Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Hicks, Frederic and Portugal, Joy, Exectrix, Estate of Frederic N. Hicks
- Abstract:
- This collection documents the activities and writings of Frederic Hicks. Hicks was a distinguished scholar of Mesoamerican ethnohistory and anthropology. The collection chronicles Hicks' work at Cerro Portezuelo, his editing of the Codex Vergara, and his professional life at the University of Louisville.
- Extent:
- 7 linear feet (7 boxes) and 2 linear feet (2 unprocessed boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are primarily in English and Spanish, with some materials in German, Dutch, and Italian.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Frederic Hicks Papers (Collection 2238). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection spans 1955 to 2012, with the bulk of materials coming from 1960 to 1990. The collection documents Hicks' decades of experience in Mexican archives, his deep knowledge of anthropology and ethnohistorical literature, and his extensive personal collection of source materials, as well as his contributions to anthropological understandings of pre-Columbian Aztec society.
Materials are largely textual, comprising research files, correspondence, article manuscripts, and field notes. Among other formats are photographs and illustrations. Also included is a file from Hicks' executrix, with local obituaries and Hicks' most recent CV. Some of the significant organizations and topics represented in these files are: the American Society for Ethnohistory, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Louisville, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, Cerro Portezuelo, the Codex Vergara, and the Aztec Empire.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Frederic Hicks was a distinguished scholar of Mesoamerican ethnohistory and anthropology. He was born in New Orleans on January 7, 1928, and was raised in Connecticut. After completing his Bachelors in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, he earned his Ph.D. at UCLA, working on George Brainerd's archaeological project at Cerro Portezuelo, Mexico and coauthoring "The Transition from Classic to Postclassic at Cerro Portezuelo" with H.B. Nicholson in 1962. He then received a Fulbright teaching grant to study and work in Paraguay for three years.
In 1965, Hicks began teaching at the University of Louisville, eventually becoming Chair of the Anthropology Department. He was very active in the local progressive social justice community, alongside his wife Dr. Judith Joel. Hicks made fundamental contributions to anthropological understandings of pre-Columbian Aztec society, including the nature of taxation, tribute, and labor organization, the political dynamics of local and imperial organizations, and the social organization and economic stratification of the empire. He served as President and Chair of the Robert F. Heizer Prize Committee for the American Society for Ethnohistory, as well as organizing numerous conference sessions and symposia on Anthropology and Ethnohistory.
After his retirement, Hicks returned to his research on Cerro Portezuelo, hoping to complete a book on the project. His most recent article about the site's architecture was published in Ancient Mesoamerica shortly before his death. He also co-edited an annotated facsimile edition of the Codex Vergara, an Aztec cadastral document drawn up by the Spanish conquerors of Mexico. The project reflects his decades of experience in Mexican archives, his deep knowledge of anthropology and ethnohistorical literature, and extensive personal collection of source materials.
Frederic Hicks participated in trips to China, Cuba, Iran, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan after his retirement, continuing to research and write academically almost until his last hour. He died July 9, 2013 in Louisville at age 85, after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Estate of Fred Hicks, 2014.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Melanie Jones under the supervision of Courtney Dean in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), 2016.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's library collections and archives.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Cerro Portezuelo (1960-2012)
- Series 2: Codex Vergara (2003-2012)
- Series 3: Personal and Professional Correspondence (1955-2012)
- Series 4: Field Notebooks and Journals (1958-2010)
The collection has been organized at the box level.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Frederic Hicks Papers (Collection 2238). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
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A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988