Description
Henry Bigger Nicholson (September 5, 1925-March 2, 2007) was Professor and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University
of California, Los Angeles, dedicated to studying Aztec history, art and religion. The Henry Nicholson collection spans almost
the entire 20th century, with the bulk of the material dating between 1950 and 1995. The collection includes his professional
and research papers, photographs of excavations, and documentation of exhibitions curated by Nicholson. A large portion of
the collection consists of photographs, negatives, contact sheets and photocopies of Aztec art and sculpture. Over the course
of his career, Nicholson visited archeological sites, museums and private collections in Mexico, the United States and Europe
compiling photographs of Aztec art and sculpture and bibliographic records for the UCLA Aztec Archive, a computerized image
storage and retrieval system for the Late Post-classic Central Mexican art and sculpture.
Background
Henry Bigger Nicholson (September 5, 1925-March 2, 2007) was Professor and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University
of California, Los Angeles, dedicated to studying Aztec history, art and religion. Nicholson participated in WWII in Germany
and Philippines (1944-1945), studied at University of California, Berkeley and received his PhD in 1958 from Harvard. He started
his professional career in 1956 at UCLA. He researched the ethnohistory of the Mesoamerican area co-tradition, conducted field
archaeological projects and published over 200 articles and monographs. Nicholson helped excavate Cerro Portezuelo in 1957,
near the ancient shores of Lake Texcoco in Central Mexico (A.D. 350 - 1500, now Mexico City). The Cerro Portezuelo Archives
at UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History is a result of these excavations that were initially started by George Brainerd
(1909-1956). This collection's ceramic objects represent the most complete and unbroken sequence for the region. The National
Science Foundation provided funds to analyze the excavated materials in 1961 and funded several more projects conducted by
Nicholson to catalogue Central Mexico's cultural history.
Extent
29.4 linear ft.
(36 document boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 13 cartons.)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold
the copyright.
Availability
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.