Alabama Anthropological Society records
-
No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
This collection contains a variety of materials, primarily from the early part of the twentieth century, of the Alabama Anthropological Society. A significant portion of the collection is made up of correspondence (incoming and outgoing) of Peter Brannon, founding member and the Society's second president. There are also several papers or reports on Indian relics, as well as other anthropological interests. There is also a photo album containing photographs and newspaper clippings documenting Alabama Anthropological Society field trips from 1920-1922. The photographs were taken at archaeological sites in Dallas County, Macon County, and Elmore County. Newspaper clippings include obituary notices for society founder Thomas McAdory Owen, announcements, and reports on anthropological events in Alabama.
Dates
- Creation: 1920-1922, 1958
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1920 - 1922
Creator
- Brannon, Peter A. (Peter Alexander) (Person)
- Williams, A. S., III (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.
Biographical / Historical
The Alabama Anthropological Society was founded in 1909 by Alabama Department of Archives and History Director Thomas McAdory Owen and founding members Peter Brannon, Henry S. Halbert, Herbert B. Battle, Buckner Beasley, Edgar C. Horton, J.T. Letcher, and J. H. Paterson.
Following Owen's death in 1920, Brannon became president of the society and began publishing the newsletter Arrow Points. During the 1920s, when the club was most active, members participated in archaeological digs throughout Alabama, and many donated the artifacts they excavated to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. By the 1930s, the group's activities declined significantly as larger-scaled archaeological programs came to the fore. The society ended with the death of its last original members in the 1960s.
Sources: "The Alabama Anthropological Society: Alabama's Pioneer Archaeologists," Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://www.archives.alabama.gov/discoveryboxes/The%20Alabama%20Anthropological%20SocietyONLINE.pdf.
Waselkov, Gregory A. "A History of the Alabama Anthropological Society," Southeastern Archaeology 13, no. 1 (Summer 1994): 64-76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40713018.
Extent
0.2 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Records of this early Alabama society, including correspondence, reports, newsletters, and photographs.
Physical Location
The A. S. Williams III Americana Collection, Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, The University of Alabama
Provenance
Gift of A. S. Williams III, 2010
General
Title on spines: Alabama Anthropological Society Photo Album of Field Trips, 1920-1921, and Annals of the Alabama Anthropological Society
Processed by
Haley Aaron and Martha Bace, 2013
Subject
- Alabama Anthropological Society (Organization)
- Owen, Thomas McAdory (Person)
Source
- Williams, A. S., III (Donor, Person)
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Alabama Anthropological Society records
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- August 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository