The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology Chiapas Project Records 1942-circa 1990s
© 2018 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | University of Chicago. Department of Anthropology. Chiapas Project. Records |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1942-circa 1990s |
| Size: | 6 linear feet (10 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Department of Anthropology Chiapas Project records document the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology's research projects in the Mexican state of Chiapas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The projects aimed to investigate the language, culture, environment, and history of local Maya communities. The first phase of research, known as the Man in Nature Project, ran from 1956-1959. The second phase, known as the Chiapas Project, began in 1960, and the final report was produced in 1964. The collection contains project applications and bibliographies; brochures, correspondence, and administrative documents related to project housing, personnel, finances, and equipment; notes; a small amount of research material; financial records; photographs and slide film depicting the project team, indigenous people, and field work locations; and bound copies of final project reports. The material ranges in date from 1942-circa 1990s, with the bulk dating from 1958-1962. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Department of Anthropology. Chiapas Project. Records [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology sponsored several grant-funded research projects in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The first, formally known as the Man in Nature Project, ran from 1956-1959 and was primarily funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. It began as a two-year project with University of Chicago anthropologist Sol Tax as coordinator and was extended an additional year, for which Norman McQuown took over as coordinator. The project originally intended to make use of a multidisciplinary team to investigate land use, ecology, and agriculture among the Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya people of Chiapas. According to the project report's introduction, it aimed to put a "particular focus on the historical dimension and on the dynamics of relations between culture and environment." However, the project evolved and investigators ultimately put less emphasis on "the ethnohistorical aspects" and more on using social anthropology and linguistics to investigate present-day Maya societies in Chiapas.
The second phase of the Department of Anthropology's research in Chiapas was known as the Chiapas Project, and it built on the work of the Man in Nature Project. Work began in 1960 and the final report was produced in 1964. The project was led by University of Chicago anthropologists Norman McQuown and Julian Pitt-Rivers and was supported by two major grants and additional supplementary funding. The first grant, from the National Institute of Mental Health, supported work "to investigate the social organization, language, and values of the populations of the central highlands of Chiapas," according to the project report. The second grant, from the National Science Foundation, proposed to make use of "archeology, documentary research, and historical linguistics" to investigate the origins and history of Chiapas' Tzeltal and Tzotzil communities. In this phase, work of Chiapas Project team members remained more in line with their original project goals, and they ultimately produced numerous detailed linguistic and cultural studies of indigenous communities in Chiapas.
The Department of Anthropology Chiapas Project Records are organized into five series:
I. Administrative
II. Financial
III. Reports
IV. Audiovisual
V. Oversize
Series I, Administrative, contains grant applications and project bibliographies; brochures, correspondence, inventories, rental agreements, and other documents related to project housing, personnel, and equipment; notes; and a few miscellaneous research outlines, logs, instruction sheets and workbooks. The material ranges in date from 1954-circa 1990s, with the bulk dating from 1958-1962.
Series II, Financial, contains financial and budget records from the National Institute of Mental Health and National Science Foundation grants that provided funding for the University of Chicago's work in Chiapas. It includes travel advance and expense vouchers, receipts, notes, correspondence related to financial matters, expense lists, ledgers, and budget statements. The material ranges in date from 1958-1983, with the bulk dating from 1958-1964.
Series III, Reports, contains bound volumes of the final reports on the Man in Nature Project and Chiapas Project as well as a roster of informants from both projects. The report on the Man in Nature Project is divided into three parts. The material ranges in date from 1959-1971.
Series IV, Audiovisual, contains photographs, negatives, and slide film that depict landscapes, indigenous people, and project staff in Mexico and Guatemala. The series ranges in date from 1942-1962, with some undated material.
Series V, Oversize, contains material that is too large to fit in standard legal-sized folders, such as ledgers and charts. It is all from the financial series and has been arranged in the same manner as that series, alphabetically. The material ranges in date from 1960-1963.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
Norman A. McQuown. Papers [The McQuown Papers contain a significant amount of additional Chiapas Project material, so researchers interested in this topic should be sure to consult them as well.]
Department of Anthropology. Records
Sol Tax. Papers
Series I: Administrative |
This series contains grant applications and project bibliographies; brochures, correspondence, inventories, rental agreements, and other documents related to project housing, personnel, and equipment; notes; and a few miscellaneous research outlines, logs, instruction sheets and workbooks. Much of the material appears to have been created by anthropologist Norman McQuown or Department of Anthropology staff member Norene G. Huntley. The material is arranged alphabetically and ranges in date from 1954-circa 1990s, with the bulk dating from 1958-1962.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Applications to the National Institutes of Health, including "Tzeltal-Tzotzil Culture Change A Sociolinguistic Controlled Comparison," "Social and Linguistic Indices of Cultural Change," and "Tzeltal-Tzotzil Sociolinguistic Data Processing," 1959-1962 [includes related correspondence and project statements] |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Application to the National Science Foundation "Highland Maya Ethnohistory A Study in Documentary Evaluation," copy 1, circa 1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Application to the National Science Foundation "Highland Maya Ethnohistory A Study in Documentary Evaluation," copy 2 - stencils, circa 1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Bibliography of Chiapas project file, circa 1960s |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Bibliography, University of Chicago Chiapas Field Projects, 1956-1962, circa 1990s |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Casa Chicago / Chicago House (project housing and headquarters) floorplan, correspondence (mostly Norman McQuown), equipment inventory, rental agreements, and miscellaneous documents, 1960-1962, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Casa Chicago / Chicago House informants' work schedules, pay schedules, and assignments, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Correspondence, mostly Norene Huntley and/or Norman McQuown regarding administrative, financial, and personnel matters, 1959-1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Equipment Butoba and other tape recorders correspondence and brochures, 1960-1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Equipment tape and accessories, receipts and brochures, 1956-1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | Equipment vehicles, including license, Land Rover, and International Travel-All, 1957-1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Equipment vehicles Land Rover, 1956-1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | Equipment vehicles International Travel-All, 1959-1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | "Features of Spanish Intonation Patterns," by J. Donald Bowen, outline with examples, 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Informe del Segundo Seminario Chicago-Chiapas en San Cristóbal, 1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | Madsen's Photo Service, blank order form, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | "Microfilm collection Items in the University of Chicago Project's microfilm collection in Frans Blom's Library," circa 1960s |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | Notebooks with budget and miscellaneous notes, circa 1958-1962, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Notes cards with notes on informants, field workers, students, and other contacts, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Notes miscellaneous, mostly Norman McQuown, 1961-1962, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Project reports and instructions for coding and card punching, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Project report table of contents and letter regarding printing service, 1962 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Research logs for Textos Tzeltales and Tzotziles, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | "Spoken Spanish," Foreign Service Institute workbook, by Robert P. Stockwell et al., 1953 [1 of 3] |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | "Spoken Spanish," Foreign Service Institute workbook, by Robert P. Stockwell et al., 1953 [2 of 3] |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | "Spoken Spanish," Foreign Service Institute workbook, by Robert P. Stockwell et al., 1953 [3 of 3] |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Vocabulario Máximo/Medio/Mínimo, Weitlaner, undated |
Series II: Financial |
This series contains financial and budget records from the National Institute of Mental Health and National Science Foundation grants that provided funding for the University of Chicago's work in Chiapas. It includes travel advance and expense vouchers, receipts, notes, correspondence related to financial matters, expense lists, ledgers, and budget statements. The material is arranged alphabetically and ranges in date from 1958-1983, with the bulk dating from 1958-1964.
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Budget miscellaneous, including notes, receipts, and correspondence, including for National Science Foundation Chiapas, National Institute of Mental Health Ethnohistory sociolinguistics, and National Institute of Mental Health supplementary data processing, 1960-1962
|
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Closing of accounts, 1964, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Informant salaries, 1961 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 comptroller sheets and outstanding advance statements, 1960-1963
|
| Box 2 Folder 14 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 expense vouchers, receipts, payment requests and invoices, 1960-1961 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 travel vouchers, 1960-1962 [1 of 3]
|
| Box 3 Folder 1 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 travel vouchers, 1960-1962 [2 of 3] |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 travel vouchers, 1960-1962 [3 of 3] |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grants no. 101 and 125 applications, budgets, and related correspondence, 1961-1964 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grants no. 101 and 125 payroll forms, 1961-1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 appropriation ledgers and budget transfer request, 1963-1964
|
| Box 3 Folder 6 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 expense vouchers, receipts, payment requests, and invoices, 1961-1964 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 travel advances and expense vouchers, 1961-1963 [1 of 3]
|
| Box 3 Folder 8 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 travel advances and expense vouchers, 1961-1963 [2 of 3] |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 travel advances and expense vouchers, 1961-1963 [3 of 3] |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | National Science Foundation expenses, receipts, and notes for vegetation project, McQuown dialect survey, and Costa Rica trip, 1958-1961
|
| Box 4 Folder 1 | National Science Foundation financial statements and related correspondence, mostly Norman McQuown and Albert Spaulding, 1959-1963
|
| Box 4 Folder 2 | National Science Foundation travel expense vouchers and related documents, 1959-1962 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Personnel lists and charts, appointment forms, salaries, reimbursements, and related correspondence, 1960-1962, 1983 [1 of 2]
|
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Personnel lists and charts, appointment forms, salaries, reimbursements, and related correspondence, 1960-1962, 1983 [2 of 2] |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Receipts and expenses, 1961-1962 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Sarles, Harvey B. grant and related correspondence, 1960-1962
|
Series III: Reports |
This series contains bound volumes of the final reports on the Man in Nature Project and Chiapas Project as well as a roster of informants from both projects. The report on the Man in Nature Project is divided into three parts. There are two copies of each of the reports and one copy of the roster of informants. The material ranges in date from 1959-1971. All of the volumes are also part of the University of Chicago's Microfilm Collection of Manuscripts on Cultural Anthropology (MCMCA), and their numbers and series in this collection are noted below.
| Box 5 | Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Report on the ‘Man-in-Nature' Project of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Chicago in the Tzeltal-Tzotzil speaking region of the State of Chiapas, Mexico, Part I The Findings, June 1959 [bound volume; copy 1 and 2] [MCMCA no. 92 Series XIV] |
| Box 6 | Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Report on the ‘Man-in-Nature' Project of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Chicago in the Tzeltal-Tzotzil speaking region of the State of Chiapas, Mexico, Part II The Data, June 1959 [bound volume; copy 1 and 2] [MCMCA no. 93 Series XIV] |
| Box 7 | Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Report on the ‘Man-in-Nature' Project of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Chicago in the Tzeltal-Tzotzil speaking region of the State of Chiapas, Mexico, Part III Supplemental Studies, June 1959 [bound volume; copy 1 and 2] [MCMCA no. 94 Series XIV] |
| Box 7 | Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Change in the Highlands of Chiapas, July 1964 [bound volume; copy 1] [MCMCA no. 120 Series XXI] |
| Box 8 | Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Change in the Highlands of Chiapas, July 1964 [bound volume; copy 2] [MCMCA no. 120 Series XXI] |
| Box 8 | "University of Chicago Chiapas Projects Roster of Informants, 1956-1962," 1971 [bound volume] [MCMCA no. 116 Series XXI] |
Series IV: Audiovisual |
This series contains photographs, negatives, and slide film that depict landscapes, indigenous people, and project staff in Mexico and Guatemala. In most cases, folder titles were taken from descriptions on the original images or their envelopes, which appear to have been created by Norman McQuown. The photographs and negatives were placed first in this series, followed by the slide film. Within both sets, the images are roughly in chronological order, with undated material at the end. The series ranges in date from 1942-1962, with some undated material.
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Photographs Tuxtla Guitérez, with key identifying people, 1942 |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Negatives Tuxtla Guitérez, 1942 |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | Photographs and negatives Cruz Obispo, Summer 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Photographs Teotihuacán and Acolman, including landscapes, Norman McQuown, and Andrés, March 1962 |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | Negatives Teotihuacán and Acolman, including landscapes, Norman McQuown, and Andrés, March 1962 |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Photographs Andrés Medina portraits indigenous people, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | Photographs Andrés Medina portraits indigenous people, with Norman McQuown captions on reverse, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Photographs Andrés Medina portraits informants, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | Photographs Andrés Medina portraits project staff, individual portraits and group image, undated [individuals identified on reverse] |
| Box 9 Folder 10 | Photographs unlabeled group dinner?, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 11 | Photograph Norman McQuown and Roberto L.?, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 12 | Photographs Norman McQuown, Javier, and Marcelo, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 13 | Photographs portraits, labeled "Lacandon" and "San Bartolo," undated |
| Box 9 Folder 14 | Slide film Mexico party at Na Blom, cloud above Pinola, CMA (Gulf Coast), December 1960 |
| Box 9 Folder 15 | Slide film Mexico Casa Chicago, Equipo Chicago en Na Blom, Tuxtla Aeropuerto, and CMH (Comet), December 1960 |
| Box 9 Folder 16 | Slide film Mexico Ecatepec, party at Na Blom, December 1960 |
| Box 9 Folder 17 | Slide film Mexico Ecatepec, San Cristobal Valley, December 1960 |
| Box 9 Folder 18 | Slide film Mexico CMA (Tuxtla) and UNAM, March 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 19 | Slide film Mexico Norman McQuown and Swadeshes at UNAM, UNAM buildings, and CMA (Comet), March 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 20 | Slide film Mexico road to Chamula, July 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 21 | Slide film Mexico Casa Chicago, Bechijtic, July 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 22 | Slide film Mexico Bechijtic and Ichinton, July 1961 [including Norman McQuown working with informants] |
| Box 9 Folder 23 | Slide film Mexico Tenejapa, including Norman McQuown, July 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 24 | Slide film Mexico Tenejapa, July 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 25 | Slide film Guatemala Guatemala City and Canal de Chiquimulilla, August 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 26 | Slide film Guatemala, August 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 27 | Slide film Guatemala San Marcos and road to Jacaltenango, August 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 28 | Slide film Guatemala road from San Mateo Ixtatán to Huehuetenango, August 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 29 | Slide film Guatemala road to Huehuetenango, Zaculeu, August 1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 30 | Slide film Guatemala, January 1962 [1 of 3] |
| Box 9 Folder 31 | Slide film Guatemala, January 1962 [2 of 3] |
| Box 9 Folder 32 | Slide film Guatemala, January 1962 [3 of 3] |
| Box 9 Folder 33 | Slide film Chamulas, undated [images of indigenous people labeled with locations] [1 of 2] |
| Box 9 Folder 34 | Slide film Chamulas, undated [images of indigenous people labeled with locations] [2 of 2] |
| Box 9 Folder 35 | Slide film San Mateo and San Francisco, undated |
Series V: Oversize |
This series contains material that is too large to fit in standard legal-sized folders, such as ledgers and charts. It is all from the financial series and has been arranged in the same manner as that series, alphabetically. The material ranges in date from 1960-1963.
| Box 10 Folder 1 | Budget miscellaneous, including appropriation ledgers and staff salaries, including for National Science Foundation Chiapas, National Institute of Mental Health Ethnohistory sociolinguistics, and National Institute of Mental Health supplementary data processing, 1960-1962 |
| Box 10 Folder 2 | Income and expense charts, 1962, undated |
| Box 10 Folder 3 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant M3847 appropriation ledgers, 1960-1962 |
| Box 10 Folder 4 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 comptroller sheets [appropriation ledgers and distribution vouchers], 1960-1963 |
| Box 10 Folder 5 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 research assistant salaries and travel, 1960-1961 |
| Box 10 Folder 6 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 101 travel vouchers, 1960-1962 |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 appropriation ledgers, 1961-1963 |
| Box 10 Folder 8 | National Institute of Mental Health USPHS research grant no. 125 travel advances and expense vouchers, 1961-1963 |
| Box 10 Folder 9 | National Science Foundation comptroller's appropriation ledgers, 1960-1962, undated |
| Box 10 Folder 10 | National Science Foundation distribution registers, 1960 |
| Box 10 Folder 11 | National Science Foundation vegetation project comptroller's appropriation ledger, 1960, undated |
| Box 10 Folder 12 | Personnel chart and payroll registers, 1960-1962 |
| Box 10 Folder 13 | Sarles, Harvey B. grant appropriation ledgers, 1962, undated |