Library resources for
Writing in Anthropology ANT 4930

Reference and research resources for anthropology

The library's print reference collection is a time saver especially as you begin research, helping to direct your online work with the library catalog, academic journal indexes and research databases much more efficiently. Use the Reference Universe online as an index to reference works both in print and available in electronic format. The Research Gateway provides a topical organization to databases available to UF students, faculty and staff. Note that the link to Subject Guides & Specialists provides access to pages for our local Area Studies programs as well. Finally, the Key Resources for Anthropology page brings together many specialized resources for work in this field, including a guide to ethnographic films in the libraries.

Manuscripts and primary resources

What is a primary source?. "Research using primary sources is much like assembling a puzzle, except that the pieces are not necessarily all in the same box, or even in one collection! Even when all the pieces are collected, they still need to be interpreted and synthesized into an argument. Used as building blocks, primary sources can be used to answer a wide variety of research questions." This page is intended to assist you in putting some of these pieces together from the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections. For manuscripts and archives elsewhere, we currently have access to both Archives USA and ArchiveGrid, databases of manuscript and archive resources throughout the country, which may be useful if you pursue advanced work with primary sources.

Finding aids to all manuscript collections in the are searchable (but direct links on names below should bring you directly to each of those included here). All finding aids can be browsed online or printed before coming in, as a way to make the most of one’s time in the Research Room. The following list is not comprehensive, but is intended to demonstrate that many examples of primary materials useful in anthropological writing projects are available in the Smathers Libraries.

As noted in class, the digital collections of The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program are available in full text and online as an excellent source for anthropology projects. Also discussed was the Padre Cicero exhibit of materials donated by Professor Ralph Della Cava.

Selected manuscript collections

Barcena, Mariano. 1895. Manuscript written by Mariano Barcena entitled "El Hombre Prehistorico en Mexico" (Prehistoric Man in Mexico). Ms Group 112 2/13.

Berner, Lewis. Papers, 1933-1955. Entomologist and professor. Conducted entomological and malaria research in Africa (Accra, Ghana; the Volta River Basin; and, the Shire River, Nyasaland). Photographs, correspondence, field notes, reports, papers for presentations, maps, publications, and postcards. 8 boxes; 3 ln.ft. Ms Group 155.

Braga Brothers. Records, 1860-1970. Business records of the Czarnikow-Rionda Company and its affiliates. The collection documents the development of the Cuban sugar industry from the 1870s to 1960. 500 linear feet.

Brown, Everett, C. Collection, 1919-1921. Brown was an engineer and surveyor for the United Fruit Company and worked in Cuba and Costa Rica. 105 items.

Capron, Louis Bishop. Papers. Student of Indian life and culture; author of fiction and nonfiction works about the Seminole Indians of Florida. Personal correspondence and manuscripts intended for publication. Gift of Clara Hunter Capron. 1 ln.ft.

Cohen, Ronald. Papers, 1950-1996. Anthropologist and ethnographer. Field notes, writings, correspondence, and other research related to Nigeria. 9.25 ln.ft. Ms Group 142.

Crosby, Platt Hiram. Papers, 1821-1869. Correspondence, writings, and other materials created by Platt Hiram Crosby while living in Peru, primarily pertaining to Peruvian and South American history. 0.5 ln.ft. Ms Group 208.

Cuba en 1925 Photograph Album. Circa 1925. Album entitled "Cuba en 1925, Commandante M. Gajate," featuring hundreds of photographs of people and places in Cuba. Ms Group 216.

DeVane, Albert. Collection, 1950-1966. A portion of the papers and photographs of a historian who focused his life on Seminole Indian culture, particularly the Seminole Indians from the Brighton Reservation. Ms 212.

Elmendorf, Mary Lindsay. Papers, 1931-2006. Papers of applied anthropologist who studied the role of women in a Mayan village and has been a leader in the involvement of women in water supply and sanitation and other forms of appropriate technology. 45.75 ln/ft. MS Group 93.

Goggin, John M. (John Mann). Papers, 1948-1963. Archaeologist and University of Florida faculty member. Correspondence and notes on archaeology and archaeological investigations in Florida, elsewhere in the southeastern United States, and the Caribbean. Gift of Dr. Margaret Knox Goggin (Mrs. John M. Goggin). 4 ln.ft.

Quinn, Rex. Papers, 1892-1970 (bulk 1950-1968). Superintendent, Seminole Agency (Bureau of Indian Affairs). Reports, correspondence, financial statements, publications. 18 boxes (6.75 linear ft.)

Rikli, Martin. Photographs, 1935-1936. Photographs by cinematographer/photographer Martin Rikli documenting his Ethiopian (Abessinien) expedition, which coincided with the second Italo-Abyssinian War. 4 albums. Ms. Group 184.

Wagley, Charles. Papers, 1937-1965. Part of University Archives Manuscript Collections.