook was transferred from that position to laboratory assistant. The tem- porary archeologist was terminated on September 12, and the two field assistants were terminated on August 29 and September 5, re- spectively. The physical anthropologist was terminated on September 2, and one museum aide was transferred from full time to half time on September 15. The archeologist on temporary-detached duty with the National Park Service returned to the permanent staff on October 1. One archeologist was transferred on October 13 to the Chatta- hoochee Basin project.
On September 23, one archeologist was assigned temporary-detached duty for 8 weeks with the National Park Service to conduct excava- tions at Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyo. He returned to the Missouri Basin project on November 15. On December 4, one arche- ologist was assigned temporary-detached duty for 3 weeks with the National Park Service to conduct excavations at George Washington Carver National Monument, Mo. He returned to the Missouri Basin project on December 21. On February 9, two archeologists were trans- ferred for temporary duty with the Chattahoochee Basin Project. They returned to the Missouri Basin project on June 17 and 29, re- spectively. One museum aide resigned to take other employment on March 20, and one archeologist was permanently transferred to the National Park Service on May 30, to join the staff of the Wetherill Mesa Research project, Mesa Verde National Park, Colo. During June, six temporary crewmen were employed.
At the end of the fiscal year there were five archeologists, in addi- tion to the chief, one administrative assistant, one clerk-stenographer, one file clerk, one clerk-typist, one illustrator, one photographer, and three museum aides on the permanent staff, and one laboratory assist- ant and six crewmen on the temporary staff.
During the year there were 14 Smithsonian Institution River Basin Surveys field parties at work within the Missouri Basin. Of the 14 Missouri Basin parties, 5 were at work in the Oahe Reservoir area during July and August, and 5 others were at work in the Big Bend
70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
Reservoir during July and August. Two small parties were at work during December and January, respectively, in brief investigations in the Merritt and Big Bend Reservoir areas. One party was at work in the Big Bend Reservoir area and a second (mobile) party was working in the general Missouri Basin area in June.
Other fieldwork in the Missouri Basin during the year included 10 parties from State institutions operating under cooperative agree- ments with the National Park Service and in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution in the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program.
At the beginning of the fiscal year, in the Oahe Reservoir area, Dr. Robert L. Stephenson and a crew of 20 men were engaged in excavations at the Sully site (89SL4). This was the third and final season of work at this, the largest of the earth-lodge village sites in the Missouri Basin. The site was situated on the second terrace of the Missouri River, 21 miles above Pierre, in Sully County, S.Dak. The 1958 investigations were concentrated largely in the central and east- ern portions of the site. These, with those of the two preceding seasons, provided a reasonably equal sample of features and specimens from all portions of the site. Excavation technique differed some- what in the 1958 season. During the 1957 season, whole houses were excavated, but the surrounding areas outside were not examined. In 1958 only one house was excavated in this manner. In the other ex- cavation units, only half houses were dug, but the surrounding areas on three sides of each house were also excavated. In this way portions of 19 houses were investigated, with most of the essential structural details obtained from all but two of them. Experience of the previous seasons’ work at this site suggested that more could be learned of the total village pattern in this way, and that excavation of complete houses was neither necessary nor economically feasible. Besides the house areas, half of a ceremonial lodge, two large cache-pit areas, a scaffold area, a midden heap, and another portion of the “plaza” were also excavated, and two midden areas were tested. Thus all or parts of 32 of the nearly 400 houses have been excavated, as have been 3 of the 4 ceremonial lodges, a scaffold area, several cache-pit areas, midden heaps, and a “plaza.” Numerous tests were made in an effort to locate a fortification ditch or stockade, but none was found.
Emphasis was placed, in the field, upon securing architectural in- formation, and good superposition of varying types of dwelling houses was obtained. Two distinct, circular, dwelling-house types were present, one with a series of widely spaced large wall posts of an early period, and one with a series of small, closely set wall posts of a later period. There was considerable variation within each type. The earlier type had short entryways, while the later one had medium-
Secretary's Report, 1959 PLATE 1
2. Digging up edible roots of elephant-ear (Xanthosoma sp.), a plant cultivated by the Seminole.
Secretary's Report, 1959
“i ? & 4
FI
tad
Secretary's Report, 1959 PLATE 3
1. Excavation of Feature 1, a portion of a circular house exposed in slump bank along Missouri River at the Ziltener Site (39SL10) in the Oahe Reservoir area, South Dakota. Most of the house had washed away but the remainder was undisturbed, with a fair floor and post holes dug into soft silt. River Basin Surveys.
2. Crew excavating remains at the Truman Mound Site (39BF224), a group of six
burial mounds of the pre-earth-lodge peoples in the Big Bend Reservoir area, South Dakota. River Basin Surveys.
Secretary's Report, 1959 PLATE
(See legend on opposite page.)
PLATE 4
Representative examples of pottery vessels from various sites in the Missouri Basin.
(a) From site 25FT17, an Aksarben Aspect site in Medicine Creek Reservoir, Nebraska. (b) From Leavitt Site (39ST215), Oahe Reservoir, South Dakota. (c) From White Swan Mound Site (39CH9Y), a Woodland Site in Fort Randall Reservoir, South Dakota. (d) From Leavitt Site (39ST215). (e) Stanley Tool Impressed vessel from Phillips Ranch Site (39ST14), Oahe Reservoir. (f) From Leavitt Site (39ST215). (g) Colombe Collared Rim vessel from Phillips Ranch Site (39ST14). (h) Foreman Cord Impressed vessel from Dodd Site (39ST30), Oahe Reservoir. (i) Mitchell Broad Trailed vessel from Dodd Site (39ST30). (j) From Cheyenne River Site (39ST1), Oahe Reservoir. (k) Stanley Braced Rim vessel from Dodd Site (39ST30). (1) Truman Plain Rim vessel from Truman Mounds Site (39BF224), Big Bend Reservoir, South Dakota. (m) From White Swan Mound Site (39CH9). (n) From Site (48FR84), Boysen Reservoir, Wyoming. Only known restored vessel from Wyoming. (0) From Leavitt Site (39ST215).
SECRETARY’S REPORT 71
to-long entryways. The earlier houses were of rather uniform size (about 36 feet in diameter), while the later ones ranged from 19 feet to 47 feet in diameter. A unique feature was the presence of two concentrically superimposed ceremonial lodges, using almost the same floor level. One was 77 feet in diameter, superimposed upon one that was 64 feet in diameter. All the large ceremonial lodges excavated at the Sully site (as well as several of the later dwelling houses) were actually polyhedral rather than round, and had between 9 and 12 sides.
All occupations of this site were relatively late, with both major components (additional minor components have yet to be differenti- ated) in the circular-house tradition and probably relating to the period between roughly A.D. 1600 and 1750. The pottery sample and other artifact inventory is large and varied, but no assessment of it has been made at this time. This field party disbanded on Au- gust 23, after 10 weeks in the field.
The second River Basin Surveys field party in the Oahe Reservoir area consisted of a crew of eight men, under the leadership of William M. Bass III, physical anthropologist. This party devoted the major part of the season to excavations in the burial areas of the Sully site (89SL4). This was a continuation of work begun in 1957 on a some- what smaller scale. Work was concentrated in three areas (Features 218, 219, and 220) and 161 burials were recovered, bringing the num- ber of burials excavated at the Sully site to 224. Only a preliminary analysis of the skeletal remains has been made. Bodies were interred in shallow oval pits dug into an old surface about 1 foot below the current soil level. Burials were predominantly flexed or semiflexed and oriented with the head toward the west or northwest. A group burial, recovered from Feature 218, appears to be the remnant of a scaffold burial. Many of the graves had a covering of small poles, but few had grave goods included. The grave goods that were re- covered included pottery vessels, ornaments, and an occasional cat- linite pipe.
The Bass party, in addition to work at the Sully site, excavated nine rock-cairn burials at the Whistling Hawk site (39SL39), a rather ephemeral site on the same terrace 2 miles east of the Sully site. Burials were found in each cairn, but significant skeletal re- mains were scanty, as most of the bones were badly deteriorated. Artifacts with these burials were few.
At the end of the field season, the Bass party devoted a short period to the excavation and collection of a group of burials and associated artifacts from a site (89YK202) recently discovered in the course of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service construction work near the Gavins Point Dam. Only the prompt action and complete cooperation
586608—60——6
Tae
(2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
of the Commission, the local contractor, the Corps of Engineers, members of the Yankton College staff, the National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Institution made this salvage operation success- ful. The burials proved to be of a group of Woodland people and included an appreciable number of personal ornaments, as well as a good series of skeletal remains. This party disbanded on August 23, after 8 weeks in the field.
The third River Basin Surveys party in the Oahe Reservoir area at the beginning of the year was comprised of a crew of 10 men under the direction of Charles H. McNutt. This party conducted excava- tions at a series of sites in the Fielder Bottom-Telegraph Flat area near the Sully site. The work was a continuation of excavations be- gun the season before, designed to sample the smaller sites in the immediate vicinity of the Sully site, in order to round out the story of the prehistoric occupations of this once heavily populated area. At the Sully School site (89SL7), one house was excavated in its entirety, and portions of four more houses were exposed. Three test trenches were cut across the fortification ditch, and a large series of midden tests, cache pits, and subsidiary features were excavated. Be- cause of the two seasons’ work there the total artifact sample is ex- tensive. The architectural information recovered is less satisfactory. The gumbo fill present in many of the features made it extremely difficult to determine structural characteristics. Two occupations were present, one represented by rectangular houses and pottery similar to that from the Thomas Riggs site, the other by circular houses and pottery in the La Roche tradition. Only part of the site was fortified. The rectangular-house occupation was confined within the fortifica- tion ditch, but the circular-house occupation was found both within and without the ditch. There is additional ceramic evidence that the fortification probably dates from the former, rather than from the latter, occupation.
The Ziltener site (89SL10) was located along a treeless cutbank of the Missouri River bottoms approximately 3 miles southeast of the Sully site. Informants had reported that a number of skulls and artifacts were eroded from-the bank from time to time by the annual spring rises in the river. The bank was carefully watched for several seasons by River Basin Surveys parties, but with little success. In 1958 a storage pit and a house profile were visible, and a small cache was found where it had slumped from the cutbank. The remainder of the house and the storage pit were excavated. The house was circular, and the pottery of the La Roche tradition.
The Nolz site (89SL40) was located on a terrace remnant below and somewhat to the southwest of the Sully site. Three very faint house depressions were visible as surface features. Two of these
SECRETARY’S REPORT 73
were trenched and the third was half excavated. Central hearths were found in all cases. Three additional tests were made on the site. Artifact recovery was fair, but architectural data were poorly represented, owing to the shallow depth of fill above house floors and the clayey nature of the soil. The houses were probably circular and the pottery in the La Roche tradition.
The Zimmerman site (89SL41), located on the same terrace as the Nolz site, consisted of a village area marked by about 40 large round- to-oval depressions. One rectangular house was excavated com- pletely, and half the fill of a second was removed. A midden area and 12 cache pits were also excavated. There was no indication of the presence of any other component. Three exploratory trenches were dug, in an effort to find a fortification ditch, but no satisfactory ditch profile was discovered. The total data indicate that this was a single- component site, characterized by long-rectangular houses and Thomas Riggs pottery.
The Glasshoff site (895142) was situated on the Zimmerman-Nolz terrace below the west end of the Sully site. According to an in- formant, the area was once used for cavalry exercises by Fort Sully personnel. In the past, sherds were collected from the surface there, and one test excavation (1953) had provided additional evidence of aboriginal occupation. No well-defined house depressions were apparent, but several surface anomalies were visible. Wherever tested, they proved to be the result of activities attributable to the occupa- tion of Fort Sully in the late 19th century. Trenching during the 1958 season yielded historic specimens, a cache pit, and a part of an aboriginal dwelling. The latter was found on the last day of the field season. Artifact recovery was fair, and although some archi- tectural features were well preserved, few details were discernible. Pottery is simple-stamped and somewhat like the Thomas Riggs materials, but it appears to be a distinctive variant.
Site 39SL27, a large, unnamed site on Telegraph Flat, 1 mile east of the Sully site, has several visible but shallow “house” depressions. Three small pits dug in the centers of depressions yielded neither artifacts nor architectural features. Additional work is needed at this site.
The Whistling Hawk site (89SL39) comprised a large area along the edge of Telegraph Flat terrace, east of 39SL27. A single pit excavated into a deep (house?) depression yielded no artifacts or architecture, although the Bass party excavated rock-cairn burials at the site.
Two sites not situated in Fielder Bottom were also tested. Site 39SL19 was a low-lying area in the Little Bend region, 18 miles upstream from the Sully site. Two small, shallow pits were dug to
74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
examine the fill, and the site was walked carefully. No indication of a village and no cultural material were found on the surface. This area will probably be flooded in 1959 and no further efforts there seem justified. The Pitlick site (39HU16), 8 miles downstream from the Sully site, is the northernmost site in the Peoria Bottom group. It will not be flooded in 1959, but will probably slump badly. Two large trenches and two deep test pits were excavated. One trench cut through the shoulder and floor of a house, the other through a fortification ditch. One of the deep test pits may have cut through a house floor. No artifacts were recovered at the site. This party disbanded on August 23, following 10 weeks in the field. The Stephen- son, Bass, and McNutt field parties shared camp facilities near the Sully site in Fielder Bottom.
The fourth River Basin Surveys field party in the Oahe Reservoir area consisted of a crew of nine, directed by Richard P. Wheeler. It investigated a series of sites on the right bank of the Missouri River in the Fort Bennett area, 36 river miles above Pierre, Stanley County, S. Dak. The principal effort was directed toward excava- tions at the H. P. Thomas site (39ST12). A total of 60 circular earth-lodge depressions is apparent in area 1 of the site, and 21 depressions are suggested in area 2. Three lodges were excavated in area 1 and two in area 2. Overburden was removed from six addi- tional lodges by bulldozer, and four dozer-cut trenches were carried across the moats in each area. Three midden deposits in area 1 were excavated, one containing a fragment of the floor pattern of a house. Three of the suggested five components appear to be assignable to the Snake Butte, Stanley, and Anderson-Monroe Foci, as defined by Lehmer for the Oahe Dam area.
At the Agency Creek site (89ST41), adjacent to site 39ST12, seven small test pits and one bulldozer trench were excavated. Since time did not permit detailed investigation of these sample excavations, little can be said of the cultura] implications of the site, although laboratory analyses of the artifacts will prove informative. Addi- tional tests were made at the Lounsbury site (89ST42) and at the Ramsey site (89ST236), the latter situated midway between 39ST41 and 89ST42. At the Lounsbury site, test pits were excavated into the centers of two circular-house depressions, exposing the central hearths. The overburden was bulldozed from the surface of one house, but the structure was not fully excavated. The Ramsey site appears to be a series of middens only, and a stratigraphic cut, 5 feet by 10 feet, provided an abundance of artifacts but no house remains. These test excavations at the Agency Creek, Lounsbury, and Ramsey sites yielded thin, horizontally incised rim sherds and simple-stamped body sherds characteristic of the Bennett Focus as suggested earlier
SECRETARY’S REPORT 75
at the Black Widow (39ST3) and Meyers (39ST10) sites. This party disbanded on August 25 and returned to the headquarters in Lincoln after 10 weeks in the field.
The fifth River Basin Surveys field party in the Oahe Reservoir area began work on July 25. It consisted of Harold A. Huscher and » a crew of two men and worked primarily on the left bank of the Missouri River in Stanley County, S. Dak. This survey-mapping- testing crew investigated a series of six sites along Black Widow Ridge, 3 to 6 miles above the H. P. Thomas site, mapping and testing each. They are sites 39ST25, 39ST50, 39ST3 (Black Widow), 89ST49, 39ST203, and 39ST201. The Huscher party mapped all four sites being excavated by the Wheeler party, 39ST12, 39ST41, 39ST42, and 39ST236, and mapped and tested three other sites some 10 miles below the H. P. Thomas site. These are sites 395137, 39ST38, and 39ST39. In addition, this party mapped and assisted the McNutt crew in testing the Pitlick site (89HU16) on the left bank of the Missouri River. Huscher was severely injured in a fall from a photo- graphic ladder on August 24, thus terminating the work of this ‘ field party after 4 weeks in the field. Following 514 weeks in the hospital and another month of recuperation, he returned to duty on October 13. The Wheeler and Huscher parties shared a joint field camp near Fort Bennett.
In the Big Bend Reservoir area there were five River Basin Surveys field parties at work at the beginning of the fiscal year. The first con- sisted of a crew of 12 men under the direction of William N. Irving and included an assistant trained in geology to aid in investigations of stratigraphic terrace sequences relating to the geological-archeo- logical interpretations of the sites and their immediate vicinity. This party concentrated its efforts on the excavation of the early occupa- tions of the Medicine Crow site (89BF2), begun last season, and other preceramic sites in the immediate vicinity. These sites are located near Old Fort Thompson on the left bank of the Missouri River, in or near the construction area of the Big Bend Dam, Buffalo County, S. Dak. At the Medicine Crow site, three major occupation zones, each containing two or more components, are distinguishable on the basis of the vertical distribution of point types within a 3- to 6- foot section of primarily aeolian silt. The basal section of a small fluted point was found in the lowermost occupation zone. From the same zone, however, came points that resemble those of the Fron- tier Complex, and others suggesting a long temporal range for the basal portion of the deposit.
Additional investigations were made at two sites, 839BF238 and 39BF250, that had not been recorded previously, and at the Aiken site (39BF215). Only at the latter were immediately significant re-
76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959
sults obtained. Limited excavations there indicated five occupational layers and two well-defined, buried soils. At least two ceramic hori- zons are present, in the upper levels, one with simple-stamped or plain pottery, the other with cord-marked body sherds. Several additional occupations, in stratigraphically earlier positions, have yielded neither pottery nor other diagnostic artifacts. The great depth of deposit and the presence of buried soils may make possible a consid- erable refinement in the stratigraphy of late preceramic remains in the Big Bend Reservoir area. Geological investigations carried on by Alan H. Coogan in the area of the lower portion of this reservoir were intended to obtain information bearing upon chronology and the environmental sequence of the Medicine Crow, Aiken, and other early sites in the area. The possibilities for correlation of terrace, moraine, and other depositional features appear to be excellent. The Irving party disbanded on September 4 and returned to the Lincoln headquarters after 13 weeks in the field.
The second River Basin Surveys party in the field in the Big Bend Reservoir area was a crew of 11 men under the direction of James J. F¥. Deetz. This party spent the entire season in excavation of the late (village occupation) components (areas B and C) of the Medi- cine Crow site (389BF2). The work was done in conjunction with that of the Irving party in an effort to provide a comprehensive pic- ture of the site as a whole. In all, 16 houses were completely exca- vated, and 4 were tested with varying intensity. Included within the houses were 16 cache pits. Eleven cache pits were excavated in the interhouse living areas. A single burial was recovered. Three well- defined components have been established for the ceramic period of this site and a fourth, less adequately outlined component is proposed. The Stanley Component (latest) is characterized by a predominance of Stanley Braced Rim pottery; circular houses, 25 to 30 feet in diam- eter with hard, light-colored floors; mortar pits; and absence of interior cache pits. Five domestic and four specialized house struc- tures are included in this component. The specialized houses were grouped about a “plaza” and included a ceremonial lodge, 50 feet in diameter, with an altar, plastered floor, and silled entrance. The Fort Thompson Component resembles that at the Oacoma site, but may be somewhat later. Talking Crow ware predominates. Houses range from 35 to 40 feet in diameter, have vaguely defined floors, in-floor caches, and lack mortar pits. Four such structures were excavated during the 1958 season. There were two cases of superim- position, with Stanley houses above Fort Thompson houses. A third, unnamed, component is represented by a series of large bell-shaped cache pits excavated in area C. These affiliate most closely with the Two Teeth site (89BF204) a short distance to the southeast. Talking
SECRETARY’S REPORT “4
Crow Straight Rim pottery predominates. The fourth component, occurring in area A, is represented by a house with an indistinct post pattern buried in Stanley and Fort Thompson refuse, The associated ceramics are varied, and at this time no definite assessment can be made of them.
The investigations in areas A and C at the Medicine Crow site represent the first clear-cut Stanley occupation excavated south of the Oahe Reservoir. It is also important to note that a temporal re- lationship can now be established between the components involved. European trade materials found in association with Stanley features may be helpful