Description
Frank Hamilton Cushing (1857-1900) was an early ethnographer working in the American Southwest during the late 19th Century.
The items contained in this collection include correspondence, reports, unpublished manuscripts, diaries, Zuni vocabulary
cards, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles. These documents focus on Cushing's stay at Zuni Pueblo from 1879-1884,
the Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition 1887-1889, and the Pepper Hearst Archeological Expedition 1896-1897. The
bulk of the material in this collection was created between 1848 and 1923.
Background
In 2001, funding was provided by the National Science Foundation through Systematic Anthropological Collections, Miss Anne
Lloyd Crotty, and the Southwest Museum to preserve, arrange, describe and perform preservation microfilming of the Frank Hamitton
Cushing and Frederick Webb Hodge Manuscript Collections. These two collections were selected for the project because they
are valuable to the early history of American Anthropology and to the study of Zuni Indian culture and history. In addition,
the Cushing Collection is in high demand by scholars worldwide. A third collection known as the Margaret Magill Manuscript
Collection relates to the Hodge and Cushing Collection, but unfortunately was not microfilmed. Miss Magill was Cushing's sister-in-law
and was with him at Zuni during the 1880s. The material in her collection relates to that time. She married Frederick Webb
Hodge in the 1890s.Frank Hamilton Cushing was one of the pioneers of American anthropology and archaeology. Born in 1857, he was premature and
as a result had a weak constitution which plagued him all of his life. Because of this, he received no formal education which
allowed him time to wander the woods in Orleans County, New York, where his interest in anthropology developed. In 1875, Cushing
decided against attending Cornell University in favor of accepting a position as assistant in ethnology at the Smithsonian
Institution.
Extent
15.0 Linear feet
(13 document boxes, 4 oversized boxes)
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Autry Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry National Center
as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://theautry.org/research/research-rules-and-application
or contact library staff at rroom@theautry.org. This collection has been cataloged at the folder level and are searchable
on the Autry's online library catalog, http://autry.iii.com/. Contact library staff for further assistance.