Lothrop, Samuel Kirkland and Joy Mahler Lothrop Papers, 1911-1992
Overview
These papers contain material related to Samuel Lothrop's fieldwork in Central and South America as well as to work done by his wife, Joy Mahler Lothrop, on indigenous textiles of Central and South America. Accession (996-27) is the second accession of Lothrop materials to the Peabody Museum Archives. The first accession (996-20) was found in the museum. Accession 996-27 was donated to the museum from the Lothrop Estate in 1996
Dates
- Creation: 1911-1992
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted
Extent
8 linear feetThese papers contain material related to Samuel Lothrop's fieldwork in Central and South America as well as to work done by his wife, Joy Mahler Lothrop, on indigenous textiles of Central and South America. Of special note are the materials relating to Lothrop's work in Venado Beach, Honduras, which are entirely unpublished. The papers are arranged in the following series:
Biographical Sketch
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop (1892-1965) devoted his career to the archaeology of Central and South America. His field work and exploration included work done under Alfred V. Kidder for the Andover Museum in Pecos, New Mexico 1915; for Harvard University in Costa Rica 1948-49, in Honduras 1915-17, and in Panama 1933, 1940, and 1951; for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D. C., in the Yucatan 1923 and Guatemala 1932-33; for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in Argentina and Peru 1924-25; and for the Institute of Andean Research in Peru 1941-44.
His appointments at the Peabody Museum included Associate in Anthropology 1919 and 1934 and Research Associate in Anthropology for M. Dale 1935-39. His curatorial career began in 1940 as Assistant Curator of Middle American Archaeology, becoming head curator of that collection in 1944. Samuel Lothrop was Curator of the Peabody Museum's Andean Archaeology collection from 1947 -1960.
Samuel Lothrop received his B.A. from Harvard in 1915 and Ph.D. in 1921. He married Rachel Warren in 1914, Eleanor Bachman in 1929, and Joy Mahler in 1958, all of whom worked with him on his archaeological research to varying degrees.
Very little information is available about Joy Mahler Lothrop. Also an archaeologist, she primarily studied indigenous textiles. Her activities included work for the Peabody Museum (1950s) and for the American Museum of Natural History. In the late fifties she collaborated on several publications with Samuel Lothrop, whom she married in 1958. Her independent work was published before, during and after her marriage. She died in 1996.
Arrangement
- Series I Field Notes (SKL)
- Series II Manuscripts (SKL)
- Series III Correspondence (SKL)
- Series IV Research Notes (SKL)
- Series V Research Materials (SKL)
- Series VI PersonalMaterials (SKL)
- Series VII Photographs and Illustrations (SKL)
- Series VIII Manuscripts (JML)
- Series IX Research Notes (JML)
- Series X Correspondence (JML)
- Series XI MiscellaneousMaterials (JML)
- Series XII Photographs (JML)
Series Descriptions--Samuel K. Lothrop
- I. Field Notes 1917-1949
This series includes notebooks, journals, and loose notesrelating to Samuel Lothrop's field work in Central and South America. The fieldwork wasconducted in Argentina (1924-25), Costa Rica (1948-1949), Guatemala and El Salvador (1926),Guatemala (1928, 1932),Honduras (1917, 1947), Mexico (1922), Panama (1930-31, 1940, 1950-51), and Peru (1940-44, 1946-47).
- II. Manuscripts 1923-1966
This series containsmanuscripts, illustrations and proofs for several of Samuel Lothrop's publications and articles,including "Archaeology of Lower Central America" (1966), Archaeology of the DiquísDelta, Costa Rica (1963), "Early Migrations to Central and South America" (1961), and Zacualpa: A Study of Ancient Quiche (1936). There are illustrations, but nomanuscripts, for Atitlan: an archaeological study of ancient remains on the borders ofLake Atitlan, Guatemala (1933), Metals from the Cenote of Sacrifice, ChichénItzá, Yucatán (1952); Pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua (1926); and Tulum: an archaeological study of the east coast of Yucatán (1924). Alsoincluded are drafts of apparently unpublished works on the Rio San Juan in Nicaragua, "MinorAntiquities of Porto Rico" (with Rachel Warren Lothrop), and on Venado Beach , Panama. The manuscript of a monograph on thearchaeology of Venado Beach was Samuel Lothrop's current project at the time of his death, and,although Joy Mahler Lothrop continued work on it, the volume was never completed.
- III. Correspondence 1948-1961
Most ofthis material is correspondence with friends and colleagues pertaining to archaeology in Panama,particularly Venado Beach. Also included in this series is materialon nominations to the Anthropology Section of the National Academy of Sciences for 1960. Additional correspondence is with related material in the other series; see the correspondentsindex on p.13.
- IV. Research Notes 1927-1964
These include notes taken at archaeology lectures in Europe, but primarily consistof materials compiled in the course of research for Samuel Lothrop's publications
- V. Research Materials 1941-1947
These reportsto the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church about missionary work inGuatemala were collected by Eleanor Bachman Lothrop in 1947.
- VI. Personal Materials 1913-1952
Materials include a journal from a 1913 trip to Utah while an undergraduate, two undated addressbooks, and various items from a trip to Europe for the International Congress ofAmericanists meeting in Cambridge, England in 1952. The items from this tripinclude calling cards, address lists, maps, a pamphlet about Ely Cathedral, and the program from the meeting.
- VII. Photographs and Illustrations 1915-1956
This series consists primarily of photographs and illustrations of artifacts from Central and South America. The series also contains two scrapbooks, one containing photographs of Chilean Indians and the other from Samuel Lothrop's field work in Pecos, New Mexico under Alfred V. Kidder. A few photographs are of places Lothrop visited, including areas around Venado Beach. See also the list of field photographs separated to Photo Archives (p.17).
Series Descriptions--Joy Mahler Lothrop
- VIII. Manuscripts 1957-1992
This series includes drafts andmanuscripts on the textiles of Peru, Argentina, and Mexico and the Maya Lowlands. Thematerial on Peru includes a manuscript for "An analysis of late period textiles and associateditems from Pachacamac" (n.d.). Also related to Peru are the dye analyses done by William J.Young which were included as appendices to Samuel Lothrop and Joy Mahler [Lothrop's] AChancay-Style Grave at Zapallan, Peru and Late Nazca Burials in Chaviña, Peru (both 1957). The Argentina material consists of a draft of the introduction to a paper on Chaco textiles, withrelated notes.
Most of Joy Mahler Lothrop's writing was concerned with the textilesrecovered from the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán. This includes a paper preparedfor the April 1982 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The chapter "Garments and Textiles of the Maya Lowlands," written for the Handbook of MiddleAmerican Indians (1966), is based primarily on the Cenote evidence. Her largest project was thereport on the Cenote textiles which appeared as a chapter in Artifacts from the Cenote ofSacrifice, Chichen Itza, Yucatan (1992). In conjunction with this project, Joy Mahler Lothropalso retained draft copies of the first two chapters from the book, "The Sacred Well of the Itzaes"by Edward H. Thompson and "Dredging the Cenote" by Clemency C. Coggins. Thesemanuscripts are also included in this series.
- IX. Research Notes 1930-1981, n. d.
Joy Mahler Lothrop compiled these notes whilestudying various aspects of textiles, both generally and in connection to her writings. Included inthis series are Elsie McDougall's notes and correspondence with Alfred Tozzer and Junius Bird(1934-52), as well as Joy Mahler Lothrop's notes on the McDougall-Tozzer correspondence. Inaddition to her studies of Mexican and Peruvian textiles, as evidenced by her manuscripts, JoyMahler Lothrop became interested in textiles from the Eastern Woodland Indians of the UnitedStates because of their similarity to the twined fabrics found in Peru.
- X. Correspondence 1952-1981
This includes letters toand from Joy Mahler Lothrop concerning her work, particularly with the textiles from ChichénItzá, Yucatán. Also included are a letter concerning an obituary for Samuel Lothrop and oneasking for information about a figurine of a weaver that the Lothrops owned at one time. Seecorrespondent index to search for names (p.13).
- XI. Miscellaneous Materials 1953-1961, n.d.
These include anannouncement of the founding of the Association for Latin American Studies in 1959, a postcardfrom an unidentified correspondent, a photograph of an unidentified town, and a page from anarticle on Chichén Itzá.
- XII. Photographs 1952-1953, n.d.
These include photographs of textiles from Chichén Itzá, Yucatán,and from Chaviña and Zapallan, Peru. Other photographs show the Maya textile exhibit from theChicago Natural History Museum. See also the list of field photographs separated to PhotoArchives (p.17).
Physical Location
Peabody Museum Archives
Immediate Source of Acquisition
996-27
These papers are a gift of Lothrop Estate
1996.
General note
Collections records may contain language, reflecting past collecting practices and methods of analysis, that is no longer acceptable. The Peabody Museum is committed to addressing the problem of offensive and discriminatory language present in its database. Our museum staff are continually updating these records, adding to and improving content. We welcome your feedback and any questions or concerns you may want to share.
Processed by:
Melissa Gottwald; amended by Sarah Demb , Archivist
June 1999
Correspondents Index
- Anderson, L. K. [Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions]: 2.6
- Barnum, William [Carnegie Institute]: 3.10
- Bird, Junius: 1.12, 4.15, 5.15,7.16, 7.26
- Bliss, Robert Woods: 1.9, 3.17, 5.20
- Bond, Sally [PeabodyMuseum]: 7.8
- Bradford,Ned [Little, Brown, & Co.] (copy): 1.5
- Brown, J. May: 3.12
- Butler, Lawton [U.S. Army, Canal Zone] (copy): 4.8
- Coggins, Clemency [Peabody Museum]: 7.8
- Cole, Lois Dwight [G.P. Putnam's Sons]: 1.5, 5.15
- Cole, Lois Dwight [William Morrow & Co.]: 1.5
- Coughlin, Elizabeth [Peabody Museum] (copy): 6.29
- Curtis, Karl: 3.17, 4.8, 4.9, 5.3, 5.11
- Dade, Philip L.: 3.7, 4.14
- Danielson, Richard: 1.5
- de Vries, Hessel (copy): 4.15
- Deevey, Edward S. [Yale University]: 4.15
- Delgado, Hilda S. [Indiana State University]: 7.30
- Denny, Charles S. [US Dept. of the Interior]: 4.15
- Doyle, Gerald A.: 3.17
- Eckholm, Gordon F. [American Museum of Natural History]: 7.7 (copy), 7.30
- Emmerich,Andre: 4.8
- Evans, Clifford [Smithsonian Institution]: 4.15
- Fate, L.R. [US Dept. of Agriculture]: 4.15
- Grefe, Grace: 4.15
- Guernsey, Isabel [Peabody Museum]: 1.9
- Haberland, Wolfgang [Hamburgisches Museum Fur Volkerkunde und Borgeschichte]: 5.11
- Harte, Neville A.: 4.8, 6.22
- Haury, Emil: 5.16
- Johnson, Frederick (copy) [Peabody Foundation for Archaeology]: 4.15
- Ladd,John: 7.17
- Lothrop, Joy Mahler: 7.6, 7.8, 7.17, 7.26, 7.30
- Lothrop, Samuel: 1.9, 4.14, 4.15
- Marmer, Harry A. [US Coast and Geodetic Survey]: 4.15
- McDougall, Elsie: 7.30, 7.33, 7.35, 7.36
- McElroy, Keith: 7.17
- Mitchell, Russell: 4.8, 5.11
- Raup, Hugh M.[Harvard Forest] (copy): 4.15
- Rosenthal, Mrs. Mitchell [Jane] [The Brooklyn Museum]: 6.34
- Roys, Ralph L.: 7.17
- Schultes, Richard E. [Instituto Ciencias Naturales, Colombia]: 7.33
- Scott, Donald [Peabody Museum]: 1.9
- Stewart, T. Dale [Smithsonian Institution]: 4.8
- Stumer, Louis M. (copy): 6.30
- Swerdlow, Victoria [Peabody Museum]: 7.11
- Thompson, EdwardH. (copy): 7.22
- Tozzer, Alfred: 7.35
- Vignati, Milciades Alejo [Museo de La Plata]: 5.11
- Vinton, Kenneth W.: 4.8, 4.15, 5.10
- Wauchope, Robert [Tulane University]: 7.7
- Weinberg, Gladys D. [Archaeological Institute of America]: 5.26
- Willey, Gordon [Peabody Museum]: 4.8, 7.7
- Williams, Stephen: 7.8
- Woodring, W. P. [US Dept of the Interior]: 4.15
- Title
- Lothrop, Samuel Kirkland and Joy Mahler Lothrop Papers, 1911-1992 : A Finding Aid
- Author
- Peabody Museum Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- pea00035
Repository Details
Part of the Peabody Museum Archives Repository
Papers in the Peabody Museum Archives consist of primary source materials that document the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic research and fieldwork since its founding in 1866. More than 2,800 feet of archival paper collections contain documents, papers, manuscripts, correspondence, data, field notes, maps, plans, and other historical records that represent diverse peoples from around the world, and which were created or collected by the Museum, its individual affiliates, or related entities. The collections also document the history or provenience, as well as the creation of, many of the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic collections.