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AZ - 1881-1882 - Bureau of American Ethnology, Navajo Weaving & Arts, Mayas and Omahas (1881-82) Vol

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AZ - 1881-1882 - Bureau of American Ethnology, Navajo Weaving & Arts, Mayas and Omahas (1881-82) Vol
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Includes the following papers: 1) "Introductory" by J.W. Powell, Director. 2) "Maya and Mexican Manuscripts" by Prof. Cyrus Thomas, with accompanying black and white and (2) full color reproductions of the Fejervary and Vatican Maya Codices. Includes complex overview of the Mayan calendar with associated discussion to reference of elements, assignment of days, and assignments of colors to the cardinal points. Further investigation of the relation between Maya and Mexican symbols. 3) "Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs" by William Healey Dall. Dall was the Honorary Curator of the U.S. National Museum during this time. Includes classification of masks, a section on preserving the human head, comparisons of masks from the South Seas, Peru, New Mexico and Arizona, Northwestern coastal tribes, Inuit, Aleutian, and Iroquois tribes with accompanying plate illustrations. 4) "Omaha Sociology" by Rev. J. Owen Dorsey. Dorsey compiled extensive dictionaries of the Omaha and Ponca tribe during his association with the Smithsonian. He was said to be apt to learn difficult and complex languages which won him favor with tribes in Nebraska. His mastery of the Siouan language is notable in this paper which starts out with the Siouan alphabet. Subjects discussed in this paper include present state of the Omahas, laws of membership, class structure, kinship system and marriage laws, courtship and marriage customs, pregnancy, and children. Includes 4 plate illustrations and 30 figures. 5) "Navajo Weavers" by Dr. Washington Matthews, U.S.A. After serving as a surgeon for the Union Army, Matthews was assigned by the Bureau of Ethnology to a fort in New Mexico where he came to do his most notable research on the Navajo. Here he discusses the art of Navajo weaving, noting that it is of an aboriginal origin. Includes 5 plate illustrations and 17 figures including one of the Navajo loom and several of Navajo blankets. 6) "Prehistoric Textile Fabrics of the United States Derived from Impressions on Pottery" by William H. Holmes. Holmes wrote two extensive works on pottery and became an expert in the area of prehistoric and modern textiles and pottery made by Native Americans of the South Western United States. This paper was written prior to Holmes' official affiliation with the Bureau of Ethnology. At this time he was doing work for the U.S. Geological Survey. Contents to the paper include 6 groups of fabrics made by Native Americans. Most of his research came from fabric impressions in clay and there are many photographic and illustrative examples. In the back of this 1881 volume is a lengthy illustrated catalog of a "Portion of the Collections Made by the Bureau of Ethnology during the Field Season of 1881. Includes text written by Holmes and nearly 100 plates, illustrations, and figures. Extensive index at back. Hardbound in brown cloth with lettering and Native Person in gilt. A few pages are loose from the spine but intact. - Vinegar Collection