LibGuides: Anthropology: Primary Sources for Anthropology & Archaeology

Anthropology / Archaeology Primary Sources

A selection of primary resources of interest to anthropology and archaeology research.

American Folklife Center, Archive of Folk Culture
A project of the Library of Congress, the Archive of Folk Culture includes over three million photographs, manuscripts, audio recordings, and moving images. It consists of documentation of traditional culture from around the world including the earliest field recordings made in the 1890s on wax cylinder through recordings made using digital technology. It is America's first national archive of traditional life, and one of the oldest and largest of such repositories in the world.
American Museum of Natural History
AMNH Anthropology Collections Database
ArchiveGrid
Over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, etc. More than 1,000 archival institutions represented to help researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
Calisphere--Digital Collections via University of California
Calisphere provides free access to unique and historically important artifacts for research, teaching, and curious exploration. Discover over 925,000 photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more.
Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records
COPAR is dedicated to helping anthropologists, librarians, archivists, information specialists and others preserve and provide access to the record of human diversity and the history of the discipline.
Ethnographic Archives via COPAR
Links to ethnographic archives all over the world, provided by COPAR.
Guide to Anthropological Fieldnotes and Manuscripts in Archival Repositories
This guide from the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (COPAR), provides the location of more than 850 collections of ethnographic fieldnotes and manuscripts in non-Smithsonian archives. It complements Guide to the Collections of the National Anthropological Archives, which describes more than 650 collections in the Smithsonian's anthropological archives.
Human Studies Film Archives / NAA / Smithsonian
The HSFA, in conjunction with the National Anthropological Archives, provides a unique repository for audio-visual, paper, and photographic records.
Interactive Digs
Explore archaeology digs around the world via the Archaeological Institute of America and Archaeology Magazine.
Mediateca INAH
The Mediateca of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia de Mexico (INAH) is the open access repository of INAH. Its objective is to preserve and make accessible digital representations of the patrimony of Mexico. / La Mediateca INAH es el repositorio de acceso abierto del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia de México. Tiene como objetivo preservar y hacer accesible la representación digital del patrimonio histórico y cultural bajo su resguardo así como el conocimiento científico que genera a través de sus centros de educación e investigación.
Memory of the World Register via UNESCO
The Memory of the World Register lists documentary heritage which has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, as corresponding to the selection criteria regarding world significance and outstanding universal value.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology serves as a center of stewardship, knowledge, and understanding of the artistic, cultural, and intellectual achievements of the diverse peoples of the Native Southwest.
National Anthropological Archives via Smithsonian
Historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world's cultures and the history of anthropology. The collections represent the four fields of anthropology – ethnology, linguistics, archaeology, and physical anthropology – and include fieldnotes, journals, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, maps, sound recordings, film and video created by Smithsonian anthropologists and other preeminent scholars.
New Mexico Archaeological Records Management Section
ARMS administers the newly-enhanced New Mexico Cultural Resources Information System, the largest automated cultural resources database in the United States.
New Mexico Department of Transportation Cultural Resource Technical Series
Cultural Resource Technical Series via New Mexico Department of Transportation. Archeological, historical preservation studies from across New Mexico.
New Mexico Historic Preservation Division Documents
Online Archive of California
OAC provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses.
Rocky Mountain Online Archive
A comprehensive source of information about archival collections in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. Specialized guides, called finding aids, give detailed descriptions of primary source materials located at twenty-seven different repositories. Search the finding aids to discover what historical materials are available for study and where those collections are located.
Texas Archival Resources Online
TARO (Texas Archival Resources Online) makes descriptions of the rich archival, manuscript, and museum collections in repositories across the state available to the public. The site consists of the collection descriptions or "finding aids" that archives, libraries, and museums create to assist users in locating information in their collections. Consider these an extended table of contents which describe unique materials only available at the individual repositories. In most cases, the collections themselves are NOT available online.

NMSU Archives & Special Collections Websites

NMSU Library Special Collections/Rio Grande Historical Collections/University Archives

For more in-depth research and to find primary sources on many southwest and New Mexico topics, you may want to consult with an Archivist. The Archives and Special Collections Search Room (4^th Floor, Branson Library) is open from 9:00-4:00 M-F. Special Collections contains rare and unique published materials relating to New Mexico history. Materials in Archives include manuscript collections, oral history tapes and transcripts, and photographs. Catalog records for many archival collections can be found in the Library Catalog. For access to photographs, oral histories, and other materials in the Archives, consult Archives web pages.

NMSU Library Catalog
Search the NMSU Library's holdings for books, audio, videos, and more.
Archives and Special Collections
Includes: NMSU Archives (Hobson-Huntsinger University Archives), Senator Pete V. Domenici Archives, Rio Grande Historical Collections (RGHC) and Special Collections.
NMSU Archives: The Hobson-Huntsinger University Archives
This archive preserves, houses, and makes accessible all records of enduring value created by administrators, faculty, students and alumni of New Mexico State University. Through these materials, the University Archives seeks to illuminate the history, evolution, and societal role of New Mexico State University.
Rio Grande Historical Collections
RGHC acquires, preserves, and makes available for research records of organizations, personal papers, and other unpublished materials which document the cultural heritage and history of New Mexico and the Southwestern experience. Major RGHC holdings include the Amador Trade Catalogs; Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango, Mexico; Archivo General de Notarías de Durango, Mexico; oral histories; and photographs which span 150 years of New Mexico history.
NMSU Library Digital Collections
Highlights include:
Photographic Collections More than 500,000 photographic items from the Rio Grande Historical Collections, with materials that cover almost 150 years of image making in New Mexico and the Southwest and pertain to all aspects of the state's cultural heritage.
Extension Publications This collection of approximately 3,200 documents provides over 100 years of research-based information about agriculture, health, economics, family life and natural resources. It includes Circulars, Guides, Handbooks, Annual Data Reports, Research Reports and Bulletins, Technical Reports and Task Force Reports from 1890 to present.

Round Up (NMSU) This link opens in a new window
NMSU's student-run newspapers The Round Up and The New Mexico Collegian from 1893 – 1999

NMSU Yearbooks
The NMSU Yearbooks collection consists of 95 editions of the student yearbook, from its first publication in 1907 to its final edition in 1992. Originally named the Swastika, and later renamed The Phoenix, these student yearbooks contain a wealth of university history and nostalgia.
Rocky Mountain Online Archive
RMOA provides online access to hundreds of finding aids and guides for archival collections in several major historical repositories in New Mexico, including the Rio Grande Historical Collections (NMSU), the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, and the Fray Angélico Chavez Library at the Palace of the Governors.

NMSU Library Databases for Primary Source Material

The following databases can be used to find primary source materials, mainly those published in newspapers and periodicals from a particular time and place that may provide contemporary accounts of historical events.

American Periodical Series Online, 1740-1900 This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images of pages of more than 1,100 American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Coverage spans nearly 200 years-from colonial times to the advent of American involvement in WWII. Periodical articles from the time of an event may be used as primary sources.
American State Papers, 1789-1838 This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source material on many aspects of early American history from 1789 to 1838 and consists of approximately 6280 numbered publications, largely Congressional but also containing Executive Department materials, issued from 1832-1861.
Archive of Americana This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Includes: American State Papers, 1789-1838; the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980; and the Serial Set Maps.
Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press This link opens in a new window
150 years of news coverage documenting the voice of the Mexican and Mexican American community from the mid-1800s to the 1970s.
Lexis-Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to current news, business, legal, and reference information.
Informe Académico This link opens in a new window
Informe Académico proporciona acceso a periódicos y revistas especializadas de lengua española y portuguesa. La base de datos ofrece una amplia gama de contenidos sobre América Latina.

Informe Académico provides access to Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines. The database offers a wide range of content both from and about Latin America.
New Mexico Newspapers (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
The electronic editions of record for several New Mexico newspapers.
New York Times, 1851-2020 This link opens in a new window
Offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Special Collections @ University of Texas at El Paso

The C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department is located on the sixth floor at the University of Texas at El Paso Library. The book collections include the Chicano Collection, the Judaica Collection, the S. L. A. Marshall Military History Collection, the Southwest and Border Studies Collection, as well as collections of art and rare books. In addition to printed sources, the department has manuscript and archival collections available. There is also an oral history collection documenting the region.

Oral History Collections
The Institute of Oral History was established in 1972 for the purpose of "preserving the history of the region adjacent to the Rio Grande both in the United States and in Mexico." Since that time, the Institute has built one of the largest border-related oral history collections in the United States. Search oral history recordings by keywords.
Photographic Images Collections
Border History Manuscript Collections
A selected list of the approximately 565 manuscript collections held in the Special Collections Department of the University of Texas at El Paso Library.

Open Access Primary Sources--selected

A very short list of public domain / open access digital resources available through the internet.

American Memory, Library of Congress
American Memory provides free and open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
Bodleian Library Digital Collections, University of Oxford
Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science.
New York Public Library Public Domain Digital Collections
World Digital Library--Library of Congress
WDL is a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, carried out with the support of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), and in cooperation with libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations from around the world. The WDL makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from all countries and cultures.

How to Cite

Chicago / Turabian Documentation Style
Chicago Style is the preferred citation and writing style for historical research
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Purdue OWL Guide to Chicago Manual of Style
Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
Online guide for writing history papers

Anthropology

Subject headings for Primary Source Materials

Subject Guide