Dates
- 1931 - 2014
- undated
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
Conditions Governing Access
The Peabody Museum Archives aims to make papers and records as accessible as possible to researchers, subject to University and other policies. Some donations are made under an agreement that includes reasonable restrictions for limited periods of time. Per the Deed of Gift, Merchants' Barrio records are closed to external researchers until 12/31/2026 at the latest.
Extent
39 linear feetBiographical / Historical
Evelyn Childs Rattray was born in 1923 in the United States. When she moved to Mexico with her husband she began taking courses in archaeology at the University of Americas (U of A). During this time, she worked on the Oaxaca Project and earned her master’s degree at U of A. She later spent 3 years in Missouri so she could earn PhD at the University of Missouri-Columbia, conferred in 1973. After her husband’s death, Dr. Rattray moved back to Mexico to teach at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). As a professor, she did extensive research on Teotihuacan, making significant contributions to the field of archaeology in the process. For example, she utilized cutting edge techniques such as radiocarbon dating and neutron activation analysis on ceramics to establish and update the chronology of Teotihuacan’s history and cultural interactions. Much of her work is focused on ceramics, especially Thin Orange Ware. Her research and scholarship have advanced knowledge of trade and exchange in the city of Teotihuacan. Dr. Rattray took sabbaticals that brought her to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (PMAE) at Havard University for her extensive research.
Dr. Rattray focused her research and career on studying Teotihuacan, although she also worked in Honduras, Israel, and Southern Puebla. A few of her most influential projects include the Teotihuacan Mapping Project, the Thin Orange Project, the Merchants’ Barrio Project, and her Teotihuacan Chronology work.
In 2011, Dr. Rattray pledged her archive to the PMAE to complement a Pueblo Perdido Teotihuacan Ceramic Type Collection she donated in 1989.
Arrangement
Unless otherwise stated, materials are arranged chronologically, with undated materials at the end. Correspondence and/or miscellaneous folders are at the end of each sub-series. Miscellaneous folders generally consist of materials that are unidentifiable. Most created file titles are in English; but original file titles created by Dr. Rattray may be in English or Spanish. Whichever language is on the original folder is the one maintained in this finding aid since original file titles were copied exactly from the original folder.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Evelyn Childs Rattray
Support for preparing and transferring the Evelyn Rattray papers to the Peabody Museum was provided by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Historical Archives Program (HAP).
Most of the materials from this collection came from the residence of Alison Rattray, Evelyn Rattray's daughter, in Frederick, MD. A select portion was stored separately and came from Evelyn Rattray's home office in Plymouth, MA.
Bibliography
Rattray, Evelyn Childs, Jaime Litvak King, and Clara Luz Díaz Oyarzábal. 1981. Interacción cultural en México central. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Rattray, Evelyn Childs. 1992. The Teotihuacan burials and offerings: a commentary and inventory. Nashville, Tenn: Vanderbilt University.
Rattray, Evelyn Childs. 1993. The Oaxaca barrio at Teotihuacan. Puebla: Instituto de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de las Americas.
Rattray, Evelyn Childs. 1997. Entierros y ofrendas en Teotihuacan: excavaciones, inventario, patrones mortuorios. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas.
Coloquio Pedro Bosch-Gimpera, and Evelyn Childs Rattray. 1998. Rutas de intercambio en Mesoamérica: III Coloquio Pedro Bosch-Gimpera. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas.
Rattray, Evelyn Childs. 2001. Teotihuacan: ceramics, chronology, and cultural trends = Teotihuacan : cerámica, cronología y tendencias culturales. México: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
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.
Processing Information
All text in [brackets] indicates a created title while un-bracketed text is copied verbatim from the original folder - spelling mistakes included. If exact duplicates were identified then two clean copies and any copies with handwriting or notes of any kind were kept and the rest recycled. If there was any doubt as to the exactness of a duplicate it was kept.
Processing Information
Processed by Emily A. Pastore, Archives Assistant, January 2017 - March 2019. Pastore rehoused, arranged, and described the collection and wrote the finding aid.
Barbara Fash (the Director of the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Program and Mesoamerican Laboratory), Jennifer Carballo (Curatorial Assistant), Laura Lacombe (Curatorial Assistant), and Katherine Satriano (Associate Archivist), began processing the collection in Frederick, MD. They completed an initial inventory and conducted appraisal, with Fash and Carballo providing curatorial input and subject expertise. They prepared the materials for processing by the Archives Assistant.
- Copán Acropolis Archaeological Project
- Correspondence
- Drawings.
- Field notes
- Gezer Site (Israel)
- Indian pottery--Mexico--Puebla (State)
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Mexico)
- Manuscripts (documents)
- Maps
- Photographs
- Pottery, Prehistoric--Mexico
- Publications.
- Puebla (Mexico : State)--Antiquities.
- Teotihuacán Site (San Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Title
- Evelyn Childs Rattray papers
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
- Date
- 2018
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- pea00089
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.