Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin M January - 1984 LM. BSHI / / I -*** V ^0>V '•VS* Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Pamela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bovven Blair Willard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook O.C. Davis William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnelley II Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphy, Jr. Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Byron Smith Robert H. Strotz William G. Swartchild, Jr. Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Julian B. Wilkins Blaine J. Yarrington Life Trustees Harrv O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C Gregg William V. Kahler William H. Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard Wood field Museum of Natural History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined July/ August issue, by Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, II. 60605. Subscriptions: $6.00 annually, S3. 00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policy of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- tory, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, II. 60605. ISSN:0015-0703. Second class postage paid at Chicago, II. CONTENTS February 1984 Volume 55, Number 2 February Events at Field Museum Eskimo Art and Culture Coming March 10: Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo and Grasp Tight the Old Ways: The Klamer Family Collection oflnuit Art Images of Yap 20 by Robert B. Pickering Program Developer, Department of Education Sealskin Bags of Unusual Construction from the Bering Strait Region 23 byjames W. VanStone Curator of North American archaeology and ethnology Field Museum Tours 27 Coyer Spirit with Young, green stone and ivory sculpture by Short}' Killiktee. 24.5 x 14.3 x 14.4cm. This sculpture is among 175 contemporar}' prints, drawings, wall hangings, and other sculpture that will he on view at Field Museum March 10 tlirough May 27. Entitled "Grasp Tight the Old Ways: The Klamer Collection oflnuit Art," the exhibit comes from the Art Galleiy of Ontario and will be shown concurrently with "Spirit World of tlie Bering Sea Eskimo," organized by SITES, Smitfisonian Institution Ti-aveling Exhibition Service. See pages 5-19. Photo courtesy Art Gallen> of Ontario, gift of the Klamer Family, 1978. Reproduction restricted. Copyright lield by sculptor and protected by Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Ottawa, Canada. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: If you have a good mind for detail and can give one day a week, there may be a volunteer job for you in our Zoolo- gy or Geology department. Other volunteer oppor- tunities include jobs in Membership, Building Operations and departmental libraries. Clerical skills are needed in almost every area of the Museum. T Events "T Yueh Lung Shadow Theatre Sunday, February 5 1:00pm and 2:30pm James Simpson Theatre Shadow theatre is a performing art more than 2,000 years old. The Yueh Lung Shadow Theatre is the only one of its kind in the United States. The company uses Peking-type figures which are constructed by members of the troupe. The performances feature Chinese shad- ow puppets maneuvered by professionals and illumin- ated on a screen. The puppets recreate stories of Chinese life and legend. During the performance, the stories and the use of the puppets are explained. Because the number of seats for each performance is limited, advance purchase of tickets is recommended. These performances are partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. Members: $3.00 Nonmembers: S5.00 Use coupon to order tickets. Fees are nonrefundable. "African Lifestyles" — Film Series Africa is a land whose population has more distinct cultures than any other continent. These free films focus upon the diversity of African lifestyles. February 11, 1:00pm Masai: Warrior Between Two Worlds (30m) Traditional culture clashes with the modern world in this documentary ot life among the Masai of East Africa. Nawi (22m) During the dry season, thejie of Uganda leave their homesteads and take their cattle to temporary camps, the nawi. February 18, 1:00pm Talking Drums (17m) An intimate view of a master drum-carver examines the significance drums hold for the Ashanti of West Africa. Celede: A Yoruba Masquerade (24m) An impressive, colorful Nigerian mask dance-drama is enacted to combat the forces ot witches and to reinforce definitions of men's and women's roles. February 25, 1:00pm The Nuer (60m) Lite among these East African herders revolves largely around their cattle, supplying their basic material and spiritual needs. Portrayed are a bride price dispute, a ghost marriage, a revivalistic ceremony to combat smallpox, and a young man's initiation. These films are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. Use West Entrance. Dance of West Africa Najwa Dance Corps Sunday, February 19, 2:00pm James Simpson Theatre In an exciting mixture of dance, music, drama, and his- tory, Najwa Dance Corps brings to you a performance which preserves the styles and techniques of different eras in African history. Najwa 1 is an internationally acclaimed dancer who has continued a tradition of teaching, performing, and artistic endeavors through the Najwa Dance Corps. The Corps performs the fol- lowing suite of dances: "Diolli" and "Saba" from Sene- gal; "Liendien" from Gambia; "Manjaani," a social dance of West Africa; and "Wolofsodun," a slave dance from Mali. Members: S3.00 Nonmembers: $5.00 For further information call (312) 322-8854. CONTINUED^ Events CONTINIKIUROMPACK:) February Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demonstrations, and films related to ongoing exhibits at the Museum are designed for families and adults. Listed below are only a few of the numerous activities available each weekend. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for the complete schedule and pro- gram locations. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. February 5 12:00noon Traditional China. Examine the timeless imagery and superb craftsmanship represented by Chinese mastcrworks in our permanent collection. 11 1:00pm Tibet Today. Slide lecture shows Lhasa and other towns now open to tourists, as well as Tibetan refugees who have carried their religion into the mountainous areas surrounding this ancient religious center. 12 12:00pm Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads from the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. 18 11:30am Ancient Egypt. Investigate the tradi- tions of ancient Egyptian civilization from everyday life to mummification and the pro- mise of an afterlife. 25 1:30pm Himalayan Journey: A Faith in Exile. Slide lecture focuses upon the strong- holds of Tibetan refugees in India: Dharamasla (home of the Dalai Lama), Darjeeling, and Sikkim. 26 12:30pm Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads trom the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. These weekend programs are free with Museum admission and tickets arc not required. Family Feature African Rhythms: A Living History Balm Atiha, Musician Saturday and Sunday, February 4 and 5 12:00 noon, Hall E, Cultures of Africa The voices of African instruments sing history as well as music. The drum is considered essential throughout Africa and its sounds are often said to "talk." Babu Atiba is a well-known Chicago drummer who specializes in the music of West Africa. Join us as he shares his music and demonstrates such drums as the djimbc and the djun djun Examine the variety of horns, harps, flutes, lutes, and drums in our collection and learn some of the rhythms that are the heartbeat of West Africa's music. Family features are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. Registration Program Title Member Tickets # Requested Nonmember Tickets # Requested Total Tickets # Requested Amount Enclosed Please complete coupon for your program selection and any other special events. Com- plete all requested information on the applica- tion and include section number where appro- week before program, tickets will be held in your name at West Entrance box office until one-half hour before event. Please make checks payable to Field Museum, Tickets will made only if program is sold out. Total. Name Street For Office Use: Date Received Date Returned dty 4 Telephone State Zip Daytime Evening Have you enclosed your self-addressed stamped envelope? Return complete ticket application with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Public Programs: Department of Education Field Museum of Natural History Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2497 Eskimo Art and Culture Bear man transformation Ivory 3.81cm x 8.83cm Smithsonian Institution Two major exhibits On view march 10 through May 27 INUA: SPIRIT WORLD OF THE BERING SEA ESKIMO from The Smithsonian Institution GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: THEKLAMER FAMILY COLLECTION OFlNUlTART from the Art Gallery of Ontario PHOTO BY JOEL BREGER Visitors to Field Museum this spring will have an oppor- tunity to view two interesting exhibitions of Eskimo art and culture which open on March 10 and close on May 27. They encompass a wide area of the North American arctic and a period extending from the late nineteenth century to the present. The first of these exhibits, curated by William Fitz- hugh and Susan Kaplan, originated at the Smithsonian Institution. It is devoted to a collection of ethnographic material from the coast of western Alaska made for the National Museum of Natural History between 1877 and 1881 by Edward William Nelson. Nelson went to Alaska as a weather observer and was assigned to the village of St. Michael on the coast north of the mouth of the Yukon River. During his tour of duty he traveled extensively and made a superb collection of ethnographic specimens numbering more than 10,000 items. These he described and illustrated in an important publication entitled The Eskimo About Bering Strait, pub- lished by the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian in 1899. Most of the artifacts collected by Nelson have never before been exhibited to the public. They include exam- ples of the elaborate sea mammal hunting equipment characteristic of Eskimo culture, carefully constructed bentwood boxes painted with intricate designs having ceremonial significance, beautifully woven grass bags and baskets, carved ivory ornaments worn as personal adornment, and, most spectacular of all, the elaborate face masks of infinite variety which were an important part of the enactment of myths and stories and ceremo- nial presentations held in the qasig, or ceremonial house. The Nelson collection is the largest and most com- plete assemblage of nineteenth century ethnographic material ever made in Alaska. The exhibit includes a repre- sentative sample of more than 250 specimens, many of which are among the finest examples of nineteenth- century Alaskan Eskimo art. The second exhibit, entitled "Grasp Tight the Old Ways," was curated by Jean Blodgett and originated at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. It consists of selections from the Klamer family collection of contemporary Cana- Wedge for slitting feather quills Ivory 19cm PHOTO BY JOEL BREGEH Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo from the Edward W. Nelson Collection of The National Museum of Natural History/National Museum of Man Smithsonian Institution Photos courtesy Smithsonian Institution Float plugs Ivory 6cm, 5cm dian Eskimo (Inuit) art. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Klamer were first attracted to Eskimo art more than twenty years ago and became enthusiastic patrons. They not only acquired pieces of contemporary sculpture and graphics at exhibi- tions, but traveled to the north to meet native artists. Their desire to document the accomplishments of Eskimo artists and to make their works known to a wider audience led them to donate a portion of their collection to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1978. Most of the 175 pieces in the Klamer collection are contemporary prints, drawings, wall hangings, and sculp- tures made for sale by artists from some twenty Canadian Eskimo communities. Since the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Canadian Eskimos were first encouraged to produce sculpture and graphic art for a commercial market, there has been a tremendous increase in the interest in this unique art on the part of collectors, galleries, and museums all over the world. The Klamer collection is an excellent introduction to exciting art forms in which the artist's interpretation, although intensely personal, is rooted in the cultural traditions of the past. The Inua and Klamer exhibits can be viewed in Hall 26 on the second floor. Authoritative and beautifully pro- duced catalogs are available for both exhibits. The visitor may wish to compare the fine examples of Eskimo art and material culture exhibited in Hall 26 with those in the museum's new permanent exhibit "Maritime Peoples of the Arctic and Northwest Coast" in Hall 10. FH 7 ^ >Q v %^\ t Food tray and ladle Wood with stone inlay 35.5cm (tray), 26.5cm (ladle) Mask Wood, feathers, root lashing 50cm Flying bird effigy Wood and feathers 53cm Snuffbox Wood, ivory inlay 10cm Male and female dolls Bone, skin, and fur 17cm, 15cm i. \ Mask Wood, feathers, and quills 48cm Seal inua (spirit I mask Wood, reindeer skin, fur 29cm Bear inua (spirit) mask Wood 30cm '•R*-* J* Ifl d S .?£& Caribou Head Green stone and antler bv Osuitok Ipeelee 54.7x31.5x45. 6cm ( hasp Tight the Old Ways: The K lamer Family Collection oflnuitArt from the Art Gallery of Ontario 1 to* (pp. 14-19) courtesy Art Gallery of Ontario, Sift ol the K. lamer Family, 1978. leproductton restricted. Copyrights held by artists i protected by Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Ottawa, Canada. Sea Goddess Dark green stone, ivory, and baleen by Nuveeya Ipellie 22.5 x 26.0 x 10.9cm Mother and Child with Kudlik Dark green stone, ivory, light green stone, black stone, bone, and blacking by Elijassiapik 14.0 x 21.5 x 24.7cm Qiviuq's Journey Stonecut and stencil by William Noah and Martha Noah 64.0 x 94.0cm Hn,l with ( 'iA>'/i lul I lumage by Kenojuak 50.7 - 66.3cm Six Birds Felt-tip pen and graphite by Kingmeata 50.7 x 66.5cm Imagfes or Yap by Robert B. Pickering Program Developer, Department of Education Photos by the author, courtesy Nawrocki Stock Photo Above: Figrag, high chief of Lamaer, one of three high-cast villages on the island. Yap is one of the few communities out- side of India where a rigid caste structure remains intact. Left: Gravestone of Japanese soldier is silent reminder of the early 1940s, when the island was occupied by Japanese forces. Yap is a 28'square'mile island in the Pacific's Western Caroline group and located about 800 miles due north of New Guinea. It recently became a member of the Federated States of Micronesia. The population is about 5,000. In 1980, when Yap was still a U.N. Trust Terri' tory, I had the opportunity to visit the island for five months, directing a federally funded mortuary site archaeology project. This was part of an environ- mental impact study prior to the construction of a proposed airstrip. In the course of my research there, I interviewed a large number of older Yap residents about mortuary customs. I also came to learn a great deal about their life in general — ceremonial activi- ties, politics, and social structure, their economy, crafts, and other aspects of daily life that have re- mained little affected by inroads from developed parts of the world. The photos reproduced here offer a glimpse of the beauty and character of this proud island community. The girl above and the boy at left are participants in a gamel, or bamboo dance. A standing dance adapted from the outer islands in the Yap district, it is unusually vigorous and done to the accompaniment of bamboo sticks struck together. Enormous carved "wheels" of ray ni ngocol, or stone money — Yap 's principal claim to world renown. This form of currency is used, for example, to buy a wife or to compensate the family of someone the payer has killed. The stone is quarried in Palau, some 300 miles to the southwest. Left: Man and wife: 70-year-old Falanug and 58-year-old Mangayog before their neatly thatched sleeping house. Lower left: Basket-making can be done almost anytime, any- where. Using palm fronds, these men fashion carrying bas- kets as they wait for a dance to begin. Their nimble fingers can create a large basket in 15 minutes. Below: Everyone comes to the dance — to perform or just to watch. 22 Sealskin Bags of Unusual Construction From the Bering Strait Region by James W. VanStone Curator of North American Archaeology and Ethnology Traditional Alaskan Eskimo bags and baskets were generally made from the skins of land and sea mam- mals or of dried grass. North of Norton Sound (see map) oblong, flat bags or satchels made of caribou or sealskin, usually with the hair on, were designed for holding tools and implements of all kinds. They had slightly arched handles of bone, ivory, or antler stretched lengthwise across the open mouth of the container. From Norton Sound to the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, Eskimo women, using a simple twining technique, made mats and bags of dried grass. Large mats served as curtains to partition off part of a room or sleeping area while smaller ones were placed as seats in the manholes of kayaks. Most baskets fashioned by the Eskimos of western and southwestern Alaska were made by the coiling tech- nique and intended to contain small household items. The technique of coiling appears to have developed relatively late since coiled baskets were not offered for sale to early explorers. In the early twentieth century, however, Eskimo women made them by the hundreds in response to a grow- ing demand for souvenirs. Four sealskin bags in the collections of Field Museum are of special interest because of their unusual con- struction. These bags do not resemble any of the forms just mentioned nor are similar containers described or illus- trated in the existing literature on the material culture of k^A^ ST LAWRENCE ISLANDlV . ,«~~„ V~> NORTON SOUND BERING SEA .0* cog Fig. 1 PHOTO BY RON TESTA N108076 Alaskan Eskimos or the Eskimos and Chukchi of adjacent northeastern Siberia. Three of these bags were collected at Nome between 1900 and 1913 and purchased by the Museum in 1917. They are described in the catalog of the Department of Anthropology as "work or trinket boxes of skin." It is possible that they were containers for sewing equipment or jewelry. Narrow strips of tanned bleached and unbleached seal- skin, with the hair removed, were used in these containers. A detailed description of one of them will serve to make clear the unusual method of construction. This bag (cata- log No. 27727, approx. 18cm high) has a flat bottom made from a single piece of unbleached sealskin (fig. 1). The sides flare evenly and constrict near the neck with an addi- tional outward flare at the rim. The round sealskin lid is flat at the edges, raised and rounded toward the center, and has a vertical round knob at the top. The bag is constructed of 24 narrow, folded strips of bleached and unbleached skin with the two colors alternat- ing. Between each strip is a narrow welt of unbleached skin and the pairs of strips with intervening welts are sewn with sinew as shown in figure 2. The lid is similarly constructed of seven strips of skin separated by welts. A recessed eighth strip extends below the lid and fits into the bag opening. Figure 3 illustrates how the center section of the lid is built 24 up to a round piece at the top. The knob consists of five short strips of skin, the top one being wide and the others narrow and separated by welts. Decoration on this container consists of appliqued pieces of tanned sealskin (fig. 1). Unbleached pieces are used on the bleached strips and bleached pieces on the unbleached strips. Some of the decorative elements are sewn on with a running stitch, in several places with red thread rather than sinew although the color is hardly visi- ble. Others are woven into strips in an over-under pattern. On some of the very narrow strips, decorative pieces, usually simple rectangles or squares, are simply held in place by the welts on either side. The lid is decorated in the Fig. 2 DRAWING BY ZBIGNIEWJASTRZEBSKIN109057-A same manner except that a very narrow strip of bleached skin around the rim is cut in a zigzag pattern and held in place by the sinew stitching (fig. 3). The other two bags in this group are constructed in much the same manner and are approximately the same size. The first (catalog No. 27726, approx. 18cm high) con- sists of a flat bottom piece of unbleached skin and 28 alter- nating strips of bleached and unbleached skin with inter- vening welts of the same material (fig. 4). The lid is made of nine strips which shorten toward an ivory knob at the top. A recessed strip extending below the lid fits into the bag opening. Most of the decorative pieces are held in place by the welts, but a few are woven into the strips in an over-under pattern. All sewing is with sinew. The third bag (catalog No. 27728, approx. 13.5cm DRAWING BY ZBIGNIEWJASTRZEBSK! N109056-A Fig. 3 high) has a flat bottom and is constructed of 24 narrow strips of skin separated by welts (fig. 5). A slightly flaring rim is a single piece of unbleached skin folded over at the edge and sewn with a running stitch. All sewing is with sinew. There is a broken carrying strap of unbleached skin. The nearly flat lid consists of two pieces separated by a welt, with a narrow loop of unbleached skin in the center. All appliqued decoration on this container is held in place by the welts. There are also five beaded decorative ele- ments, spot-stitched and sinew-sewn, at intervals on a wide unbleached strip just below the rim of this bag. The bead colors are pink, white, blue, and green. Fig. 5 PHOTO BY RON TESTA N1 08077 It is interesting to speculate on the provenience of the three bags in this group. The fact that they were collected at Nome does not provide any reliable clues as to where they were made and used. The village of Nome was estab- lished by gold miners in 1898 and quickly became an eco- nomic center for a large area of northwest Alaska, particu- larly following the discovery of gold on the beaches in front of the community in 1902. Native peoples from Alaskan settlements were attracted to Nome by opportunities to trade with gold miners and other visitors. Handicrafts from even more distant areas, including northeastern Siberia, reached Nome through native and nonnative trad- ing patterns and routes. The style of decoration on the bags described sug- gests that they were made either by Eskimos on St. Law- rence Island or the coast of Siberia, or by the Chukchi of coastal Siberia. In all three areas, the use of alternating light and dark tanned sealskin was characteristic, as were appli- qued designs similar to those on the Field Museum bags. It would not have been difficult for a collector at Nome to obtain examples of St. Lawrence Island or Siberian crafts either directly from native visitors or as a result of trade networks. The fourth bag was collected by the Borden-Field Museum Alaska Arctic Expedition in 1927. It is identified in the catalog as a "woman's bag" and was obtained at Cape Prince of Wales on Seward Peninsula. Like the other three 25 Fig. 4 PHOTO BY RON TESTA N 1 08075 containers, this one was probably also intended to hold sewing equipment, jewelry, or small household items. This bag (catalog No. 177780, approx. 23cm high, excluding strap) has a flat bottom of tanned unbleached sealskin and sides that flare evenly toward a slightly con- stricted neck (fig. 6). It is constructed from 24 narrow strips of bleached skin with welts of the same material be- tween every other strip (fig. 7). Two strips near the opening and the rim are of unbleached skin. Six of the strips and every other welt are dyed red. Additional decoration in- cludes three vertical strands of light blue, dark blue, and translucent yellow beads, spot-stitched and thread-sewn, which are attached at intervals around the bag; and dangles of blue beads toward the center of the bag between the vertical strands. The bag has a loop carrying strap of bleached skin. Sewing throughout, with the exception of the beaded strands and dangles, is with sinew; the bottom piece is attached to the lowest strip by means of a whip stitch. Fig. 7 DRAWING BY ZBIGNIEW JASTRZEBSKI N109056-B Although all four bags are now stiff and inflexible, the strips of sealskin would have been soft and pliable when the containers were being sewn. After the strips and welts were sewn, the finished bag was turned inside out so that the sewing and untrimmed edges were on the inside. Thus, most of the appliqued decoration had to be in place before the bag was turned. Since the construction of the bags described here is perhaps unique, or at least extremely rare, it is difficult to draw any specific conclusions concerning the significance of these particular specimens. Although apparently rare as a bag-making technique, welting was used frequently by Eskimo women in the construction of footgear. Regardless of rarity, however, it would not be surprising to find bags of the same design on both sides of Bering Strait since hand- icrafts in the two areas were derived from a common heri- tage and a long period of cultural exchange. FM PHOTO BY RON TESTA N 106691 TOURS FOR MEMBERS Grand Canyon Adventure May 25 -June 3 Many of us have beheld the Grand Canyon from the rim or while flying overhead, and some of us have hiked partway down to the Colorado River. But there is another Grand Canyon that relatively few have experienced: Field Museum is offering you the opportunity to see and experience the canyon from the river. The 280-mile trip will be by two motorized rubber rafts. We'll sleep on sandy beaches under the stars and our meals will be excellent. Along the way, we'll hike to places of unusual geologic and anthropologic interest, sometimes through the most pleasant and enchant- ing stream beds and valleys, at times along the waterfalls. We'll see and study more geology in this one brief period than can be seen anywhere else in comparable time. Dr. Bertram Wood- land, curator of petrology, will be our tour leader. The trip will begin on Friday, May 25, with a flight to Las Vegas, where we will remain overnight. The evening of our arrival, we'll have a briefing about the river trip and will receive our river equipment. Saturday morning we'll leave by deluxe bus for Lees Ferry, where we'll board the rafts. The trip will end 9 days later, at Pierce Ferry, near the head of Lake Mead. We'll re- turn to Chicago, via Las Vegas, Sunday, June 3. You needn't be a "rough rider" to join this expedition — you needn't even know how to swim. Persons of any age can enjoy the river with equanimity, and come out proud and happy to have experienced this extraordinary adven- ture. The cost (to be announced) per per- son covers all expenses (including air fare, board fees, waterproof bags for gear, sleeping bags, etc.), and all meals. The trip is limited to 25 participants. Alaska Natural History Tour June 1984 $4,185 Experience the Great Land. Descrip- tions of Alaska are filled with superla- tives — a state more than twice the size of Texas with a population less than that of Denver, 33,000 miles of coast- line, 119 million acres of forest, 14 of the highest peaks in the United States cul- minating in Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), at 20,320 feet. Alaska is equally a land of wildlife superlatives, from her great herds of caribou to swarming seabird rookeries to surging salmon in migration. When one thinks of Alaska one thinks of wilderness, of nature still fresh and undomesticated, of experiences dreamed of but mostly un- available to us of the lower 48. Join us for an Alaskan odyssey through a wide range of habitats from the rockbound fur seal and sea bird col- onies of the Pribilofs, to the dripping forest and calving glaciers of the south- east, to the grandeur of the Alaskan Range, to the Fjordlike quiet and beauty of the inland passage. Our travels will be by plane, train, bus, boat, horseback, and foot — what- ever best enhances our experience. Emphasis will be on the land, its history, its wildlife. Interpretation combined with direct observation will provide an enjoyment and quality of experience un- available to the casual visitor. Whatever your interest in natural history — marine mammals, birding, mountains, photogra- phy, flowers, forests, glaciers, rivers — this tour will show you Alaska in all its diversity and splendor. The tour will be led by Dr. Robert Karl Johnson, Chairman of the Depart- ment of Zoology of Field Museum. For additional information on any tour, please call Tours Manager Dorothy Roder at 322*8862 or write Field Museum Tours, Roosevelt Road at La\e Shore Drive, Chicago, 1L 60605. Tropical Marine Biology Exploration of Isla Roatan February 15-24 $1,450 Crystal clear water, magnificent coral reefs, and a fantastic diversity of marine life are characteristics of the coast of Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands in the Gulf of Honduras and some 30 miles off the Central American coast. Field Museum will conduct a 10-day tour to Roatan especially for divers that will combine superlative diving, expert instruction in marine natural history, and an opportunity to observe or actively participate in the scientific collecting of fishes. An outstanding attraction for divers is spectacular "drop-offs" whose tops extend into depths as shallow as 25 feet. Leading the tour will be two ichthy- ologists with more than 10 years experience in the Caribbean as teachers, divers, and researchers: Dr. Robert Karl Johnson, curator of fishes and chairman of Field Museum's Department of Zoology; and Dr. David W Greenfield, professor of biological sciences and associate dean of the Graduate School at Northern Illinois University. Illustrated talks about marine ecosystems will be combined with field trips to observe habitat types. Accommodations will be at the Reef House diving resort on Roatan. The price of $1,450 covers all travel, lodging, and meals at the Reef House, and two or three tank dives per day. Additional Tour Gems Slated for 1984 US' China and Tibet cs- Kenya is* Peru cs" England's Old Inns, Old Homes, Old Castles, and Old Gardens. Please ask to be on our mailing list if any of these tours is of interest to you. 27 MISS MARITA MAXEY 411 N GRtENVIEW HICAGO XL 60626 YUEH LUNG SHADOW THEATRE Sunday, February 5 Two Performances: l:OOpm and 2:30pm James Simpson Theatre Members: $3.00 Nonmembers: $5 00 Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin larch 1984 Mi i iV. *. C msmm Lecture by George Archibald, March 24 ESKIMO ART 6> CULTURE LECTURE SERIE "Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo^ by William W. Fitzhugh, March 10 "The Elegance and Drama of Eskimo Art: Notable Achievements' by Dorothy Jean Ray, March 17 C0NT1NI EI> FROM PAGE 3 Events March Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demonstrations, and films related to ongoing exhibits are designed for families and adults. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for complete schedules and program locations. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. March 10 11 17 12:00noon Continents Adrift, (lecture/ demonstration) Why have fossils of similar dinosaur species been found on continents separated by vast oceans? The concept of "moving" continents is illustrated with enormous puzzle pieces. 1 :30pm. Tibetan Borderland: Bhutan and Nepal, (slide lecture) Experience a Hima- layanjourney as you explore Bhutan, "Land of the Thunder Dragon," and important sites of Buddhism in Nepal. 12:30pm Museum Safari, (tour) Seek out shrunken heads from the Amazon, mum- mies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. 2:30pm. Treasures From the Totem Forest. (tour) A walk through Museum exhibits introduces the Indians of southeast Alaska and British Columbia, whose totem poles and masks proclaim their pride of rank and mystical ties to animals and spirits. 2:30pm. Eskimo Art and Life, (tour) The hunters of the arctic fashion beautiful objects to honor spirits and the animals upon which their lives depend. This tour of our per- manent Eskimo collection serves to heighten understanding of our current special exhibit "Eskimo Art & Culture." 24 1:30pm. Tibetan Borderlands: Ladakh. (slide lecture) Examine the religious ritual, folk music, and daily lives of the people of Ladakh, "Land of Many Passes." 3:00pm. China's Great Wall and the Silk Road, (slide lecture) Travel west, along the Great Wall and caravan roads, to China's ancient capitals. Follow the course of Chinese empires, arts, and faiths. 25 12:30pm. Museum Safari, (tour) Seek out shrunken heads from the Amazon, mum- mies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. 2:00pm. Life in Ancient Egypt, (tour) In- vestigate the objects and practices, including mummification, which illustrate ancient life in the Nile Valley. 31 1:00pm. Traditional China, (tour) Exam- ine the timeless imagery and superb crafts- manship represented by Chinese master- works in our permanent collection. These weekend programs free with Museum admission; tickets not required. Registration Program Title Member Tickets # Requested Nonmember Tickets # Requested Total Tickets # Requested Amount Enclosed Please complete coupon for your program selection and any other special events. Com- plete all requested information on the applica- tion and include section number where appro- priate. If your request is received less than one week before program, tickets will be held in your name at West Entrance box office until one-half hour before event. Please make checks payable to Field Museum. Tickets will made only if program is sold out. Total Name Street For Office Use: Date Received Date Returned City 4 Telephone State Zip Daytime Evening Have you enclosed your self-addressed stamped envelope? Return complete ticket application with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Public Programs: Department of Education Field Museum of Natural History Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2497 FIELD BRIEFS Ray A. Kroc Ray A. Kroc 1902-1984 Ray A. Kroc, a generous donor to Field Mu- seum, died on January 14 in San Diego, CA at the age of 81. Mr. Kroc had distinguished him- self in the business world as founder of McDonald's Corporation, which he served as senior chairman of the board at the time of his death. He was also owner of the San Diego Ridres baseball team. In 1972 Mr. and Mrs. Kroc made a gift to Field Museum — one of several made in Chi- cago in observance of his seventieth birthday. The gift was to provide major funding for "Man in His Environment," a new hall opened in 1975 calling attention to man's effect on the biota. Another gift followed in 1975 to establish the Joan and Ray Kroc Environmental Educa- tion Fund. A major thrust of the fund was to Peter R. Crane initiate an adult education program at Field Museum. (See pages 24-26.) It is of interest that from that small beginning has grown a broad-based adult course and field trip pro- gram that served 4,900 registrants in 1983. Further, the program is largely self- supporting. The growth and success of the adult segment of Field Museum's educational program is in keeping with Mr. Kroc's own entrepreneurial spirit. Mr. and Mrs. Kroc's gifts to Field Museum totalled well over $1 million. They are among those generous donors who have helped to shape the Museum's course in the last quarter century. Ray Kroc's memory will be per- petuated in the Joan B. and Ray A. Kroc fu nd at Field Museum, which will ensure continued support of the Museum that he helped to build. British Award for Peter Crane Assistant Curator Peter R. Crane of the Department of Geology was honored in December by the British Palaeontological Association. At its annual meeting, the association awarded Crane the President's Prize for the best paper given by a research worker under the age of 30. Crane's presenta- tion concerned his research on fossils of some of the earliest known flowering plants. Crane joined the Field Museum staff in September 1982. His paleobotanical research is directed towards clarifying the evolution of flowering plants (angiosperms), which today dominate the world vegetation with more than a quarter of a million extant species. In particular, his studies have focused on the reproductive structure and biology of the earliest flowering plants, and the enigmas sur- rounding the origin and early diversification of the group. Later phases in angiosperm evolution are being examined through National Science Foundation-supported research on the early fossil history and evolu- tion of selected flowering plant families. President Boyd Honored The Law School Admission Council pre- sented awards in January to five law school graduates who have used their legal educa- tion in a variety of ways; among the five was Willard L. Boyd, president of Field Museum. The award was for "accomplishment and achievements as an inspiration to others at the threshold of a career choice." Boyd's outstanding accomplishments have been in higher education, the arts, and cultural institutions. Boyd received his law degree from the Willard L. Boyd University of Minnesota and LL.M. and S.J.D degrees from the University of Michi- gan. Before coming to Field Museum in 1981 he was at the University of Iowa since 1954, serving the university as president for his final twelve years there. Terrell Promoted to Curator John Terrell, who joined Field Museum's Department of Anthropology in September 1971, has been promoted from the rank of associate curator to that of full curator. A specialist in human biogeography and Pacific Islands archaeology and ethnology, Terrell's scholarly contributions focus on the study of human diversity and on innovating ways of explaining scientifically the peopling of the Pacific. In announcing this promotion, Lorin I. Nevling, Jr., director, noted also Terrell's in- strumental role in bringing the first main- frame mini-computer to the Museum, his leadership of the Center for Advanced Stud- ies during one of its most active priods, and his leadership also in the production of Field Museum's popular traveling exhibition "Pat- terns of Paradise." John Terrell DANCING for the DEAD by David M. Walsten Their body dynamics and de' lightful expressions catch our attention as we stroll through the Hall of Ancient China. The style of these terra-cotta figurines bears an astonishing similarity to the uninhibited choreographies of our own contemporary youth. Yet, these pieces of inspired mod' elling were fashioned more than 1,000 years ago, during the Tang dynasty. The function of the statu- ettes — averaging about 14 inches in height — was not to decorate the precincts of the living, but to provide perpetual entertainment for the dead, and we see them now much as their reahlife coun' terparts must have appeared dur- ing the sumptuous festivals that accompanied the funerals of Tang gentry. Through eternity, the mis' sion of these effigies was to accommodate the spirit of the man or woman in whose tomb they had been placed. In addition to performers of assorted types (actors, mimes, singers, jugglers, tumblers, boxers), figures of soh diers and servants also were Figurine of mime, hit 34.5 cm. Collected by Curator Berthold Laufer 1908-10. #1 18020. N98626. placed in burial chambers, as well as those serving spiritual needs — exorcists, shamans, and sorcerers. But it is these performers, seemingly modelled from life, who project so effectively from their modern glass case. Before the interring of effigies as attendants for the dead was generally practiced, humans were sacrificed for this purpose. As early as the Shang dynasty (I6th-llth centuries B.C.), the fidelity of servants as well as wives was rewarded by permit- ting them to join their masters in eternity. The Duke of Qin, who died in 678 B.C., is reported to have invited 66 of his henchmen to accompany him as servants in the other world; it is improbable that his invitations were declined. In 588 B.C., real horses and real chariots as well as flesh-and-blood servants accompanied the Duke of Song into the tomb. As late as the Han dynasty, which ended (Eastern Han) in AD. 220, the bodies of male and female ser- vants were said to have been secured with nails to tomb walls — before or after death is not made clear. Much earlier, however, dur- ing the time of Confucius (551- 479 B.C.), crude effigies of straw had sometimes been buried with the dead. Confucius disapproved of more exact replicas, believing that faithful representation made it easy to lapse into the barbarism of human sacrifice. The custom of placing clay figures in tombs be- gan in the Zhou, increased greatly in the Qin and Han, and reached a climax during the Tang (A.D. Figurine of mime. Ht. 36.2 cm. Collected by Curator Berthold Laufer 1908-10. 01 18021. N98639. 618-907)- By then, the sacrificing of humans had long since been discontinued. The rank of the deceased, not unexpectedly, determined the number of human effigies to accompany him in the afterlife. An official above the fourth rank (a relatively high station), for ex- ample, could have a platoon of 90; above the sixth rank, 60 pieces; above the tenth rank, 40. Com- mon folk had to be content with no more than 15, and the height of these could not exceed 8 inches. The higher one's rank, the taller his clay attendants, the maximum being life-size. Field Museum visi- tors who viewed the 1980 exhibit "The Great Bronze Age of China" will recall the spectacular life-size clay cavalrymen and horses that had been disinterred from the stadium-size excavations in the precincts of the tomb of the Emperor Qin Shihaungdi (221-210 B.C.). If small, the clay figures were arranged in a niche made for the purpose in a wall of the tomb, or they were placed on shelves along the walls. If large, they were commonly stood on the tomb floor at the head of the cof- fin. The graves of the wealthy sometimes had a special ante- room entirely filled with clay images of animals as well as men. There were also models of utili- tarian objects such as kitchen utensils, strong boxes, storage bins for grain, and even pig sties. It is not known just when the placing of effigies in tombs was no longer "in," but the Emperor Dai Zi (AD. 951-960), Figurine of mime. Ht. 35.8 cm. Collected by Curator Berthold Laufer 1908-10. #1 18022. N98638. who most certainly was aware of tomb depredations, ordered only his body and coffin occupy his. To make his tomb less attractive to thieves, he gave instructions that all the customary tomb furniture — statuettes of men, horses, and tigers as well as weapons — be left on the outside of the grave. But not everyone followed Dai Zi's suit; graves as recent as the Ming dynasty (1368- 1644) have yielded statuettes. Notable among these are the 66 polychrome glazed pottery figu- rines, representing an honor guard, that were recently on view as part of the exhibit "Treasures from the Shanghai Museum: 6,000 Years of Chinese Art," and featured on the cover of the Jan- uary Bulletin. These pieces, it has been determined, were made sometime after 1516. FH Below: Dwarves, popular with Tang royalty, were also represented in tombs. This figurine is of a female dwarf. Ht. 10.9cm. #117949. N98643. Right: Figurine of mime. Ht. 33.6cm. #118023. N98627. These figurines were collected by Curator Berthold tauter 1908-10. 10 Fig. 1 . The massive ceiba tree. Widely cultivated in the American tropics, the ceiba was a prime symbol of the universe for the ancient inhabitants of Mexico and Central America. Photo by William Burger. The Tree, the King and the Cosmos Aspects of Tree Symbolism in Ancient Mesoamerica by Alan L. Kolata Research Associate, Department of Anthropology- Fine line drawings, except where noted, by Sara Scherberg On November 8, 1519, a Spanish expeditionary force led by Hernan Cortes crossed over an ancient lake bed on a magnificent elevated cause- way into Tenochtitlan, the great native capital of the Mex- ica, or Aztec nation. The Spanish were astonished by that splendid city's vast marketplace burgeoning with exotic commodities from throughout the Mexica realm, by its sumptuous, exuberantly ornamented palaces and temples, and by the broad, regular avenues and waterways that inte- grated the entire metropolitan zone. These adventurers found themselves submerged in an alien world where even the most fundamental natural, social, and religious notions of the structure of man's universe were radically different from those that the Europeans held certain and sacred. In many respects, the Aztecs inhabited a cosmos with an architecture that, to the European, was inchoate and almost entirely incomprehensible. It is not surprising, then, that the Spanish, upon completing their political con- quest, quickly embarked upon a systematic program of cultural conquest as well, dismantling the temples of the Aztec state religion and destroying the monumental art that visually embodied the "barbaric" cosmological doc- trines which they perceived as subversive and threatening to the Christian world view. Today, those of us who are products of modern in- dustrial culture feel perhaps even more estranged from the ancient Mexica frame of reference than the Spanish. The Aztecs' philosophical and religious conceptions were born of and firmly rooted in a rich agrarian heritage and in a palpable sensitivity to the agricultural cycle of the seasons Portions of this article are excerpted from Dr. Kolata's forthcoming mono- graph, Tree Symbolism in Ancient Mesoamerica. Research for this work teas conducted while the author was a senior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library of Harvard University in Washington, DC. that to us is little more than a fading memory embedded in a nostalgic, rural mystique. We can spontaneously appreci- ate the monumentality and vigor of Aztec art, but in order to truly understand the nature and meaning of that art, together with the social information it conveyed, we must learn to perceive it in its own terms: as the product of an ancient, persevering cultural landscape of which the tech- nology, sociology, and ritual of farming was the pivot. Analyzing the symbolism encoded in the iconogra- phy of Aztec art furnishes us with a touchstone for com- prehending the multiple and even more ancient cultural and artistic streams that together make up a general Pre- Columbian Mesoamerican tradition. For the Aztec period alone are we provided with an abundance of literary and pictorial documents (first-hand descriptions of indigenous cultures by Europeans and native codices, or screenfolds) that elaborate and comment upon the meaning of native Mexican religion, ritual, and custom. In attempting to grasp the fundamental meaning of ancient Mesoamerican art, our point of departure then is this final and most ac- cessible period of Pre-Columbian cultural expression. One of the primary notions concerning the spatial structure of the cosmos held by the Mexica (and, as we shall see, by other Mesoamerican peoples as well) was a heirarchical arrangement in which the earth was seen as a vast, thin disc floating in the primeval ocean. Growing through the center of the earth-disc was a giant tree, the roots of which ran deep into the surrounding sea while its uppermost branches reached the highest layers of the heavens. This cosmic tree was the axis mundi, supporting and defining both the vertical and horizontal framework of the multilayered universe. A particularly graphic representation of this cosmic view appears on a beautiful Mexica ceremonial mosaic 11 shield housed in the collections of the British Museum (fig. 2). The iconography of this shield has been decoded recently in some detail by the art historian Richard Townsend.* In brief, the circular shape of the shield itself would have immediately evoked in the viewer the image of the earth- disc. Portrayed in wonderfully compressed fashion on the surface of the shield are images of the celestial and infernal Fig. 2 The image of the sacred tree as cosmogram rendered in a brilliant turquoise and shell mosaic on the surface of an Aztec ceremonial shield. Once the property of an impor- tant Aztec dignitary, this shield is now housed in the collec- tions of the British Museum. SUN DISC WITH RAYS AT THE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS of the shield). Viewed in this way, the shield becomes a remarkably compact, yet complex rendering of the tree as cosmogram. We know that shields as splendid as this were designed expressly for the most exalted rulers of the Mex- ica nation who used them for display on occasions of state ceremony. Frequently the mosaic designs on these shields were emblematic of both the individual and his office. In FLOWERING BRANCHES OF THE COSMIC TREE SKY-BEARERS CHTHONIC SERPENT CONNECTING THE COSMIC REALMS realms, connected by a giant flowering tree. The heavens are represented by the disc of the sun with red coral rays pointing to the cardinal directions, by the four ritually attired sky-bearers with arms held aloft and, at the summit of the cosmos, by the flowering branches of the tree. The underworld is represented by an immense chthonic ser- pent rising from the base of the cosmic tree and looping around its trunk to the heavens. Townsend suggests that the four toothlike elements pendant from the lower body of the serpent represent an abbreviated Tlaltecuhtli mouthmask, symbolic both of the earth and of the entrance to the underworld. Finally, at the base of the shield is a downward projecting bifid element that Town- send believes is a serpent's tongue, but that I believe may also represent the roots of the cosmic tree sunk in the underworld abyss. This whole ensemble of images on the surface of the shield was meant to be conceptualized spatially as the vertical component of a three-dimensional array (that is, rotated 90 degrees to form an axis through the center 'Townsend, Richard F. 1979. State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, No. 20. Dumbarton ] 2 Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C. ROOTS OF THE COSMIC TREE wearing the shield with the world-tree cosmogram, a Mex- ica lord was making an implicit comparison between him- self as the ruler of his nation and the great tree as the order- ing principle of the cosmos. The political message of the shield is clear: the king is to the state as the great tree is to the cosmos. Both provide order, one to the politi- cal chaos of earth, the other to the physical chaos of the universe. This important metaphorical association of kings and trees is confirmed and extended by traditional Nahuatl (the Aztec language) discourses that were delivered on the occasion of important events in the lives of the Mexica royal household. These discourses were preserved and re- corded in the original by the Spanish clerics Duran and, more importantly, Sahagun. One such discourse was made by Nezahualcoytl, king of Texcoco, to the Mexica king Moctezuma the Elder upon the latter's accession to the throne of Tenochtitlan in 1440: I have come here, O Lord, to tell you of the misery, the affliction that reigns in your province of Texcoco. In your greatness deign to lift it and enable it and shelter it from other nations. You well know, great prince, that all your vassals, nobles as well as common people are under your shade and you have been planted here like a great cedar under which men wish to rest. 1 Another discourse, likewise addressed to a new monarch upon his installation, again compares the ruler metaphorically to a great tree and further charges him with the care of his subjects: May thou perform thy office, may thou do thy work. Be diligent with that which is heavy, the burden, the uncon- frontable, the insupportable. And extend thy wings, thy tail feathers. May thy common folk those whom thou gov- ernest, enter into thee. May they enter into thy shade, into thy shadow, for our lord hath made thee to be the great, the circular shade, the silk cotton tree, 2 the cypress. May the governed be rich, be prosperous. 3 This passage stresses that the ruler must be prepared to bear an almost unsupportable burden. The nature of that burden is clarified in a second formal admonition to the new ruler: Thou Hast Undertaken To Shoulder A Bundle Of People, A Carrying-Frame Load Of People. This saying was said of him who had been installed as ruler or set up as a lord. Thus he was told: "Thou has undertaken to shoulder a bundle of people, a carrying frame load of people. Thou wilt find heavy, thou wilt find tiring the common folk, for great is the burden which thou has shouldered, which thou has undertaken. 4 Taken together, these passages define the primary duty of the Mexica king: the protection, care and nurturing of the governed. Metaphorically, they describe the king who has successfully discharged this office as a great ceiba tree and as a carrying frame of the common people. These passages state clearly that there is a symbolic identity be- tween the king who supports his subjects and the great tree that supports the unimaginable burden of the cosmos, the central world tree that was most often conceptualized as a ceiba. Just as that great tree, to avoid physical chaos in the universe, must not fail in its task as the carrying frame of the cosmos, so too the king must not fail to support his subjects if he is to avoid political chaos in the state (and, by implication, precipitous loss of his office). Other Nahuatl adages extend the metaphor of the king as world tree in an important direction. Among the Mexica not only was the ruler seen as the framework and core of the state, providing political protection for his sub- jects, but also, quite literally, as the provider of daily suste- nance for the common people: (The silk cotton tree) shades, it gives shadow, it shades one. Hence, for this reason, it is called the "governor," for he becomes as a silk cotton tree, a cypress. It bears fruit, it produces fruit. 5 Some passages directly compare the ruler and his family to the plants that sustained the common people: "the maguey, the nopal, the (fruit) trees." 6 During the Feast of Tlaloc, the king impersonating the "god" Tlaloc, personification of the life-giving rains, is described as, that which fresheneth, that which is tender, that which sprouteth, that which blossometh; the plants, those which come from thee; thy flesh, thy freshness . . . the nourishment whereby the world remaineth alive, . . . the sustenance. 7 What these proverbs, adages, and discourses are referring to in metaphoric fashion is the role of the Mexica king as the ultimate guarantor of agricultural success. One of the primary cult obligations of the royal household was to perform a continuing, seasonally regulated set of agri- cultural rituals that were, in effect, increase ceremonies for food crops, especially maize. The feast of Tlacaxipe- hualiztli (the "Skinning of Men") and the aforementioned Feast of Tlaloc, for example, were presided over by rulers of the Mexica nation and were explicitly conducted for the purpose of securing agricultural fertility. The rituals of these feasts express all of the metaphorical associations of kings, trees, and agricultural fertility discussed here: blood sacrifices for agricultural success were made by the "chief dignitaries and sovereigns" to "Tota, 'Our Father,'" whose image was represented by a huge tree specially erected for the ceremony. 8 Returning to our mosaic shield for a moment, the carefully depicted flowering branches of the cosmic tree towering above the brilliantly colored disc of the sun evoke this same extended metaphor. In this aspect, the cosmic tree on the shield is seen as the tree of life with its roots drawing water from the primeval ocean to nourish and sustain the cosmos. Therefore, when worn by one of the lords of Tenochtitlan, to the political message of the shield (the king, like the cosmic tree, gives order and stability) can be added the economic message that, like the J. Duran, Fray Diego. 1971. Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar. Translated by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, 88. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 2. The silk cotton tree is a ceiba fC. pentandraj. 3. Sahagun, Fray Bernardino de. 1951-70. Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain. Translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles Dibble, Book 6:58. Monographs of The School of American Research, The School of American Research and the University of Utah, Santa Fe. 4. Sahagun 1951-70, Book 6:258 5. Sahagun 1951-70, Book 11:109 6. Sahagun 1951-70, Book 6:91 7. Sahagun 1951-70, Book 6:36 8. Duran 1971:161 and plate 14 13 tree of life, the king nourishes and sustains the common people: through direct intercession and indentity with the divine forces of nature he will guarantee agricultural suc- cess for the nation. It is clear, even from so brief an overview, that there was among the peoples of the Valley of Mexico in Pre- Hispanic times a metaphorical association of rulers and trees, one most specifically expressed in terms of a sym- bolic identity between the king and the world tree. Two trees in particular, the ceiba (pochotl) and the cypress {aueuetl), were explicitly referred to as "father, mother, lord, capitan, or governor." Conversely the Mexica kings and great magnates were ritually described and addressed as the ceiba that towers above all else. According to Duran, 9 the sovereign of the city-state Amecameca even took the name Cuauhteotl, "Divine Tree." By adopting a symbolic association with trees, and more specifically with the world tree/tree of life, these sovereigns were claiming a ritual identity with the ordering principle of the cosmos, the principle that nourishes and sustains all life. The Mexica kings were consciously using the generally acknowledged image of the tree as cosmo- gram as an emblem of their right to rule. The tangible interplay between religious symbolism and secular politics could not be more clear. Was this particular set of cosmological symbols an invention of the Aztec state, or can we trace its roots even deeper in other Mesoamerican political and cultural tradi- tions? I believe that we can, in fact, discern the same con- ceptual association of rulers, trees, and agricultural rites of intercession in other places, at other times, and among other peoples in Mesoamerica. I would argue that this association was a recurring central metaphor in the ideological structure of Mesoamerican civilization, and therefore a principal leitmotiv of public art commissioned by royal households to commemorate their government. Although in this brief essay it is not practical to document the entire range of occurrence of this symbolic set, or the various political, social, and ideological meanings with which it was imbued, a few well-chosen examples of the same ruler-tree-agricultural ritual association from non- Aztec Mesoamerica will serve to clarify and emphasize the pervasive nature of this concept which, in the native mind, intimately bound the world of nature with the social order. An extraordinary rendering of this symbolic set appears in one of the precious native-style manuscripts, or codices, that remain to us from Pre-Hispanic times (the 9. Duran 1971:97 14 Fig. 3. Simplified drawing of the image on page 53 of the Borgia Codex, a native-style manuscript from the Mixtec region of western Mexico. folded pages of these manuscripts were usually strips of deer hide that were cut to size, sewed together, coated with gesso, and painted in multiple colors). The image in ques- tion was painted on what scholars have designated as page 53 of the Borgia Codex (fig. 3). This manuscript comes to us from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, center of the ancient Mixtec region. Here elaborately dressed rulers, apparently personifying deities of natural forces, are engaged in auto- mutilation, drawing blood from their own bodies with sharp bone awls in order to fertilize the roots of a great tree from which spring enormous, marvelously exaggerated cobs of corn. This tree, emerging from the belly of a skele- tal figure reclining on the plane of the earth's surface, graphically evokes a sense of agricultural fertility: it is the archetype of vegetal abundance, the Tree of Life. The pro- found role of the ruler in assuring the continuing regenera- tion and vigor of this tree of life, which was emblematic of the agricultural abundance that sustained the common folk, is portrayed with uncommon frankness. The monarch must sacrifice some of his own life-giving blood to ritually nourish the earth and thereby coax from it a bountiful harvest for his people. The truly intimate symbolic connections between rulers and trees finds its ultimate expression in an ancient tradition from this same Mixtec region which relates that the old Pre-Hispanic kings and their ruling lineages were originally born from trees growing in the Mixtec high- lands. A Mixtec origin myth recorded during early Spanish Colonial times explicitly states that the Mixtec people emerged from the center of the earth, but that the Mixtec kings and gods were born from trees. The anthropologist Jill Furst* has documented many vivid visual representa- tions of this oral myth in Mixtec manuscripts. Frequently in these manuscripts a royal couple, attended by two elab- orately garbed deities, is portrayed emerging from a cleft in the swollen trunk of a tree (fig. 4). In some illustrations of tree birth, the emergent royal figure is still attached to *Furst, Jill Leslie. 1 977. The Tree Birth Tradition in the Mixteca, Mexico. Journal of Latin American Lore 3:2, 183-226. Fig. 4. The birth of a royal cou- ple from a sacred tree as por- trayed on page 37b of the Vienna Codex, a Pre-Hispanic manuscript from the Mixtec region. 15 the sacred tree by a kind of umbilical cord (fig. 5). The birth of an entire royal lineage from a lush tree appears in startling detail on the intricately carved surface of a bone discovered in an elite tomb at the ruins of Monte Alban, the ancient paramount city of the Mixtec region (fig. 6). This remarkable carving not only confirms the pre- sumptive antiquity of the tree birth myth, but further gives richer meaning to the term "genealogical tree." Fig. 5. An elabo- rately masked male, identified by his calendrical name as "2 Grass Skull. " emerges from the crown of a magical tree entwined with serpents. Note the umbilical cord which still connects "2 Grass Skuir to the tree of his birth. Page 2-1 of the Selden Codex. century AD. The lid of Pacal's sarcophagus is carved elab- orately with heiroglyphic texts along the border and with the image of the dead Pacal himself, seated on a throne within the jaws of the mythical chthonic serpent, symbol of the earth and the underworld (fig. 9) Rising behind Pacal (or perhaps emerging from his body) is a stunning render- ing of a tree surmounted by a fantastic masked bird, most likely a quetzal or eagle, symbolically associated with the In death, as in birth, the image of the cosmic tree, as axis mundi and as tree of life, remained an emblem of cen- tral importance to the Pre-Hispanic kings of Mesoamerica. At the Classic Maya site of Palenque in Yucatan, there is a tomb hidden deep within an elegant pyramidal structure called the Temple of the Inscriptions. Within that tomb lies a massive stone sarcophagus which holds the remains of a Mayan king named Pacal, who died in the seventh celestial realm. The entire ensemble of images on the sar- cophagus strongly suggests that the intended message of the sculpture was to exemplify the elevation of the dead king to divine status, and that this apotheosis of Pacal was to be visually expressed and confirmed by identifying the king with the World tree. Although the sarcophagus of Pacal is perhaps the most striking example, other key commemorative monu- Fig. 6. The birth of a royal lineage from a sacred tree as carved on the surface of a bone discovered in tomb 7 at the ancient ritual center of Monte 16 Aiban in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The first of seven figures is attached to the tree by an umbilical cord. ments at Palenque, placed within temple precincts, ritually associate sacred images of the world tree/tree of life with the secular status, power, authority, and obligations of these regional Maya rulers. Like the Axtec nobility, then, the Maya kings used the image of the cosmic tree as an emblem legitimizing their right to rule. Even in the centuries before Christ, we can identify this seemingly obsessive concern of native Mesoamerican rulers to ritually associate themselves with prominent and visually impressive images of trees as cosmograms and as symbols of agricultural abundance. The corpus of art referred to as the Izapa style, consisting most notably of carved stone sculptures and stelae from the Pacific coastal regions of Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, contains multiple and repeated images of trees, many of which are clear iconic references to our two primary sym- bolic manifestations: the world tree and the tree of life. One sculpture at the site of Izapa itself, Stela 25, dat- ing between about 300 B.C. to AD. 250, combines all of the convergent metaphorical associations of kings and trees that we have seen embodied in the Aztec shield. The design on this stela illustrates the two interrelated sym- bolic representations of the sacred tree: in its aspect as the axis mundi or world tree, and in its aspect as the archetype of vegetal abundance or tree of life (fig. 7). At the left is the image of fertility and abundance, an upended cayman whose vertically oriented body becomes the trunk of a tree, while its tail is transformed into the luxuriant branches and leaves of the tree's crown. A small bird with plumed head perches on this cayman-tree, and a conch shell is placed behind the snout of the cayman. The conch shell associates the cayman-tree with the underworld and the watered earth, while the bird associates it with the heavens — both essential elements in the symbolic representation of the tree of life. On the right side of the design field is an image of the world-tree as a pillar, or more precisely a staff with three crosspieces, probably intended as a symbol of the multilayered universe. A human figure, clearly of elite sta- tus, and, significantly enough, adorned with a headdress of sprouting vegetation, holds the staff which emerges from a globular vessel. Surmounting this tree-as-staff is a spec- tacular masked bird which gazes toward its counterpart on the cayman-tree. To complete and interweave the two im- ages, a snake winds down from the crosspieces of the staff, loops around the body of the cayman-tree and hangs freely with its head at the base of the staff-tree. Viewed in this way, Stela 25 becomes a sculptural statement by the sovereign at Izapa who commissioned it Fig. 7. Stela 25 from the site of Izapa. Drawing by Genaro Barr that reads: "this place is sacred because it is the center of the universe; my staff is the symbol of the center and I am its ruler. Because I am its ruler, I can provide for the suste- nance of my people." This is the exact statement made by the kings of Tenochtitlan some 1,500 years later when on state occasions they mounted the great temples of the capital, resplendent in their royal garments and armed with ritual shields displaying the emblem of the world-tree. How can we account for the remarkable continuity and coherence of this conceptual association of rulers- trees-agricultural ritual over wide expanses of space, time, and cultural tradition? The choice of the tree as the central symbol of this association is neither fortuitous nor particu- larly surprising. Trees, by their very nature, are impressive features of the natural landscape. Trees like the ceiba possess towering size, strength, and longevity; they have substantial root systems that reach deep into the earth and magnificent crowns that seem to form a canopy against the sky. What better symbol could there be for the metaphor of the axis mundi, the pillar that sustains the universe? These natural and symbolic qualities of trees were of prime inter- est to the sovereigns of ancient Mesoamerica who wished to ritually appropriate and publicly identify themselves with these same qualities. 1 7 But, for these native kings and ruling households, there was an even more compelling reason to seize upon the tree as an emblem of legitimate power. The states that these elite classes governed were economically dependent upon systems of intensive agriculture. Often the fate of central government in these preindustrial states was linked to its agricultural success. Accordingly, the ruling house- holds of these states invested heavily in the construction and maintenance of large-scale reclamation projects de- signed to intensify agricultural production. However, building and sustaining these agricultural systems was not simply an economic proposition, requiring merely appro- priate technology and a coordinated labor force. In the Mesoamerican worldview, to ensure agricultural success and thereby economic survival, these food producing sys- tems had to be ritually sanctioned and maintained at key intervals in the agricultural calendar as well. It is precisely here that the metaphor of the king as the cosmic tree reveals its full symbolic force. The yearly transformational cycle of trees, lying dormant in the winter (or dry season), surging to life in the spring (or onset of the rainy season), and gradually returning to dormancy in the fall, shedding their leaves, seeds, and fruits, closely mimics the agricultural cycle of the seasons exploited by man (the fields lie fallow, they are prepared and planted; the plants flourish and mature and finally they are gathered in the autumn harvest). By identifying themselves metaphorically with the natural qualities of trees, these kings of ancient Mesoamer- ica, who were charged with the obligation of ensuring the agricultural success of their nations, were ritually assuring the people they governed that, like the perpetual yearly regeneration of the great trees of nature, the vast fields of the realm would not fail to produce an abundant harvest. In this way, the world tree/tree of life became an emblem of both political authority and economic prosperity: the king was at the center, governing and sustaining the state. But most importantly, through ritual intercession, he con- tinually guaranteed the agricultural health of his nation. To the mind of the ancient Mesoamerican, then, the tree and the cosmos, the king and the nation were metaphorically one. Their qualities were merged and their functions identical: they were simply different reflections of the same order that was expressed in both the natural and social worlds. It is by understanding the fundamental principle of the unity of these worlds that underlies the religious philosophy of ancient Mesoamerica, a principle anchored firmly in the bedrock of agrarian tradition, that we can seek to reconstruct the worldview of peoples now lost to us. FH 18 Fig. 8. The great trunk and crown of the ceiba tree silhouetted against the evening sky. The ancient rulers of Mesoamerica ritually and symbolically appropriated the impressive natural qualities of this tree, employing it as an emblem of their authority. Photo by William Burger. Fig. 9. The sarcophagus cover of the Maya king "Pacal," who ruled from the city of Palenque in the seventh century ad. Photo by Merle Greene Robertson and Lee Hooker. Courtesy Princeton University Press, which published the photo in The Sculpture of Palenque, Vol. I: The Temple of the Inscriptions (1983). 19 Common cranes over the Himalayas These awesome giants of the bird kingdom are being aided by the International Crane Foundation in their struggle to survive by George Archibald photos courtesy the International Crane Foundation Try to imagine that you are nearing the summit of Mount Everest, oxygen mask intact, layers of insula- tion protecting you from the intense cold. Suddenly you hear trumpetlike noises overhead. Gazing up, you see a V formation of large, dazzling white birds with black necks and flight feathers. Cranes! They must be flying at over 30,000 feet above sea level, over the formidable Himalayas. George Archibald was a cofounder and is a director of the International 20 Crane Foundation, Baraboo, Wisconsin. At dawn, these common cranes might have been nesting in the shallows of a Tibetan lake. As mid-morning sunshine bathed the plains, columns of rising warm air, or thermals, began to form. Using them to gain altitude, the cranes began the last stage of their long migration from the Siberian tundra to the Gangetic plain of India. With their wings fixed, the cranes spiralled up in loosely organized groups, effortlessly riding the thermals to breathtaking altitudes. High above the Tibetan plateau, they formed broad V's and began a fixed-wing glide to the south. They gradually lost altitude, covering scores of miles in a shallow dive. When they had descended to a few hundred feet above land, they began their first flapping flight. Their great eight-foot wingspans thrust them forward, until they found another thermal to carry them up for yet another gliding advance. Soon the great Himalayan peaks were beneath them. The bright reflection from the snow reflected back off their light-gray body feathers, making them appear blinding white from below. By late afternoon the peaks were behind them, and the flock was over green foothills. Finally, the lakes and rivers of the northern Gangetic plain came into view. Parachuting downward, they alighted in the shallows of a broad wetland, and began a welcomed refueling. The cranes had returned to a landscape visited by some older birds for decades — a home to the ancestors of this flock for millions of years. When cranes pass overhead, people be- low realize a new season has come. From Tibet to India and beyond, cranes are considered auspicious birds. Good fortune rides on the sweeping strength of their wings. Their graceful postures, fidelity to mates, size, and wild- ness have endeared the crane to Cro-Magnon cave painters as well as to modern man. How, then, is it possible that half of the world's fifteen crane species are now endangered? The wetlands on which the cranes nest and rear their young have been drained — destroyed to produce more farmland. Cranes have been hunted for food and sport. Egg collec- tors took a toll in the early decades of this century. By 1941 the whooping cranes of North America were reduced to 14 individuals. A decade ago a nonprofit organization called the International Crane Foundation (ICF) was established near Baraboo, Wisconsin, with the sole aim of helping the cranes. Two graduate students from Cornell University, George Archibald and Ronald Sauey, were cofounders. Mr. Sauey's parents, Norman and Claire Sauey, donated the use of their farm as headquarters for ICF's captive breeding center. Baraboo became ICF's thermal — a place to gain altitude and fly. ICF has had an eventful 10-year history. Zoos and gov- ernments sent rare cranes to ICF With careful manage- ment, pairs formed and started to breed — several species for the first time in captivity. Today, ICF owns a place of its own, supports a staff of 10 and a collection of 78 cranes of 14 species, and has a membership of several thousand enthusiastic supporters. ICF's most noteworthy achievements, however, have not been in aviculture or public education programs head- "Shuttle Diplomacy: Aiding the Cranes of Asia" Dr. Georse Archibald, director International Crane Foundation, will deliver this lecture on Saturday, March 24, 2:00 pm, in James Simpson Theatre. Members $3.00, nonmembers $5.00. Tickets may be ordered with coupon on page 4. This lecture is supported in part by the Ray A. Kroc Environmental Fund. Red-crowned crane, adult 21 quartered in the Midwest, but in promoting crane con- servation overseas. Cranes are found in North America, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ICFs cofounders have been busy in a spectrum of nations on these continents. For example, it is icf which conveys ornithological news be- tween China and the USSR. Despite recent political traumas in Iran, ICF still keeps in close contact with col- leagues there. Cranes are a common interest — a bond across borders. For example, ICF is now involved in a long-term, ambitious attempt to establish a new and more secure flock of Siberian cranes in west Asia. There are fewer than 300 of these snow-white cranes alive. In winter they feed on plant tubers found in shallow wetlands in Iran, India, and China. These wetlands are as endangered as the cranes. If the last habitats are lost to development, the cranes will probably starve. But on the vast uplands of those same countries, com- mon cranes feed on abundant agricultural wastes. Because of their adaptability, they number in the tens of thousands. If Siberian cranes could learn to feed with the common cranes, their wintering range could expand enormously. Foraging behavior is learned in cranes. Crane chicks stay George Archibald with red-crowned crane chick Red-crowned crane, juvenile with their parents for ten months, and are often offered food by the adults. ICF wants to capitalize on this aspect of crane behavior through a cooperative venture with the USSR. Siberian crane eggs, produced in captivity at ICF and sister centers, are being substituted into the nests of wild common cranes in the boreal forests of the USSR. The com- mon cranes will raise the Siberian chicks, lead them on their migration route, and teach them to feed in agricultu- ral fields on the wintering grounds. Through restocking programs of this kind, a captive-breeding program can restore crane populations in the wild. In an era when war could destroy life on earth as it is known, it is critical that men from divided camps cooper- ate on projects of mutual interest. Cranes have proven to be a vehicle for such cooperation. As we help these mysterious, majestic birds continue their pilgrimages over the mountains, perhaps they may, in turn, help us under- stand and trust each other. FH Red-crowned crane over Korea 's demilitarized zone Common cranes in Iran r «.' V- Wi ±z W Participants enjoyed the class on Lake Michigan limnology which took place on board the Research Vessel Rachel Carson. Adult Education Program by Robert B. Pickering Program Deueloper, Department of Education photos by the author As an educational institution, Field Museum possesses certain special advantages. It has no football team. It gives no course credits or course examinations and awards no degrees — Formal education, moreover, in schools, colleges and universities is something you finish. It is lil{e the mumps, measles, whooping' cough or chic\en'pox. Having had education once, you need not, indeed you cannot, have it again. . . . The Museum is free from this regrettable tradition. . . . The Museum is seductive. Perhaps be' cause it does not employ compulsion, but woos the learner with artful wiles, it con' tinues to deceive him into educating him' 24 self as long as he lives. (From an address by Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, September 15, 1943.) Field Museums Adult Education Pro- gram began in 1975, with 134 partici- pants enrolled in 5 classes. By 1983 four terms were in place and the number of courses had jumped from 5 per term to over 30, with a total of 3,000 persons en- rolled. During seven years the program has grown rapidly, and the participants have learned that Field Museum is a place to find unique opportunities that are both informative and fun. The great- er appeal is the ambience offered for self- directed adult learners. The 1970s saw increasing interest in adult education and in life-long learning opportunities. People began taking courses in subjects as diverse as wine tasting and fly-tying. Previously, adults had favored courses designed for pro- fessional advancement, then interests shifted to courses for enjoyment and self improvement. The communication explosion, rapid transportation, televi- sion, and computers have opened vistas never before explored. People want to know about the Mayas, myths of origin, animal behavior, reproductive strategies — subjects that reveal the mysteries of life and people. Field Museum's Adult Education pro- gram sets high standards for teaching. Subject mastery is the minimum require merit; but beyond that, the instructor must be able to communicate with en' thusiasm and quickly assess group ex- perience and interests. Each course fo- cuses on an aspect of natural history or anthropology — the strengths of the col- lections. The courses present topics that base resource for courses. People are amazed at how much more they can ob- serve when they have the chance to dis- cuss specimens or artifacts with a specialist. Each object takes on a new importance. Many instructors are Museum scien- tists or are specialists recommended by Top: An intimate look at fishes includes viewing them in their natural habitat and examining pre- served specimens in research collections. Bottom: Dave Willard, collection manager of birds, discusses fine points of identification with students. cannot be addressed in programs offered by other institutions. The Museum's ex- hibits and research collections are the the Museums scientific staff. They are well informed about the latest develop- ments in their respective fields. Informa- tion discussed in class is often more recent than the material found in the popular press or in the latest textbooks. Participants often examine specimens which are not on exhibit and are able to use facilities that the public has limited access to. Where else can one learn about the evolution of various life forms and have such a wealth of specimens to examine? Courses focus on the diversity and beau- ty of the world around us. They provide new ways to view natural and human history. Clusters of related courses are offered to provide a wide range of experi- ence on specific subjects. For example, the subject of textiles — from fiber pro- perties to kinds of dyes — may be covered. Weaving equipment from different re- gions is compared, while courses on tex- tile conservation develop skills for the proper storage and care of one's own pre- cious fabrics. Why do people take courses at Field Museum? Past participants say that they try to stay current with developments in their field of academic interest. Many are graduates in anthropology, history, or the social sciences, but do not work in these fields. They may instead be brokers, lawyers, or in business. Courses help people stay in touch with interests, new and old. Meeting new people who have similar interests and wish to exchange information is another advantage. Tak- ing a class is often an introduction to a network of involved people. "Field Museum courses are as special as Field Museum itself." This is the main standard of the Adult Education pro- gram, and one that program participants should expect. In order to continually improve our program, we ask you to complete and send in the questionnaire on the follow- ing page. Your answers will help us to know whether we are providing the kind of program that Museum members want. Your cooperation is important. Please send the completed form to: Adult Education, Department of Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605. For more informa- tion, please call 322-8855. The spring courses begin the week of April 9. * 25 Adult Education Member Survey Mail to: Adult Education, Dep't ot Education, Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 Age Sex Occupation Zip Code How long have you been a member of Field Museum? Less than 2 years Two to 5 years More than 5 years Were you aware that Field Museum offers courses for adults? Yes No When you receive the courses for adults brochure in the mail do you: Look for a subject that is of interest to you Flip through the brochure and look at the illustrations Discard the brochure Pass the brochure on to a friend who might be interested Other (explain): Have you ever taken an adult class at Field Museum? Yes No Which statement best describes how often you take classes? Never At least twice a year When a subject of interest to me is offered Once Almost every term When the weather is good When I can persuade a friend or spouse to take a class also I have never taken a class at Field Museum because: Inconvenient class times Transportation difficulties Tuition cost Subjects Other (explain) Have you taken classes elsewhere in the Chicago area? Yes No If yes, where? Why do you take classes here or elsewhere? Long-term interest in a particular subject General enjoyment Just for something to do Occupational advancement Opportunity to meet others with similar interests What courses would you like to see offered in Field Museum's program? 26 When would it be most convenient for you to attend classes? Once a week on a weekday evening Once a week on a weekday afternoon Once a week on a weekend during the day All day Saturday and/or Sunday Tours For Members Alaska Natural History Tour June 1984 $4,185 Experience the Great Land. Descrip- tions of Alaska are filled with superla- tives — a state more than twice the size of Texas with a population less than that of Denver, 33,000 miles of coast- line, 119 million acres of forest, 14 of the highest peaks in the United States cul- minating in Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), at 20,320 feet. Alaska is equally a land of wildlife superlatives, from her great herds of caribou to swarming seabird rookeries to surging salmon in migration. When one thinks of Alaska one thinks of wilderness, of nature still fresh and undomesticated, of experiences dreamed of but mostly un- available to us of the lower 48. Join us for an Alaskan odyssey through a wide range of habitats from the rockbound fur seal and sea bird col- onies of the Pribilofs, to the dripping forest and calving glaciers of the south- east, to the grandeur of the Alaskan Range, to the Fjordlike quiet and beauty of the inland passage. Our travels will be by plane, train, bus, boat, horseback, and foot — what- ever best enhances our experience. Emphasis will be on the land, its history, its wildlife. Interpretation combined with direct observation will provide an enjoyment and quality of experience un- available to the casual visitor. Whatever your interest in natural history — marine mammals, birding, mountains, photogra- phy, flowers, forests, glaciers, rivers — this tour will show you Alaska in all its diversity and splendor. The tour will be led by Dr. Robert Karl Johnson, Chairman of the Depart- ment of Zoology of Field Museum. Grand Canyon Adventure May 25 'June 3 Many of us have beheld the Grand Canyon from the rim or while flying overhead, and some of us have hiked partway down to the Colorado River. But there is another Grand Canyon that relatively few have experienced: Field Museum is offering you the opportunity to see and experience the canyon from the river. The 280-mile trip will be by two motorized rubber rafts. We'll sleep on sandy beaches under the stars and our meals will be excellent. Along the way, we'll hike to places of unusual geologic and anthropologic interest, sometimes through the most pleasant and enchant- ing stream beds and valleys, at times along the waterfalls. We'll see and study more geology in this one brief period than can be seen anywhere else in comparable time. Dr. Bertram Wood- land, curator of petrology, will be our tour leader. The trip will begin on Friday, May 25, with a flight to Las Vegas, where we will remain overnight. Saturday we'll leave by deluxe bus for Lees Ferry, where we'll board the rafts. The trip will end 9 days later, at Pierce Ferry, near the head of Lake Mead. We'll re- turn to Chicago, via Las Vegas, Sunday, June 3. You needn't be a "rough rider" to join this expedition — you needn't even know how to swim. Persons of any age can enjoy the river with equanimity, and come out proud and happy to have experienced this extraordinary adven- ture. The cost (to be announced) per per- son covers all expenses (including air fare, board fees, waterproof bags for gear, sleeping bags, etc.), and all meals. The trip is limited to 25 participants. Additional Tour Gems Slated for 1984 i®= China and Tibet ns= Kenya US' Peru ts- England's Old Inns, Old Homes, Old Castles, and Old Gardens. For additional information on any tour, please call Tours Manager Dorothy Roder at 322*8862 or write Field Museum Tours, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, 1L 60605. 27 DITri FLEMING <*6 PLEASANT A * PARK ILL 60 30 2 At Field Museum March 10 through May 27 Comprising two superb exhibits: "Grasp Tight the Old Ways: The Klamer Family Collection oflnuitArt," Featuring 20th-century Eskimo Art and "Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo," Featuring Eskimo art and artifacts collected a century ago Special lectures on Eskimo Art and culture March 10 and 17 (see pages 3 and 4) Members Preview Friday March 9, 5 30-8:00 pm With special events for children FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BULLETIN April 1984 Exhibit: "Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980" April 14-July 15 "What is Folk Art? Symposium" April 14 Black Folk Art Lectures: April 28, May 5, 19 Family Feature: "Flights of Fancy" — Birds, Kites & Kids April 1 Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Pamela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bowen Blair Willard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook O.C. Davis William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnellev II Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphv, Jr. Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Bvron Smith Robert H. Strotz William G. Swartchild, Jr. Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Julian B. Wilkins Blaine J. Yarrington Life Trustees Harrv O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C Gregg William V. Kahler William H Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard Wood CONTENTS April 1984 Volume 55, Number 4 April Events At Field Museum Fossil Plant Collections at the Field Museum by Martlia S. Bryant, collection manager of fossil invertebrates 5 and fossil plants, and Peter R. Crane, assistant curator of paleobotany Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980 by Richard Powell, guest curator and consultant 11 Market Art from Northeastern Asia A 19th-century Siberian Souvenir 19 by James W. VanStone, curator of Worth American archaeology and Ethnologi> Environmental Field Trips by Keith Mason, program deivloper. Department of Education 22 Field Briefs 26 Field Museum Tours for Members 27 COVER Crucifixion. 1940. by Elijah Pierce. Carved and painted nxxxi on painted wood panel, 47x30' _>." From tlie Elijah Pierce Art Gallen', Columbus. Ohio. Tlie work of Pierce is among that of 19 other painters, sculptors, and graphic artists in the neiv exhibition. "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980." on view at Field Museum April 14 througlijuly 15. See pages 11-18 and. for schedules of related events, the back cover. This exhibition was organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington. D.C.. and sponsored by grants from Atlantic Richfield Foundation and the Xational Endowment for the Arts. Washington. D.C. The Chicago showing of this exhibit was made possible by a grant from the Atlantic Richfield Foundation. Coivr photo courtesy Corcoran Gallen' of Art. Field Museum of Satural History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined July August issue, by Field Museum of Natural History. Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive. Chicago. II. 60605. Subscriptions: S6.00 annually. S3. 00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed bv authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policv of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9430. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- toid Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive. Chicago, II 60605 ISSN':OOL5-0703 Eskimo Art and Culture comprisins two exhibits: "Inua: Spirit World of the Berins Sea Eskimo" and "Grasp Tight the Old Ways: The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art" continues on view through May 27 Events ^\ Black Folk Art Symposium and Lecture Series This scries is designed to complement the special exhibit "Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980." The lectures are funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. "What is Folk Art?: Symposium" Saturday, April 14, 2:00-5 :00pm, James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance This symposium explores the varied and often contradictory viewpoints of a social historian, a museum curator responsible for an institution's collections, a contemporary gallery owner, and a private collector. Each member or the panel presents his or her own view of "What is Folk Art?" Alter a brief question-and-answer period from the audience, the symposium continues with the panel members discussing their opposing viewpoints. Symposium Panel: Sterling Stuckey, professor of history, Northwestern University; Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, assistant cura- tor, 20th century painting and sculpture, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; Phyllis Kind, Phyllis Kind Galleries, Chicago and New York; James T. Parker, private collec- tor. Moderator: Richard Powell, guest curator, "Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980," Field Museum. "Indelible Icons: The Black Atlantic Visual Tradition" Robert Farris Thompson, professor, history of art, Yale University Saturday, April 28, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance Following the slave trade routes from the west coast of Africa to Brazil north to the United States. Robert Thompson describes various cultural phenomena — dance, music, street festivals. Emphasizing religion and performance, he illustrates how these same phenomena reemerge in the Americas. Though a serious scholar, Dr. Thompson's classroom persona is part preacher, part dance-hall leader and performer. His research is concentrated on cultures from the west coast of Africa. "Origins and Development of Black American Folk Art" Regenia A. Perry, professor of art history, Virginia Commonwealth University Saturday, May 5, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance I he earliest surviving examples of black American folk art include pottery, quilts, wood carving, basketry, iron work, and painting. Dr. Perry traces the development of this art through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, explaining the remarkable persistence of cer- tain "Africanisms" throughout the course of black American folk art history. Dr. Perry is an avid collector of black folk art and is responsible for the essay "Origins and Development of Black American Folk Art," in the exhibit catalog Black Folk Art in Amer- ica: 1930-19X0. "Memory and Sense of Place in Black Folk Art" William Ferris, director, Center for the Study of Southern Culture Saturday, May 19, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance Family, region, and place influenced traditional African artists and continues to influence the black American folk artist today. Wil- liam Ferris looks at the contributions of black culture to the Amer- ican experience, focusing on folk artists of the rural south. The Center for the Study of Southern Culture is located on the campus ot the University ot Mississippi and is a clearinghouse for informa- tion on regional studies of southern culture. As a folklorist who talks to the folk as well as studying their artifacts. Dr. Ferris has found Mississippi a vital research area. Series Tickets — Symposium and Individual Lectures: $17.00 (Members: SI0.00). Individual Tickets for each program: S5.00 (Members: S3.IX)). Fees are nonrefundable. Please use coupon to order tickets. For further information please call (312) 322-SH54. Drinker with Hat and Bottle. 1939-42 Compressed charcoal penal on paper. 13'4?x 7$/b" Collection of Mr and Mrs Joseph H Wilkinson On view in "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980 "April 14-July 15 CONTINI Kll > C0NT1NLED KROM PAGE 3 Events Edward E. Ayer Film Lectures Travel the world on Thursdays in April, at 1:30pm in James Simpson Theatre. Admission is free. Doors open at 12:45pm. Members please bring membership card for priority seating privilege. April 5 "Colorado — Where the West Comes Alive" with Frank Nichols 12 "Superior" with Tom Sterling 19 "Peru" with Alan Hubbard 26 "Israel - The Holy Land - Past and Present" with Clav Francisco Family Feature "Flights of Fancy" Sunday, April 1; Hall 21, Birds Kites have been used in weather watching, boat towing, bridge building, and even military spying since 1000 B.C. Yet their flight patterns only compare to one of the many forms used by birds. Join us tor a tour of the bird halls to find out about the different kinds of bird flight. Then with the help of the Chicagoland Skylin- ers Kite Club, make a kite of your own and decorate it like your favorite bird. Participants should bring a large #20 brown paper bag. After making your own kite, watch Stanley Field Hall fill with (lying colors as the Skyliners demonstrate their special indoor kites. Family Features are free with Museum admission; tickets not required. April Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demonstrations, and films related to ongoing exhibits at the Museum are designed for families and adults. Listed below are only a few of the numerous activities available each weekend. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for the complete schedule and program locations. These weekend programs are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. April 14 15 29 1 1:30am. Ancient Egypt. Tour the Museum's Egyp- tian exhibit and investigate the traditions of ancient Egyptian civilization from everyday life to mummification and the promise of an afterlife. 12:30pm. Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads from the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. 2:(X)pm Spring Wild/lowers. A slide lecture featur- ing the wildflowers found in Chicago's woods, meadows, and prairies. 12:30pm. Highlights of Field Museum. Tour some of Field Museum's most famous exhibits, from an African watering hole to the tombs of the Egyptians. 1:00pm. Spring Wildflowers. A slide lecture featur- ing the wildflowers found in Chicago's woods, meadows, and prairies. 2:00pm Red Land/Black Land. Tour the Egyptian exhibit focusing on the geography of the Nile Valley and the ettect it had on the Egyptian's lifestyle. 12:30pm. Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads trom the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and big game from Africa. Walking Slick, by William Rogers. 1939 Wood 33 W high Collection of Or and Mrs William Bascom On view in Slack Folk Art in America 1930- 1980 April 14-July 15 Registration Program Title Member Tickets # Requested Nonmember Tickets # Requested Total Tickets # Requested Amount Enclosed Please complete coupon for your program selection and any other special events. Com- plete all requested information on the applica- tion and include section number where appro- priate. If your request is received less than one week before program, tickets will be held in your name at West Entrance box office until one-half hour before event Please make checks payable to Field Museum. Tickets will made only if program is sold out. Total Name Street For Office Use: Date Received Date Returned City State Zip 4 Telephone Daytime Evening Have you enclosed your self-addressed stamped envelope? Return complete ticket application with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Public Programs: Department of Education Field Museum of Natural History Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2497 Carboniferous forest reconstruction in the Ernest R. Graham Hall (Hall 38) of the Field Museum. 75400 The definition of a museum, in almost any dictionary, will simply refer to a building with exhibits. As far as it goes, this is a definition within which the Field Museum is certainly included, but it is inadequate for effectively con- veying the diversity of educational, exhibit, and research activities in which the Field Museum is engaged. The Field Museum of Natural History is fundamentally different from most other museums in its concern not only with the dissemination of knowledge, but also with basic research by which our understanding of Man, and the world in which he lives, is increased. Our exhibits represent a mi- nute fraction of the Museum's total collection, which pri- marily serves as a major resource for original research by Museum staff and the international scientific and scholarly community. The exhibits of fossil plants which can be found in the Plants of the World Hall (Hall 29) and the Hall of Inverte- brate Paleontology (Hall 37) are merely a tiny sample of the 50,000 specimens comprising the paleobotanical col- lections. The collection is curated and administered by the Department of Geology and occupies 125 steel cabinets in a storage facility constructed in 1965 with the support of the National Science Foundation. Although no precise inventory of paleobotanical resources has ever been taken in the United States, the collection at the Field Museum is certainly among the five largest in the country. Martha S. Bryant is collection manager oj fossil invertebrates and fossil plants; Peter R. Crane is assistant curator of paleobotany. Unlike collections in other areas of the Museum, the fossil plants are not arranged according to a classification of different groups of organisms, but in a stratigraphic sequence, that is, according to their geologic age. This is preferred because of the difficulties of precisely classifying many of the plant remains and the importance of retaining as much information as possible about which plants were associated in the same fossiliferous sediments. The collec- tion begins with the remains of simple algae from the Pre- Cambrian Era over 1,000 million years ago, and ends with plants of the Pleistocene Ice Ages only a few thousand years before the present. A short walk through the collec- tion is a walk through time, and a casual glance in occasion- al drawers is enough to graphically illustrate most of the major events in the evolution of plant life on this planet. The fossil plant collection is the single common denominator at the center of paleobotanical activity at the Field Museum, providing specimens for professional sci- entific research as well as materials for exhibits and teach- ing. These activities also extend beyond our own Museum. We have material on display, for example, at the Smithso- nian Institution and the Milwaukee Public Museum, and specimens are regularly used for courses taught at the Uni- versity of Chicago. The collection is a resource which has grown steadily for over ninety years, as specimens have gradually been accumulated by staff, amateurs, and other professionals associated with the Museum. In 1965 its size was almost doubled, and its scientific importance substantially en- Adolph C Noe. 82saa Theodor K. Just, box George Langford, Sr. aorr- hanced, by the incorporation of the classic Walker Museum collections from the University of Chicago. Since the late 1960s the collection has remained almost dormant, but in the last eighteen months, the level of activity has risen dramatically, with a renewed commitment to paleobotany at the Field Museum. A full-time professional paleobotanist has been appointed to the scientific staff and the number of specimens acquired, the number of visitors to the collections, the number of loans made to other in- stitutions, and the number of scientific studies using Field Museum specimens have all begun to increase. A start has also been made on computerizing information about parts of the collection. Keeping track of 50,000 specimens is not always a straightforward proposition! It is perhaps not surprising that a major strength of the paleobotanical collection is plants of the Pennsylvanian period (310-280 million years ago). At that time much of Illinois was covered by shallow seas, fetid deltas, and swampy luxuriant forests. The remains of these forests formed the coals on which much of the industrial strength of the central and eastern United States has traditionally been based. About sixty percent of the paleobotanical collection is from the Pennsylvanian, and the full spectrum of "Coal-Age" plants is represented by specimens which are often spectacular and unusually well preserved. About half are from the world-famous nodule localities of Will, Grundy. Livingstone, and Kankakee counties in northeast- ern Illinois. The best known of these are along the banks of Mazon Creek, and the fossil plants from this whole area have come to be known as the "Mazon Creek flora." 6 The nodules which contain the plants are concretions of fine mud and silt cemented together by various iron minerals. They formed quickly as muddy deltas gradually expanded over areas once covered by swamp forest, and they contain a variety of plant fragments such as seeds, leaves, cones, bark, and roots. The rapidity of preservation has prevented many of the fossils from being compressed, and they are beautifully preserved in three dimensions. In many cases minerals have been deposited in the cavities left as the plant tissues rotted; but occasionally, the tissues themselves are impregnated with calcium carbonate or iron pyrite and fine details of internal structure are preserved. Specimens preserved in calcium carbonate can be easily studied using the coal ball peel technique (see "The Inside Story on Fossil Plants," November, 1983 Bulletin), but it is only recently that new methods of preparation have revolutionized research on pyrite plant fossils. As many of the Mazon Creek plants are pyritic, this has done much to enhance the scientific importance of the Field Museum collection. Several other large collections of these nodules are housed in museums and universities through- out the country, including Harvard University, the Illinois State Geological Survey, and the Illinois State Museum; but the outstanding collection at the Field Museum num- bers over 15,000 specimens and is probably the most exten- sive and most important in the world. The very earliest studies of Pennsylvanian plants from Illinois were made by the pioneering North Amer- ican paleobotanist Leo Lesquereux (1806-89), between 1866 and 1884. Much of his original material came from Mazon Creek itself, but in the first two decades of this century increased coal-mining activity provided the stimu- lus for more intensive investigations of these fossils and their use in tracing and correlating coal deposits. Some of the most important early research was carried out in con- junction with the newly formed Illinois State Geological Survey between 1906 and 1909 by Charles David White, then curator of paleobotany at the United States National Museum; but during the 1920s White's work was con- tinued by Adolph C. Noe at the University of Chicago. Noe (1873-1939) gained his paleobotanical training at the University of Graz, Austria under the eminent Euro- pean paleobotanist Constantin von Ettingshausen, but in 1899 he emigrated to the United States and obtained his doctorate in Germanic languages at the University of Chi- cago. He remained on the language faculty until 1923, when he was appointed assistant professor of paleobotany in the Botany and Geology Departments. In the following year he took on additional responsibilities as curator of fossil plants in the Walker Museum, and most of the speci- mens he curated, as well as those used in his research, are now part of the Field Museum collection. Noe had an engaging personality and developed a close association with his scientific colleagues at the Field Museum. In 1933 he was appointed a research associate on the staff of the Botany Department. Noes link with the Field Museum provides a perfect example of the kind of close relationship between research, education, and exhibi- tion which is rarely possible at most universities and museums. His expertise and familiarity with Pennsylva- nian plants derived from his scientific work on Mazon Creek and other collections was expressed directly in the magnificent Carboniferous forest reconstruction in the Ernest R. Graham Hall (Hall 38). This outstanding diora- ma was constructed by the same team of expert craftsmen responsible for the models in the Plants of the World Hall (see "The Botanical World in Replica," September 1983 Bulletin), and with Noe providing the essential paleobota- nical advice and encouragement. The result is an irreplace- able masterpiece of scientific illustration which remains as one of the most realistic representations of what coal forest plants may have looked like. Although we have learned a great deal about Pennsylvanian plants and their paleoecol- ogy since the diorama was completed in 1931, and might wish to alter some interpretations, this extraordinary achievement is still the most meticulous and atmospheric rendering of Pennsylvanian vegetation in existence. It has been illustrated in countless articles and textbooks and has perhaps contributed more than anything else to the pop- ular image of what a coal swamp might have looked like. Left: Lepidostrobus. A complete cone of an extinct club-moss tree still attached to two shoots bearing leaves. Middle Pennsylvanian, Vermilion County, Illinois. The cone is about 60 mm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 23918. Center: Alethopteris. Leaf from an extinct "seed-fern. " Middle Pennsylvanian, northeastern Illinois. The leaf is about 20cm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 30099. Right: Calamostachys. A complete cone of an extinct horsetail tree from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois. The cone is 1 10mm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 2604. B^&fa Triphyllopteris. Leaves of an extinct fernlike plant from the Early Mis- sissippian; Price Formation, Virginia. Specimen recently obtained on exchange. Each leaf is about 10mm long. Field Museum Paleobota- nical Collections, PP 33643. Perhaps Noes major contribution to paleobotany was his recognition during the early 1920s that coal balls pre- viously known only from Europe also occurred in North America. Some of his many students went on to pioneer the study of North American coal ball plants and laid open the way for many of the major paleobotanical advances of the last fifty years. Some of the specimens used in these classic investigations at the University of Chicago are now housed at the Field Museum. Other students of Noe devoted their energies to Mazon Creek plants, and one of these, Richard E. Janssen, did much to stimulate the interest of local amateur collec- tors. Janssen first met Noe while employed as a preparator at the Field Museum, working on the Carboniferous forest reconstruction. As his interest in fossil plants developed, he studied under Noe for a Ph.D. at the University of Chi- cago, before going on to establish his own academic career. With Noes encouragement, Janssen utilized specimens now in the Illinois State Museum and Field Museum in providing the first popular guide for collectors to Penn- sylvanian plant fossils. George Langford, Sr. (1876-1964) was one of the most avid of these amateurs and went on to accumulate the bulk of the Field Museum Mazon Creek 8 collection. Sphenophyllum. Whorled leaves from an extinct horsetail. Penn- sylvanian, "Mazon Creek flora " of northeastern Illinois. Each whorl is about 12mm wide. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 25083. Langford had worked intermittently, as an amateur, at the Field Museum for many years, but did not join the staff until 1947 at the age of 71. With the same energy and vitality which had sustained him through a spectacular career in engineering involving over 75 U.S. patents, he applied himself tirelessly to the collection, curation, and study of Mazon Creek fossil plants. In total, Langford esti- mated that he must have collected about one quarter of a million specimens, of which he only kept the best, about one tenth — a mere 25,000! In addition to his truly pro- digious collecting activities, Langford also found time to write two popular books on the flora and fauna of the Mazon Creek area. These were published by the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois and in conjunction with that of Janssen have served as the indispensable handbooks of local collectors for the last twenty years. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr. (1916-83), a curator of in- vertebrate paleontology at the Field Museum for over 30 years, collected closely with Langford. Although his Mazon Creek research focused on the uniquely preserved animal fossils, Richardson also made important additions to the fossil plant collections. Perhaps his greatest influ- ence, however, was indirect, through his unrivalled rapport with the many highly motivated amateurs of northern Illi- nois. Richardson gave freely of his time and expertise, and his friendships ultimately led the late Jerry Herdina and many others too numerous to mention by name to gener- ously contribute significant personal collections of fossil plants. The Field Museum's Mazon Creek collection built up by Noe, Langford, Richardson, and others has provided material for a wide range of scientific studies. William C. Darrah (formerly of Harvard University and Gettysburg College) used the collection in a major review of Penn- sylvanian floras in eastern North America which empha- sized the use of the plants in geological correlation. Her- mann W. Pfefferkorn (University of Pennsylvania), Tom L. Phillips (University of Illinois), Russell A. Peppers (Illi- nois State Geological Survey), and William A. DiMichele (University of Washington) have described specimens which are either totally new to science or preserved in an unusual and botanically informative way. Andrew C. Scott (University of London) and Thomas N. Taylor (Ohio State University) have used the collection to draw some fascinat- ing inferences on the interactions between plants and animals during the Pennsylvanian, and Langford and Jans- sen have described and illustrated Field Museum speci- mens in compiling their guides for amateurs. These few examples illustrate something of the diversity of research which the Field Museum Mazon Creek collection has sup- ported and will continue to support for many years to come. As well as the collection of Illinois nodule floras, there are also Pennsylvanian plants from a large number of other localities in eastern North America and Europe. Although only a small proportion of these are spectacular "exhibit quality" specimens, many are of considerable sci- entific interest. For example, those collected by Ralph D. Lacoe (1824-1901) were identified by Charles David White and Leo Lesquereux, and provide a rare and important insight into the ideas of two of the major figures in the early days of North American paleobotany. About half of the Field Museum collection of fossil plants consists of specimens which are younger than Penn- sylvanian in age. Some of the most spectacular of these are specimens from the Cerro Cuadrado Petrified Forest in Argentina, collected by Elmer S. Riggs (1869-1963) on Field Museum expeditions to Patagonia. Riggs came to the Museum from Princeton University in 1898 to become the first curator of vertebrate paleontology. The South Amer- ican adventures during the 1920s were just two of sixteen collecting expeditions which he conducted for the Lepidodendron. Three-dimensionally preserved leaf-cushions of an extinct club-moss tree. Middle Pennsylvanian, Grundy County, Illi- nois. Each leaf-cushion is about 5mm long. Field Museum Paleobota- nical Collections, PP 16432. Museum, the primary goal of which was to collect large fossil vertebrates. Some of these are now on display in the Ernest R. Graham Hall. Almost as an incidental interest, Riggs and his party accumulated a very large collection of petrified "pine cones" which, along with a similar collec- tion in the British Museum of Natural History, is the most important of its kind in the world. The specimens which Riggs brought back included cones, fragments of wood, and even seedlings which had been petrified under the influence of volcanic activity. Beautifully preserved in silica, the specimens were first studied by George R. Wieland of Yale University and Bertha S. Darrow, a student of Noe, during the 1920s and 1930s. They were originally thought to be of early Tertiary Araucaria mirabilis. Silicified cone very similar to the living bunya nut tree of Queensland, Australia. Jurassic of Sierra Madre y Higa, Argentina: collected by E. S. Riggs, 1924. The cone is about 75 mm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 33688. v& ks& S5 '♦v.' fe* i Neuropteris rarinervis. Leaf from an extinct "seed-fern" figured by Noe in his "Pennsylvanian Flora of Northern Illinois." Pennsylvanian, Bureau County, Illinois. The leaf is about 20 cm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 33685 age (approximately 60 million years old), but are now thought to be much older and probably Jurassic (approx- imately 170 million years old). The collection contains two different kinds of cones. The most recent research by Ruth Stockey of the Univer- sity of Alberta has revealed that they contain extremely fine details of embryos and other reproductive structures which are very rarely preserved in most fossil plants. Stockey has also shown that the two cones represent quite different evolutionary situations in relation to the living families of conifers. One (Pararaucaria patagonica) shows a peculiar mixture of features found today in a range of different living families, and exactly how it is related to modern forms is unknown. However, the other (Araucaria mirabi- lis) is very clearly related to the living conifer family Araucariaceae, which includes the kauri pines, monkey puzzles, and other trees sometimes grown as ornamentals in the northern hemisphere. Today the family occurs only in the southern hemisphere, and the fossil is closely similar to the living species Araucaria bidwillii (the bunya nut), native to southern Queensland, Australia. 1 The Patagonian material provides a good example of Annularia. Whorls of leaves from an extinct horsetail tree. Middle Pennsylvanian. "Mazon Creek flora " of northeastern Illinois. Each whorl is about 45mm in diameter. Field Museum Paleobotanical Col- lections. PP 16935. the international coverage of the paleobotanical collection, which also includes specimens from the Devonian of West Germany, the Permian of China, the Jurassic of Mexico, the Eocene of Australia, the Cretaceous of Czechoslovakia, and the early Tertiary of England. Among the treasures of the collection is a small but fascinating suite of Jurassic plants from the Rajmahal Hills of India obtained during the late 1940s by Theodor K. Just (1904-60), then chief curator of the Botany Department. Although Just was not a practical paleobotanist in the sense of routinely working with fossil specimens, he was intensely interested in the fossil record of plant evolution. As an early stalwart in the Paleobotanical Section of the Botanical Society of America, he did much to influence the growth of North American paleobotany as well as encourage the development of the Field Museum collections. The Upper Cretaceous and early Tertian,- plants at the Museum (approximately 100 to 40 million years ago) together account for over a quarter of the total number of Continued on p. 24 Pregnant Woman, by Steve Ashby, 1970s. Painted wood and mixed media. 25 x 13 x 8". Collection of Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr. "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" will be on view at Field Museum April 14 through July 15. For schedules of lectures on Black Folk Art and other related programs see back cover and "Events," page 3. "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" was organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and sponsored by grants from Atlantic Richfield Founda- tion and the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C. The Chicago showing of this exhibit was made possible by a grant from Atlantic Richfield Foundation. Photos courtesy the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980 by Richard Powell Guest Curator and Consultant William Dawson, a soft spoken retiring senior citizen of Chicago, carves the most amazing things out of wood. His human figures come in a rainbow of complexions and tempera' ments, and are always dressed to a "T" in colorful outfits. Bears, pigs, elephants, birds, and an occa' sional anteater make up the menagerie in his living room, and stand as testaments to his Lincoln Park Zoo "Adopt-an-Animal" certificate on the wall. Carved "totems" of smiling and frowning faces, William Dawson capped with a single bird feather, a shock of hu' man hair, or a carved animal head, are especially dramatic. Often forsaking anatomical precision for an ex- pressive artistic license, Dawson's work represents a tradition of visually oriented Americans who have worked and continue to work in communities across the United States despite critical disdain or neglect. This body, generically referred to as "folk" artists, are represented in an extraordinary exhibition, Blac\Fol\Art in America: 1930-1980, organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Following record'breaking viewings in Wash' ington, D.C, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Houston, De troit, and Birmingham, B\ac\ Fol\Art in America Bulldog, by Jesse Aaron, 1969. Cedar, fiber- glass and bone, 25V? x 72'/? x 26", Stuart and 1 2 Mary Purser Collection. William Edmondson G. H. McNeal in Year 1929, by Leslie Payne, 1970s. Painted wood and mixed media, 33'/2x52x 10" Collection of Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr. completes its U.S. tour at Field Museum. William Dawson, along with 19 other painters, sculptors, and graphic artists literally transforms a Field Museum exhibition hall into an environmental art space. Individual in life experience, yet collective in this society's perception of them, these artists add another dimension to American art, and expand that prevailing picture to include other visions and agendas. Despite the range of techniques, subjects, and visual objectives in Blac\ Fol\Art in America, cer- tain characteristics stand out that bring these artworks together. For instance, the reliance on "found" materials suggests a common outlook among the three'dimensional artists in this show. Jesse Aaron's selection of zoomorphically shaped wood for his animal carvings is similar to William Edmondson's choice of limestone blocks for religious subjects. The first black artist to have a solo exhibi' tion in New York's Museum of Modern Art (1937), Edmondson conceived of his sculpture as the "Lord's work." Certainly his monolithic "Preachers" 13 Emancipation House, by George White, 1964. Painted wood and mixed media construction, 19'/>x23'/4X 18 1 /?". National Museum of Amer- ican Art, Smithsonian Institution. Sister Gertrude Morgan 14 and "Angels" speak to this idea. Sister Gertrude Morgan's creations on discarded window shades and cardboard are in fact art and evangelism. Her conception of God, angelic choirs, and herself are al- ways clothed in saintly white robes and didactically overlayed with scriptural text. Interestingly, her self-imposed separation in later years from the secu- lar world coincided with her calling to paint. Perhaps the most important work on view in Blac\ Foll{Art in America is a portion of James Hampton's Throne of the Third Heaven of the T^fl' tions Millenium General Assembly. Discovered in a garage in Washington, D.C. after Hampton's death in 1964, this 180'piece assemblage of furniture parts, cardboard, lightbulbs, and silver and gold foil was conceived by Hampton as a monument to Jesus. Hampton's Throne is a classic example of a "collage sensibility" in Afro-American art — a style-current James Hampton Farmhouse with Air- planes, by Ulysses Davis, 1943. Carved and painted relief, 13 x 15%". Collec- tion of Ulysses Davis. that runs through quilts, outdoor environmental art, and in more obvious "art" examples as done by Romare Bearden, Benny Andrews, and others. The greater part of the Throne is on permanent dis' play at the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, where pilgrims of both artistic and spiritual persuasion experience Hamp- ton's profound vision. Aside from featuring 20 men and women with exceptional talents, Blac\ Fol\Art in America addresses some other issues. In grouping these artists under the rubrics of "black" and "folk," curators Jane Livingston and John Beardsley open up a Pan- dora's box of aesthetic discourse. One might ask "What are the criteria, besides race and the absence Yellow Chicken, by Bill Traylor, 1939-42 Pencil, crayon and gouache on paper, 13Vsx8'A" Collection of Charles Shannon. of so-called formal art instruction on the part of each artist, that qualifies their work as Black Folk Art?" One part of the answer might dwell in recurring 1 6 motifs and themes that also exist among various West and Central African peoples. Reptiles, specif- ically snakes, appear in a number of pieces, and like their African antecedents, they often communicate mediation between spheres of existence (land/water, Bill Traylor the world of the living/the world of the dead). Bill Traylor's drawings of snakes and serpentine people capture a West African feeling for nature and man's ever-changing relationship with it. On the "folk" side of this categorizing, the many artists in this exhibition who knowingly embrace sensibilities which their communities maintain as the aesthetic ideal merit a "folk" heading as well. Inez Nathaniel' Walker's eloquent drawings of coiffed, bejeweled, and assertive women cognate with real life por- trayals. In spite of her tendency to exaggerate certain features, Nathaniel-Walker is in tune with community or "folk" sentiments concerning fem- inine style and comportment. Another accomplishment for this exhibition is its celebration of creativity in one's old age. Com- prised of works by artists predominantly sixty and older, Blac\ Folk, Art in America throws a wrench into the wunderkind complex that possesses so much of the contemporary art scene. That these elders are capable of exerting an influence on younger genera- tions of artists is witnessed in the careers of several Black, Folk, Art in America exhibitors. One such artist, Joseph Yoakum, created elegant pen and pas- tel drawings of landscapes (real and imagined) while living on Chicago's South Side in the 1960s. Yoakum and his drawings eventually caught the attention of Chicago's most promising painters in the sixties, artists like Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Christina Ram- berg, and others. These artists befriended Yoakum, purchased his drawings, and helped to promote him among serious art collectors. Yoakum's almost sur- real approach to nature and his intuitive sense of Two Figures, (red and brown) by Inez Nathaniel- 1976. Crayon and colored pencil on paper, 29% and Parsons Gallery, New Canaan, Connecticut Walker (detail), x41 7 /w". Webb Inez Nathaniel-Walker Mt. Thousand Lakes in Bryce Canyon National Ffeirk Near Hanksville Utah, by Joseph Yoakum, 1968. Pen and pastel on paper, 12 x 19". Collec- tion of Christina Bamberg and Philip Hanson. Joseph Yoakum fegjj^^^ 18 color captivated his "discoverers" and furnished visual data for what is now internationally known as the "Chicago school of painters." The 320 art works and the accompanying artist's biographies in Blac\ Fol\Art in America not only please the artistic palate and educate the mind's eye, but raise the audience's level of con- sciousness about cultural resiliency. It is nothing less than the pure power of the spirit that those so-called "deprived" members of our society — the poor and the elderly — would prove their inner strength and aesthetic tenacity through art. Of course, the artists in this exhibition have no need of critical approval, since their reasons for creating art have less to do with art markets than with personal-spiritual assur- ances. Students of all ages, artists, academics, art en- thusiasts, and the average museum visitor can and will gain much from Blac\ Fol\Art in America. Au- diences will gain because the canon that the artists live by is generosity, and that sense of giving per- meates the breadth of their lives as well as their visual contributions. FM Market Art From Northeastern Asia A 19th-century Siberian Souvenir By James W. VanStone Curator of North American Archaeology and Ethnology In frontier areas of the world it was explorers, traders, missionaries, and government adminis- trators who created the first demand for native crafts as souvenirs. At first these travelers to remote lands purchased, as mementos of their experiences among exotic peoples, items of material culture made by natives for their own use. As the demand increased, however, native craftsmen produced items specifically for trade. New materials, foreign to the native environment, sometimes made their appearance, but for the most part the form of these souvenirs was firmly rooted in native cultural tradition. In the early twentieth century, Alaskan Eskimo women manufactured excellent coiled grass baskets v^r U.S.S.R .Okhotsk SEA OF OKHOTSK BERING SEA by the hundreds, while men engraved ivory pipes, carved animal and human figures from the same material, and made models of traditional artifacts in response to the demand of gold miners, commer' cial whalers, and members of exploring and scientific expeditions for souvenirs (see the Bulletin, Novem- ber 1982, pp. 1245). Along the frontiers of northeastern Asia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a demand for souvenirs was created by members of the elaborate bureaucracy which administered Russia's far-flung Siberian empire and collected tribute from the na- tive peoples. Field Museum's ethnographic collec- tions contain an unusual example of Siberian market art dating from the late nineteenth century and per- haps made to be sold to one of the czar's represen- tatives in the city of Okhotsk, an important trading and administrative center on the Sea of Okhotsk opposite the Kamchatka Peninsula (see map). In the catalog of the Department of Anthropol- ogy, this interesting artifact is described as a "table covering." It was purchased by the Museum in the late 1890s as part of a large ethnographic collection from various locations in northeastern Siberia, par- ticularly from the area around the city of Okhotsk and the island of Sakhalin. This table covering was made by an Evenk craftsperson, probably a woman. In the nineteenth century the Evenks, formerly known as the Tungus, were the largest and most widely scattered language family in northeastern Asia. They were divided into two large groups separated from each other ter- ritorially and practicing different forms of subsist- ence. The reindeer-breeding and hunting Evenks, makers of this covering, occupied an enormous terri- tory stretching from the Yenisey River in north- 19 central Siberia to the Sea of Okhotsk, while pastoral and farming Evenks lived much further south in the Transbaikal as well as in neighboring areas of north- eastern China and Mongolia. This Evenk covering (cat. no. 32140) is virtual- ly square, measuring 51cm by 68cm, and made from numerous pieces of brown and -white reindeer skin sewn together in an overcast stitch with sinew. It is very fragile, the irregularly shaped light areas in the photograph (fig. 1 , front) indicating where the hair has fallen off. The center panel consists of two pieces of brown skin of approximately equal size be appliqued but actually are cut out and sewn into holes of corresponding size and shape in the cover- ing. Presumably the figures were first cut out and then their outlines traced onto the previously sewn center panel and surrounding bands. In the four cor- ners of the center panel there are floral and leaf ornaments. Veins in the leaves are sewn in a chain stitch with brown perle cotton thread. In the middle of the center panel is a chum, the Evenk skin- covered tent, with smoke ascending through an opening in the roof. On one side of the tent is the figure of a man chopping wood and on the other a Fig. 1. sewn together vertically down the middle. A 13 cm tear in the upper left hand corner has been carefully repaired (fig. 2, back). This center panel is bordered by a narrow band consisting of triangular pieces of alternating brown and white skin. Around this is a much wider band consisting of numerous pieces of brown skin sewn together. At the edges are two nar- row borders. The inner one is similar to the band around the center panel, consisting of a pattern of alternating triangular pieces of brown and white skin. According to information in the catalog, the edges were trimmed with short pieces of squirrel, gray fox, ermine, and otter skin. However, only frag- ments of squirrel and otter skin remain. The decorative figures on the covering are 20 made of white reindeer skin which at first appear to reindeer tethered to a tree. Sections of the tent covering are outlined with black thread sewn in a chain stitch. The smoke rising from the tent, the reindeer's tether, and needles on the tree are tan thread, while the wood chopper's clothing and fea- tures are indicated with black and badly faded red thread. Above the roof of the tent the words okhots- kago okruga ("from the Okhotsk District") have been stitched in Cyrillic letters with perle cotton thread sewn with a filling stitch. In the late nine- teenth century the Okhotsk District included an area around the city of Okhotsk, whose population was primarily Evenk reindeer herders and hunters. In the wide band around the center panel are depicted two sleds of the east Siberian type, each drawn by six dogs. There is a man on one sled and a woman on the other. Parts of the outlines of the hu- man figures are delineated with black thread and the sides of the sleds are decorated with triangle pat' terns in red thread. Dog harnesses are also shown in red, while the traces are tan thread. All the thread sewing on this band is in chain stitch. Two noted authorities on the cultures of north' eastern Asia, Dr. I. S. Gurvich of the Institute of Ethnography, Moscow, and Dr. I. S. Vdovin of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Leningrad, have examined photographs of this al ornamentation which was also characteristic of Koryak, Chukchi, Siberian Eskimo, and other north' eastern Siberian skin workers. The traditional reindeer skin pack bag cover was easily converted to a wall hanging, rug, or table covering when Russian administrators and travelers to northeastern Siberia created a demand for native crafts as souvenirs. In a recent Russian publication devoted to the decorative arts of northern Siberian peoples, there is an illustration of a rectangular rein- deer skin rug which has an elaborate fur mosaic bor- der and on which, in white reindeer skin, are de- Fig.2. Evenk covering and both are agreed that its pro- totype was the small, square cover for pack bags worn by reindeer as the herds were moved by the herders in search of better grazing areas. When not protecting reindeer pack bags, such coverings were sometimes used to sit on. Traditionally they were made of white skin taken from the legs of reindeer and brown skin from elsewhere on the body. The traditional reindeer pack bag cover was undecorated except for a unique ornamental pattern which the Russians call "fur mosaic," achieved by selecting small pieces of skin of contrasting colors to form a dark design on a light background or vice ver- sa. The narrow bands of alternating triangles of white and brown reindeer skin on the Museum's covering are good examples of this form of tradition- picted scenes of native life similar to those on Field Museum's table covering. Along the lower edge, also in white reindeer skin, is the date 1904. This rug was made by the Koryak, northeastern neighbors of the Okhotsk District Evenks. Fur rugs and wall hangings in a great variety of shapes and sizes are made today by many northern peoples in the Soviet Union. The craftsmanship of skin sewers that impressed the early Siberian travel- ers, explorers, and administrators, has continued to attract the interest of European Russians who, since the end of World War II, have sought employment in northeastern Siberia in ever-increasing numbers. Decorative skin working is truly a contemporary art form which has its roots in the traditional cultures of the past, fh 21 Above: Tall dune grasses capture the attention and imagina- tion of a participant in search of hidden flora and fauna. Opposite, above: Environmental field trips provide the oppor- tunity to pause and reflect, examine and enjoy. Opposite, be- low: A hike through a local marsh transforms a simple spring day into a memorable adventure. Environmental Field Trips by Keith Mason Program Developer, Department of Education 22 While trying to rationalize his dissent for man's assault on America's wilderness in the name of "recreation," Aldo Leopold wrote, "The only true development in American recreational resources is the development of the perceptive faculty in Amer- icans." Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac and a leading conservationist of the 1930s, was not the first to note the value of promoting an ecological awareness among us — he was only pleasantly ahead of his time. In the 1960s and '70s, his concerns be- came real concerns for a growing majority of Amer- icans who realized that our use of land and its re- sources might indeed contain some misuses and mis- takes. From the first "Earth Day" in 1970 and the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign of that same era, environmental education has seen substantial development. Field Museum has been a strong parti' cipant in that development. Beginning in 1973, Field Museum established a program of environmental field trips designed to fos- ter an awareness of the environment in which we live. As part of a larger educational context that in- eluded lectures, film series, teacher workshops, and the installation of a major permanent exhibit, "Man In His Environment," the environmental field trip program initially helped participants in understand- ing how their complex industrial society could coex- ist with fragile surrounding landscapes such as the Indiana Dunes. Interest in environmental education soon ma- tured. The public desired to explore intricate en- vironmental relationships in more detail and Field Museum's environmental field trip program ex' panded to meet these interests. Since 1973, some 10,000 people have enjoyed a day in the out-of-doors with old friends or meeting new ones. Designed for family or adult groups, the field trips have some thing for everyone. One need not be interested in freshwater aquatic succession to enjoy walking down a cool creek on a colorful autumn afternoon. A person does not have to be able to differentiate a viceroy from a monarch butterfly to stroll through one of the many remnants of Illinois' namesake — the virgin prairie. But, if you would like to discover how a tiny marine shrimp came to be imbedded in the fos- silized rock you are holding in your hand or why a tamarack tree, usually found in Canada, is growing right here in northeastern Illinois, Field Museum field trips are just for you. Field trip leaders all pos- sess a special knowledge about the trip destinations and are enthusiastic about sharing that knowledge with you. The active interests of Field Museum scholars and others with appropriate expertise are an integral part of the program. Field trips depart from Field Museum's West Entrance on Saturdays and Sundays in the spring and fall. The trips designed for families are activity oriented and participatory learning experiences are used extensively. The adult trips are designed for those with a casual interest in nature and also for the serious student of the environment. They pro- vide the perfect opportunity to get away for a day, learn something new and arrive home with a re- newed sense of awareness. This spring marks the tenth year of the field trip program. The schedule provides exciting and new opportunities for all who participate. You can hike through the canyons of Starved Rock State Park or explore the glacial geology of Lake County. Your whole family can enjoy a collecting trip for wild foods or take part in a scientific sampling of fos- sils collected at Chowder Flats. If Chicago's cultural history is of interest to you, join us for a tour of our unique ethnic communities. These and many other trips are planned for the spring session which begins the weekend of May 5. For further information con- sult the Spring Field Trip brochure or call 922-9410, ext. 362. FN 23 FOSSIL PLANTS con't from p. 10 Asterotheca. Fern leaf showing spore producing areas (sori) from the Middle Pennsylvanian, "Mazon Creek flora " of northeastern Illinois. The leaf is about 80mm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collec- tions. PP 28530. paleobotanical specimens, and consist mainly of leaves and other remains of flowering plants. Today, flowering plants dominate the world's vegetation, but we understand very little about how they arose and evolved. They appear to have undergone a major radiation during the mid- Cretaceous (about 120-90 million years ago), then sub- sequently diversified throughout the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary. In conjunction with an understanding of liv- ing plants, research on Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary fos- 24 sils is beginning to clarify exactly how the quarter of a million living species of flowering plants may have arisen. Large collections from the Eocene clay pits of Ken- tucky and Tennessee were accumulated by George Lang- ford, his son, and Eugene Richardson. In addition to the ubiquitous leaves, there are also fruits, catkins, and even flowers, many of them from localities that are no longer available for collecting. These specimens have been used extensively by David L. Dilcher of Indiana University in some of the most detailed studies of Eocene fossil plants ever carried out. In the last fifteen years Dilcher has estab- lished his laboratory as a major center for the study of early Tertiary fossil plants and has drawn freely on the Field Museum collections. Steven R. Manchester, a former stu- dent of Dilcher's, has produced a classic synthesis of the evolution of the walnut family (Juglandaceae) which is cur- rently the most detailed account available of the fossil his- tory and evolution of a single flowering plant family. Throughout his work, Manchester has benefitted con- siderably from the extensive coverage of early Tertiary material in our collections. Other Tertiary plant fossils come from many differ- ent areas, but the western United States is particularly well represented. Among the collections from Colorado, Mon- tana, Wyoming, and elsewhere is a large series of speci- mens from the Eagle Creek Formation (Oligocene, 30 mil- lion years ago) of the Columbia River Gorge. These are part of the first paleobotanical collections made by Ralph W. Chaney. Chaney was a native of the Chicago suburb of Brainerd, and following his keen interest in natural history, went to study at the University of Chicago where he met Noe and many other prominent geologists and biologists of the day. Chaney had a particular fascination with ecol- ogy, and introduced an ecological dimension into the study of Tertiary fossil floras. He carefully compared fossil com- munities with their living counterparts and, by extrapola- tion, began to assemble a picture of the ecological condi- tions under which the fossil plants may have been growing. The work on the Eagle Creek Formation was carried out at the University of Chicago, and Chaney went on to teach first at the University of Iowa and later at the University of California. As professor of paleontology at Berkeley, Chaney and his students extended their ecologic- al approach and applied it to a range of fossil floras in western North America. They were remarkably successful in constructing a broad overview of the vegetational and climatic changes in western North America over the last 50 million years. Our understanding of the long-term vegeta- tional history in this region is now more detailed than for any other area in the world. Although some of Chaney's concepts have come under increasing criticism in recent years, he was the major force in broadening the scope of Tertiary paleobotany to address ecological questions. The reexamination of Chaney's ideas is just one small example of a basic reorientation which has begun to occur throughout paleontology in the last decade. Much of what has been traditional is being challenged; but whatever changes new methods, new concepts, and new dogma bring, the fundamental importance of specimens and the value of collections will not diminish. In 1973 Tom Phillips, Her- mann Pfefferkorn, and Russell Peppers provided an excel- lent review of the "Development of Paleobotany in the Illi- nois Basin" (published by Illinois State Geological Survey). They showed very clearly how Illinois, and the Midwest in general, has always been in the forefront of the historical development of North American paleobotany. The collec- tions at the Field Museum are an integral part of this his- torical legacy and are an important part of the paleobota- nical resources in the United States. The collections are now undergoing their most rapid expansion in over two decades through a broadening pro- gram of exchanges with other institutions and active collecting. In the last eighteen months, Cretaceous mate- rial from Alabama and Georgia, as well as early Tertiary material from Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, British Columbia, and Europe has all been incorporated. Most of these specimens will never go on public display. Their purpose is to enhance the primary role of our collec- tion as a continuing resource for original research by Field Museum staff and other scientists. FH Leaves of Glossopteris from the Permian of New South Wales, Austra- lia. Each leaf is about 100mm long. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 33686. Quercus clamensis. Oak leaf from the Oligocene Bridge Creek Formation, Oregon. The leaf is about 60mm long. Collected by R. W. Chaney. Field Museum Paleobotanical Collections, PP 33687. FIELD BRIEFS Assembled before Progress of Mind, now hanging in Field Museum, are friends of the late artist, Floyd E. Job: (I. to r.) Clifford Buzard. the Museum's Planned Giving officer, Thomas F. Croke, Rita Coyle, Golden M. Walser, MarkRosner. Beatrice L. Pness. Sophia Nelson, Kathy Marie Garness, Don Llanuza, Larry Lubeck. Pauline Blair, and Mary Hein. Artist Floyd E. Job Honored by Friends, Was Donor of His Own Painting, Progress of Mind Friends of the late Chicago artist Floyd E. Job recently gathered on the first anniversary of his death to view his painting, Progress of Mind, which he bequeathed to Field Museum in addition to a generous gift to the Museum's Endownment Fund. Mr. Job, a member of Chicago's Palette and Chisel Aca- demy of Fine Art, for more than 30 years was concurrently head designer at both Marshall Field ii Co. and at the Merchandise Mart. The story of man's thoughts — conscious, unconscious, subconscious, past, present, and future — and their effects on man's life and actions — all has been captured in Job's 5VS x 8-foot oil painting, now hanging in the recep- tion area of Field Museum's ground floor administrative suites. Ironically, Progress of Mind is just about the only painting of his extant, for the hun- dreds of Job's paintings that have hung in exhibitions were burned by him. "They were mere extensions or reflections of this one work," Job remarked. "For 35 years, I carry 'Progress of Mind' in my soul, my body, my own mind. This is all I wanted to do, but I was too busy. This painting was the only thing I ever wanted to do, for through it, I felt I could give a child to the world. "I have always loved the mind. While I know thousands of people, I never care who the person is, or what he is; initially, I have loved his mind. So, likewise, I have loved the 26 mind of mankind, and felt that the story of the mind of man should be captured in a single painting." It is a heroic painting, containing hun- dreds of human figures. Each figure is a vig- nette of man's life; each tells its own story. Progress ofMind is basically simple: while the hundreds of scenes incorporate biology, phy- sics, psychiatry, chemistry, religion, inherited memory, and cultural and educational aspects of life, the picture as a whole starkly reveals that man yet does not understand himself and that his basic nature has not changed since the beginning of human life itself. Clark Fossil Collection Cataloged by Volunteers When John Clark, former curator of sedimentary petrology, retired in 1973 from the Department of Geology, he left a legacy of 13,154 paleontological specimens waiting to be cataloged. Now. thanks to the efforts of 16 volunteers, the collection of fossil mammals (mainly Oligocene — 38 million to 22.5 mil- lion years old), as well as fossil plants, fishes, birds, and reptiles, has been entirely cata- loged and curated — a task of four years, two months that required 2.124 actual hours of volunteer time. Volunteers who participated in the project included Joseph Levin (who alone contributed nearly 796 hours), Cathy Agnone. Turpin Ballard. Susan Boynton, Benny Daniel Dombeck, Carol Hallow, Wally Hastings. Ellen Hyndman, Paul Jen- sen, Susan Knoll. Gary M. Kocanda, Joan Maynard, Holly Morgan, Steffi Postol, Bar- bara Roob. and Thelma Schwartz. The Department of Geology recently hosted a reception for these volunteers in recognition of their achievement. Dr. Clark, who now resides near Rockford. Illinois, was also present to view the volunteers' impres- sive achievement. The project was so successful that the department is now planning the cataloging of several tens of thousands of fossil mammals from the Australian latest Tertian' and Pleis- tocene (5 million to 10.000 years ago), again utilizing volunteer help. Persons interested in this project should call Joyce Matuszewich, volunteer coordinator, for further details. Retired Curator of Sedimentary Petrology John Clark (2nd from rt ) inspects some of the 13. 154 fossil specimens that were cataloged and curated by volunteers, and with him are volunteers who assisted in the project (I. to r): Mrs. Susan Knoll, Joseph Levin. Clark . and Benny Dombeck. Alaska Natural History Tour June 1984 $4,185 Experience the Great Land. Descrip- tions of Alaska are filled with superla- tives — a state more than twice the size of Texas with a population less than that of Denver, 33,000 miles of coast- line, 119 million acres of forest, 14 of the highest peaks in the United States cul- minating in Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), at 20,320 feet. Alaska is equally a land of wildlife superlatives, from her great herds of caribou to swarming seabird rookeries to surging salmon in migration. When one thinks of Alaska one thinks of wilderness, of nature still fresh and undomesticated, of experiences dreamed of but mostly un- available to us of the lower 48. Join us for an Alaskan odyssey through a wide range of habitats from the rockbound fur seal and sea bird col- onies of the Pribilofs, to the dripping forest and calving glaciers of the south- east, to the grandeur of the Alaskan Range, to the Fjordlike quiet and beauty of the inland passage. Our travels will be by plane, train, bus, boat, horseback, and foot — what- ever best enhances our experience. Emphasis will be on the land, its history, its wildlife. Interpretation combined with direct observation will provide an enjoyment and quality of experience un- available to the casual visitor. Whatever your interest in natural history — marine mammals, birding, mountains, photogra- phy, flowers, forests, glaciers, rivers — this tour will show you Alaska in all its diversity and splendor. The tour will be led by Dr. Robert Karl Johnson, Chairman of the Depart- ment of Zoology of Field Museum. Grand Canyon Adventure May 25 'June 3 Many of us have beheld the Grand Canyon from the rim or while flying overhead, and some of us have hiked partway down to the Colorado River. But there is another Grand Canyon that relatively few have experienced: Field Museum is offering you the opportunity to see and experience the canyon from the river. The 280-mile trip will be by two motorized rubber rafts. We'll sleep on sandy beaches under the stars and our meals will be excellent. Along the way, we'll hike to places of unusual geologic and anthropologic interest, sometimes through the most pleasant and enchant- ing stream beds and valleys, at times along the waterfalls. We'll see and study more geology in this one brief period than can be seen anywhere else in comparable time. Dr. Bertram Wood- land, curator of petrology, will be our tour leader. The trip will begin on Friday, May 25, with a flight to Las Vegas, where we will remain overnight. Saturday we'll leave by deluxe bus for Lees Ferry, where we'll board the rafts. The trip will end 9 days later, at Pierce Ferry, near the head of Lake Mead. We'll re- turn to Chicago, via Las Vegas, Sunday, June 3. You needn't be a "rough rider" to join this expedition — you needn't even know how to swim. Persons of any age can enjoy the river with equanimity, and come out proud and happy to have experienced this extraordinary adven- ture. The cost (to be announced) per per- son covers all expenses (including air fare, board fees, waterproof bags for gear, sleeping bags, etc.), and all meals. The trip is limited to 25 participants. Additional Tour Gems Slated for 1984 is* China and Tibet ts- Kenya is" Peru vs- England's Old Inns, Old Homes, Old Castles, and Old Gardens. For additional information on any tour, please call Tours Manager Dorothy Roder at 322-8862 or write Field Museum Tours, Roosevelt Road at La\e Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605. 201 EDITH FLEMING Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980 April 14-July 15 April 14, Saturday, 200pm: 28, Saturday, 20Opm : May 5, Saturday, 200pm: 6, Sunday, 200pm: 13, Sunday, 20Opm : 19, Saturday, 200pm : 20, Sunday, 200pm : June 3, Sunday, 200pm: 17, Sunday, 20Opm : 23, Saturday, 200pm: "What Is Fofc Art?: Symposium" Panel. Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Phyllis Kind, James ferker, Sterlms Stuckey moderator: Richard towell Lecture: "Indelible tons: The Back Atlantic Visual Tradition" by Robert Fams Thompson, professor of art hstory. Vale University Lecture: "The Origins and Development of Blade American Fofc Art" by Regene ftzrry professor of art history, Virginia Commonwealth University Performance: "Gospel Music: Spirit of the People" by 180 choir members of Trinity United Church of Chnst of Chicago Performance: "A Teler of Tal Tales, Jack Tales and Ghost Tales" by Jadoe Tbrrence, Granite Quarry, N.C Lecture "Memory and Sense of Place in Black Fofc Art" by William Ferns, deector, Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi Performance. "Blues Chicago Style" by Chicago musicians; moderators: Amy and Jim ONeai, editors of LMng Bites, journal of the black American blues tradition. Performance:" West African Rhythms" by Mandmgo Gnot Society of Chicago Performance: "Adventures in Rhythm and Song," a Jenkns, Chicago fc* singer Performance: "Africa* Gift to the World," by Dariene Btackburn Dance Troupe, Chicago I :i'r:^::i':-ri ;:.:'/e:..K;":.'e 13x45 •> :' f 1970s) on view m exhibit "Back FolK Art in America ■>930-l980 ' Ajy V4tt t FIELD IM CNF NATURAL May 1984 11 W m ■> BULLETIN > i : '{ .' * «r * * «r r * » * v 4 i * 'AW# fll r * tr * « -*vr. .,•> i 0nwA 4 > 4 I # xhibit opens April 29 » IT J* *> •/ Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Famela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bowen Blair Willard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnelley II Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphy, Jr. Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Byron Smith Robert H. Strotz Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Julian B. Wilkins Blaine J. Yarrington CONTENTS May, 1984 Volume 55, Number 5 Mav Events at Field Museum African and Afro-American Art: Call and Response by Richard J. Powell, guest curator, Department of Anthropology Field Museum Tours 26 COVER Hammock (detail), made by the Sherbro orMende people of Sierra Leone and woven of dyed and natural cotton. Late 19th or early 20th century. Tlie piece was collected in Sierra Leone in 1901 and acquired by Field Museum in 1929. Cat. 175957. A photo of the entire piece may be seen on page 5. It will aho be on view in Hall 9 from April 29 through Decem- ber 31 as part of the exhibit "African Insights: Sources for Afro-American Art and Culture!' See pages 5-25. Photo by Diane Alexander-White. N109326. Life Trustees Harrv O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C Gregg William V. Kahler William H. Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard VVood Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined Julv'August issue, by Field Museum of Natural Historv, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. II. 60605. Subscriptions: S6.00 annually, S3. 00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policy of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- tory, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, II. 60605. ISSN:0015-0703. Second class postage paid at Chicago, II. Eskimo Art and Culture comprising two exhibits: "Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo" and "Grasp Tight the Old Ways: The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art" continues on view through May 27 T Events Black Folk Art Programs These programs are designed to complement the special exhibit "Black Folk Art in America 1930- 1980" and are funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. Fees are nonrefundable. Please use coupon to order tickets. For further information please call (312) 322-8854. Black Folk Art Lectures "Origins and Development of Black American Folk Art" RegeniaA. Perry, Professor of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University Saturday, May 5, 2:00pm; James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance The earliest surviving examples of black American folk art include pottery, quilts, wood carving, basketry, iron work, and painting. Dr. Perry traces the development of this art through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, explaining the remarkable persistence of certain "Africanisms" through- out the course of black American folk art history. Dr. Perry is an avid collector ot black folk art and is author of the essay "Origins and Development of Black American Folk Art," in the exhibit catalog Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980. Tickets: $5.00 (Members: S3.00). "Memory and Sense of Place in Black Folk Art" William Ferris, director, Center for the Study of Southern Culture Saturday, May 19, 2:00pm; James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance Family, region, and place influenced traditional African artists, and continue to influence the black American folk artist today. William Ferris looks at the contributions of black culture to the American experience, focusing on folk artists of the rural South. Located on the campus of the University of Mississippi, The Center for the Study of Southern Culture is a clearinghouse for information on re- gional studies of southern culture. As a folklorist who talks to the folk as well as studying their artifacts, Dr. Ferris has found Mississippi a vital research area. Tickets: $5.00 (Members: S3. 00). Please use coupon to order tickets. For further information please call (312) 322-8854. Gospel Music: Spirit of the People Sanctuary Choir of Trinity United Church of Christ and members of the Jewel McLaurin Dance Company Sunday, May 6, 2:00pm; Stanley Field Hall "The spiritual is the community in rhythm, swinging to the movement of life." Over 150 members of the Sanctuary Choir of Trinity United Church of Christ present a musical program that explores the origins and evolution of black religious music. This performance illustrates with song and dance the slave hunt, capture, and ultimate departure of ships to the Americas, life working the fields of the South, and the celebration of religion in black churches today. The choir performs African chants, spirituals composed while working in the fields, and traditional and contemporary gospel songs, including calypso, samba, and reggae rhythms. The children's choir of Trinity United Church of Christ accompanies the Sanctuary Choir on selected pieces. This performance is free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. Blues: Chicago Style Moderated by Jim and Amy O'Neal, editors of Living Blues Sunday, May 20, 2:00pm; James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance "Well the blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad just sitting down thinking about the good times he once had," from "Coin' Away Baby," by Jim Brewer. It is generally agreed that Chicago is the blues capital of the world. No other city has so much blues activity or so many hot players on the local scene. Join us for an after- noon of blues that traces the history of this Chicago phenomenon. With: Jim Brewer, acoustic blues guitarist Eddie Taylor Blues Band, traditional blues Jimmy Johnson Band, contemporary blues Tickets: S5.00 (Members: S3. 00) Black Folk Art: Film Series A special program of film has been designed to accompany the exhibition "Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980." Films are screened on Saturdays in May and June, begin- ning at 1:00pm. Film notes are available. These films are free with Museum admission, and tickets are not required. May 5: "Sermon's in Wood" (27m) "Nellie's Playhouse" (14m) May 12: "Always for Pleasure" (58m) May 19: "Two Black Churches" (20m) "Possum O Possum" (28m) May 26: "The Performed Word" (58m) Family Feature "Jack Tales, Ghost Tales, and Tall Tales" with Jackie Torrence, the Story Lady, Granite Quarry, North Carolina. Sunday, May 13, 2:00pm, Stanley Field Hall Young and old alike are held spellbound as Jackie Torrence spins her Jack Tales, Ghost Tales, and Till Tales. The telling of tall tales and legends was formerly a dying folk tradition, but today it is experiencing a revival all over the country, thanks to storytellers like Jackie Torrence. Jackie is saving an important part of our heritage. . . and the result is a good time for all! Her stories transfix the audience, immobilizing them as it they were frozen under a magician's wand. With ex- CONTIM ED > CONTINUED FROM PACE 3 Events pressive hands and a rich resonant voice she becomes in Settle down to hear an afternoon of stories told by one turn, a young girl, a croaking frog, and a demon snake. who loves them all — the story, the people, and the charac- When her tale is told, spellbound listeners shake themselves ters she shares. This program is free with Museum admis- and discover they are breathless. sion, and tickets are not required. May Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demon- strations, and films related to ongoing exhibits at the Museum are designed for families and adults. Listed below are only a few of the numerous activities available each weekend. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for the complete schedule and program locations. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. May 5 1 :00pm Ancient Egyptians. Examine the lives of the pharaohs and the Egyptian people, from Predynastic times to Cleopatra. Explore their culture and beliefs, from daily life to death and mummification. 1 :30pm Tibet Today. Slide lecture shows Lhasa and other cities and towns now open to tour- ists, as well as Tibetan refugees who have car- ried their religion into the mountainous areas surrounding this ancient religious center. 2:30pm Himalayan Journey: A Faith in Exile. Slide lecture focuses upon the strongholds of Tibetan refugees in India: Dharamasla (home of the Dalai Lama), Darjeeling, and Sikkim. 6 12:30pm Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads from the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and African animals. 12 1 1 :30am Ancient Egypt. Explore the traditions of ancient Egypt from everyday life to myths and mummies. 13 12:30pm Welcome to the Field. Enjoy a sam- pling of our most significant exhibits as you explore Field Museum. 19 2:00pm Malvina Hoffman: Portraits in Bronze. Discover the origins of the magnificent bronze works lining the halls of Field Museum. Film and slide lecture examines the life and works of Malvina Hoffman, concentrating on the Por- traits of Mankind collection. 20 12:30pm Museum Safari. Seek out shrunken heads trom the Amazon, mummies from ancient Egypt, and African animals. 26 1 :00pm Red Land/Black Land. Examine the geography of the Nile Valley, and its effect on the life style of the pharaohs, religious prac- tices of the priests, and the reason for mummification. 27 12:30 Welcome to the Field. Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore Field Museum. These weekend programs are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. Coming Next Month "West African Rhythms" The Mandingo Griot Society and Foday Musa Suso Sunday, June 3, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre Join us for an afternoon of West African music blending Mandingo traditional songs and original compositions. Tickets: S6.00 (Members: S4.00) Registration Program Title Member Tickets #Requested Nonmember Tickets # Requested Total Tickets #Requested Amount Enclosed Please complete coupon (or your program selection and any other special events. Com- plete all requested Information on the applica- tion and include section number where appro- priate. II your request is received less than one week before program, tickets will be held in your name at West Entrance box office until one-half hour before event. Please make checks payable to Field Museum. Tickets will be mailed on receipt of check. Refunds will be made only if program is sold out. Total Name Street For Office Use: Date Received Date Returned lity State Zip 4 Telephone Daytime Evening Have you enclosed your self-addressed stamped envelope? Return complete ticket application with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Public Programs: Department of Education Field Museum of Natural History Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2497 Fig. 1. Hammock Sherbro or Mende, Sierra Leone. Cotton, dyed and natural. Late 19th/early 20th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 175957, N109326. Photo by Diane Alexander White. African and Afro-American Art: Call and Response by Richard J. Powell guest curator, African Insights: Sources for Afro-American Art and Culture I was astonished to see women ...do a sort of weaving, circular motion with their bodies, a \ind of queer shuffling dance which expressed their joy in a quiet, physical manner. It was as if they were talking with the movements of their legs, arms, nec\s, and torsos; as if words were no longer adequate as a means of com- munication; as if sounds could no longer approximate their feelings; as if only the total movement of their entire bodies could indicate in some measure their ac- quiescence, their surrender, their approval. And then I remembered: I'd seen these same, sna\eli\e, veering dances before ... V/here? Oh, God, yes; in America, in storefront churches, in Holy Roller Tabernacles, in God's Temples, in unpainted wooden prayer-meeting houses on the plantations of the Deep South . . . How could that be 1 —Richard Wright' Following a 1953 tour of Ghana, Afrc American novelist and essayist Richard Wright described his first impressions of his "ancestral homeland" in the book Blac\ Power. This essay was written as an accompanying text tor the exhibi- tion, African Insights: Sources for Afro- American Art and Cul- ture, on view at the Field Museum of Natural History from April 29 until December 31, 1984. I heartily thank the many organiza- tions and individuals who helped to realize this project, and who guided an inquiring scholar through the storerooms, archives, and mindsets of black creativity: the staff at the Field Museum of Natural History, especially the Anthropology, Education, and Exhibition Departments; the Illinois Humanities Council; the Dusable Museum of African American History; Richard Hunt; and Robert Farris Thompson. — R.J.R © 1984 Field Museum of Natural History Fig. 2. Lewis Miller, Virginia Sketchbook, 1853: "Spinning wool" and "Lynchburg-negro dance, ca. 1853. Watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Va. Wright was taken aback by the differences and sim' ilarities between Africans and black Americans. The shared characteristics were particularly puzzling for Wright, since he had long assumed that the centuries which had transpired and the traumatic experience of slavery obliterated any possibilities for African "survivals" in America. However, his face-to-face encounter with West African dance, gestures, and cultural patterns recalled similar traditions in the United States. Wright's acknowledgement of "some kind of link," along with the same realization by anthropol' ogists and historians form the ideological core for the Field Museum of Natural History's exhibition Afri- can Insights: Sources for Afro- American Art and Culture: The connections between various African peoples and their Afro-American descendants are often not immediately apparent. Layers of time, as well as cross'cultural influences, refashion African expressions into American statements. But the indel' ible mark of several West African civilizations con- tinues through time and over the dominant culture, expressing itself in an outlook and style that is essentially "Black Atlantic." The arts and cultures that exist along Africa's west coast — from Senegal's Cape Verde to just below the mouth of the Congo River — are reinvented among black populations in South America, the Caribbean, and the United States with striking results. This art survey, drawn largely from the Field Museum's African collection, closely examines the African cultures that contributed to a black presence in the Americas, especially in the United States. The major cultural areas of Africa represented in North America-bound slave ships include Kongo and Ango- lan peoples; Africans from the Niger Delta area (pre- dominantly Igbo and Cross River groups); Akan cap- tives from the "Gold Coast" (present day Ghana); peoples from the West Atlantic and Mande- influenced regions of Senegambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and parts of Mali; and "Slave Coast" inhabi- tants: Ewe from Togo, Fon from the Republic of Be- nin (formerly Dahomey) and Yoruba from South- western Nigeria? These ethnic groups, as represented in the assembled artworks and cultural artifacts, car- ried genetic and aesthetic information across the Atlantic into the sewing rooms, plantations, and ateliers of black America. One vivid example of aesthetic information from West Africa stands out in a Mande- influenced textile from the Mende or Sher- bro people (cover photo and figure 1). Collected in Sierra Leone in 1901 and acquired by the Field Museum in 1929, this hammock consists of five long strips of hand-spun cotton, woven and sewn together with a subtle, staggered design. The trademark of these heavyweight "country cloths," is the conscious manipulation of corresponding and contrasting pat- terns, via the use of natural or dyed yarns, weft-faced weaves, and supplementary tapestry techniques. Though a "broad-loom" width is the objective in sew- ing the strips together, "breaks" in the prevailing de- sign suggest that accentuation and occasional suspen- sion of the design "beat" is equally important. 4 That African-born and African-descended slaves were encouraged in textile-related crafts is attested to in countless slave narratives and surviving visual documents. An 1853 drawing from the sketch- book of Lewis Miller, a German-American artist (fig. 2), illustrates, among other things, the spinning of wool by one of Virginia's slave population. Although black American artisans had access to Western Euro- pean looms and weaving techniques, they frequently chose West African design units and color com- binations in the manufacturing of cloth for home use. 5 Very few slave-era textiles have survived to the present day, but modern examples of traditional, Afro-American cloth art demonstrate the persistence of an African approach to textiles. Black American "patchwork" artistry — borne out of economic necess- ity and visual ingenuity — is represented in a classic, "Spider Leg" quilt (fig. 3) by Mississippi artist Pecolia Warner. 6 The narrow (i.e., "spider leg" -width) strips of cloth are sewn together in alternating (dark/light and patterned/solid) schemes that hearken back to visual ancestors like the Sierra Leonean "country cloth." Perhaps the most well-known African ancestor to traditional black American arts and crafts is the coiled-grass basket. On both sides of the Atlantic these baskets serve in many capacities, functioning as food containers, storage bins, and even head gear. But it is in the role of agricultural tool that African and Afro-American coiled-grass baskets especially show a shared form and function. 7 When British settlers discovered that colonial 7 Fig. 3. Pecolia Warner, "Spider Leg" Quilt ca. 1970. Cotton. Center for Southern Folklore, Memphis, Tenn. Photo by Diane Alexander White. South Carolina and Georgia had the climate, terrain, and natural vegetation to sustain large scale rice cultivation, it wasn't very long before the Atlantic slave trade was escalated, and thousands of West Africans were being shipped into North America as cheap labor. These African slaves, many of whom were already knowledgeable about growing rice, also brought to America the know-how for making the wide and shallow "rice fanner" (fig. 4), an essential tool for the tropical and semitropical farmer? Wilfred Hambly, former curator of ethnography at the Field Museum, collected several coiled'grass baskets during an expedition to Angola in 1929. 9 In one of the photographs from that expedition (fig. 5), an Ovimbundu woman is shown making one of these 8 baskets. Her low-to-the-ground, seated position, and her obvious dexterity in coiling the varied lengths of grass mirror the work procedures and woven pro- ducts of her South Carolina Sea Island sister (fig. 4), shown here in a turn-of-the-century photograph. Of course, other New World countries that developed under plantation economies also reflect the cultural legacies of Africa. In contrast to the statistics for the United States, the overall numbers for slave importations into Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Brazil are much higher, and extend over a longer period of time. These combined factors result in aspects of Carib- bean and South American life that are much closer to West African societies than the cultural patterns of blacks in the United States. 10 A classic example of this cultural fidelity to Afri' ca is witnessed in the art and culture of Suriname. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this small area on the northeastern coast of South America was con' sidered one of the most profitable sugar-producing colonies in the Western Hemisphere. Consequently, 5.5 percent of all African slaves imported into the Americas were shipped into the "Guianas" (present' day Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana). 11 Slaves frequently escaped from the coastal plantations and sought refuge (and companionship with other escapees, or "Maroons") in the heavily forested and water-coursed interior. These bands of self-liberated men and women, armed with the traditions of their African past, developed communities, religious activities, languages, culinary arts, and other folk' ways that relied strongly on selected African correspondents. 12 A comb attributed to the Saramaka people of Suriname (fig. 6) features a central floral pattern, an overlapping and joined ribbon design, engraved areas, and "owl" and "jaguar" eye openings. 13 These motifs and the carved openwork convey symbolic elc ments and illustrate the use of visual metaphors in Maroon abstract design. One might correlate the aesthetic sensibilities that govern this Saramaka comb with those that operate in the combs of South' eastern Ghana (figs. 7 and 8). Also utilizing intersect' ing bands, engraved patterns, and symbolic animal forms, combs by the Akan peoples of Ghana are vir' tual lexicons of illustrated proverbs and traditional beliefs. Engraved on one side of the Akan comb are a rooster, a hen, the sun, a crescent moon, and a "sacred heart" (borrowed from Christian iconography): all symbols of love. 14 The meaning of the engraved fish on the opposite side of the lower handle defies immedi' ate interpretation, but it possibly refers to a local say ing, or to a personal symbol of either the carver or the recipient of the comb. As gifts from men to their wives, fiancees, sis- ters, or mothers, the Akan and Saramaka combs are tokens of esteem out of two societies that are singular- ly preoccupied with aesthetic issues. From the sensuous, organic forms of the Saramaka comb, to the round'headed symbol of fecundity and beauty on the Akan comb, the visual ideal centers on life-giving forces. Fig. 4. South Carolina woman fanning rice, from Outlook magazine, Oct. 24, 1908. N83619A. Fig. 5 Ovimbundu woman making coiled-grass basket, ca. 1929-30. N67871. For many New World blacks the only African traditions that could be maintained without chastisement from their white owners -were conceptual ones — closely-held beliefs, community mores, and the manner in which work and recreation were performed. 15 Unknown to the master, the "mis- sus," and the plantation overseer were those inherent- ly African ways that slaves prayed among their own, conducted their own systems of social interaction, mourned their own dead, dressed, cooked, made music, and danced. That the canons of an African aesthetic could be called upon across the boundaries of a specific medium, via these deep-seated concepts, is attested to in numerous examples of recent black Fig. 6. (left). Comb. Afro-American, Suriname (Saramaka). Wood. 20th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 191682, N109323. Figs. 7, 8 (center and right, representing front and back). Comb. Akan, Ghana. Wood, beads. 20th century. Field Museum collection cat 221468 N109285 and N109285A. Photos by Diane Alexander White. 10 F . f t * American choreography, music, literature, and visual art. A concept that addresses this cultural extension is the important standing that women maintain in society. Notwithstanding a system of rigidly defined sex roles, many West African women enjoy economic independence from their husbands, and the related decision-making powers, social prestige, and influ' ence over fellow community members. 16 A standing female figure (fig. 9), collected in southwestern Nigeria before 1893, embodies much of this West African-based "feminism" in its realistically-designed head tie, frozen facial expression, erect posture, and overall characterization. Although it is difficult to de- termine which cult this shrine image was used for by the Yoruba, its confidence and physical presence loudly proclaims female assertiveness. In a different vein, the Ibibio of southeastern Nigeria portray a youthful and physically striking woman (fig. 10), on a carved headdress from the turn of the century. Possi- bly depicting one of the candidates for female initia- tion rites, headdresses like this one were used in marionette-like performances by troupes of dancers and actors. 17 The Yoruba and Ibibio representations of vital, power-wielding women both have a distant, though conceptually close counterpart in con- temporary, Afro- American images of womanhood. For instance, artist Inez Nathaniel-Walker's draw- ings of black women (fig. 1 1) unconsciously pick up on these West African traits of female dynamism. Nathaniel-Walker's emphasis on surface activity, an elaborate hairstyle, and a searing expression in V/oman and Purple Curtain transforms her subject into aggression itself, but like the Yoruba and Ibibio sculptures, she tempers this aggression with beauty and potentiality. 18 Another concept that crossed the Atlantic is the metaphoric use of snakes. The Fon people of the Re- public of Benin (formerly the Kingdom of Dahomey) encorporate the benevolent snake, or Dan, in many of their religious ceremonies, believing that the python's ability to traverse land and watery realm entitles it to special deference." Among several categories of Fon charms, or gbo, is a hammered piece of iron shaped like a snake (fig. 12) and used by travelers as a por- table altar. 20 Dan 's capacity for ensuring health, pro- sperity, and good will is harnessed both ritually and sculpturally in this concrete desire for mediation. At Fig. 9. Female Figure Yoruba, Awori area, Nigeria. Wood, pigment. Late 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 28545, N109325. Photo by Diane Alexander White. 11 Fig. 10. Headdress. Ibibio, Nigeria. Wood, basketry, pigment, mirrors. 1 2 Late 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 25036, N98087. least fifty years later and across the Atlantic Ocean in World War Il'era Alabama, artist Bill Traylor uti' lizes snake imagery in a similar fashion. In an enigmat- ic drawing by Traylor (fig. 13), the undulating move- ments of a snake are doubled, and fixed to a central horizontal line. A gesturing man, a woman supported by a walking stick, and a gravity-defying cat (all ren- dered in silhouettes) flank this snake construction. This collection of seemingly disparate elements, like other works by Bill Traylor, suggest observed and im- agined phenomena. Possibly referring to an old Afro- Alabaman belief about encountering snakes along the road, 21 Traylor 's drawing dialogues with the Daho- mean image with an allegiance, and proffers that Fon influences may have entered the United States via the Caribbean-Louisiana migration route. 22 In regard to specific African influences in the United States, an overwhelming amount of evidence points towards Kongo and Kongo-related peoples as a major cultural factor. Although historians differ on the approximate number of Kongo peoples imported in total, there is a consensus that in the final "boom" years of the legal U.S. slave trade (ca. 1783 through 1807), the slavers received most of their human cargo from the southernmost part of the trading region: present day People's Republic of the Congo, Zaire, and Angola. The large number of imported Kongo peoples (estimated between one-third and one-fourth of all Africans imported into the U.S.) 24 and their sta- tus as the last, en-masse, cultural group of Africans to enter the United States in these genesis years for Afro-America, warrant a close consideration of Kon- go culture in this study. Also central to any discussion about traditional Afro-America is the acknowledging of social prac- tices and beliefs that sustained black Americans in the midst of an oppressive system. Self-assurance dur- ing those years of enslavement, reconstruction, and disenfranchisement came about as a result of an in- creased awareness of one's history and of one's spirituality. This double-barreled source for inner freedom and power expresses itself in slave testimon- ies, statements concerning Afro-American religious vocation, and descriptions of various leaders (minis- ters, midwives, and other community therapists). The famous Afro-American walking cane (fig. 14) by the mid-nineteenth-century carver Henry Gudgell epitomizes this Kongo-influenced will to- Fig. 11. Inez Nathaniel-Walker, Woman in Purple Curtain, 1975. Pencil and colored pencil on paper. Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York and Chicago. 13 Fig. 12. Snake charm (gbo). Fon, Republic of Benin. Iron. Late 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 28539, N109324. Photo by Diane Alexander White. wards self-confidence and knowledge. Carved reptil' ian motifs, along with plant, human (fig. 15), and ab- stract elements of decoration, join forces in com- municating a message to the owner of the cane and to the larger world. What this message generally addresses is the idea of prestige and power (as repre- sented in the swirling finial) being a God-given state, and that the healing potential (i.e., the medicinal leaf) Fig. 13. Bill Traylor, Snake at the Crossroads, ca. 1939-42. Drawing. Private collection, courtesy Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago. Photo by CheriEisenberg. 14 Fig. 14. (left). Henry Gudgell, Carved Cane with Figural Reliefs, ca. 1863. Wood, pigment. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn. Fig. 15. (right). Detail of cane. Both photos by Joseph Szaszfai. Fig. 16. Standing Male Figure with Staff. Kongo, Zaire. Wood, pig- ment, glass. Late 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 43906, N1 02999. 15 16 Fig. 17. Staff with Figurated Top. Coastal Kongo, Congo or Cabinda. Wood, pigment. Late 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 28229, negative N102996 (detail). Fig. 18. (left). Carved Cane. Afro-American, United States (Cherry Val- ley, Ark.). Wood, rhinestone inlay, cloth. Ca. 1916. Lent by Dr. Adell Patton, Jr., Courtesy Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn. Fig. 19. (right). Detail of cane. Photos by Joseph Szaszfai. Fig. 20. Figurated Pipe. Coastal Kongo, Congo or Cabinda. Wood, leather. 19th century. Field Museum collection, cat. 210465, N109214. Photo by Fleur Hales Testa. of such an appointment is contingent with com' munication between this world (symbolized by the man) and the spirit world (symbolized by the snake, turtle, and lizard). 24 This panoply of carved symbol' ism, envisioned by a black American artisan who was probably no more than several generations removed from Africa, recalls its Kongo ancestors with remark' able visual recollection. In a Kongo sculpture of a man balancing a walking cane with both hands (fig. 16), the same concept of high-ranking status and mediation are encoded in the cane's serpentine carv ing and in the sculpture's air of ritual readiness. 25 The moral height that this 19th-century Kongo figure ascends to has a Machiavellian counterpart in another Kongo figure (fig. 17), carved on top of a wooden staff, and also dating from the 19th century. Depicting a Dutch seafarer, the figure sports a marin- er's cap, moustache, jacket, trousers, and wooden shoes. In much of the Kongo art that hails from the colonial period, or from the coastal regions where contacts with European traders were frequent, carv' ers use the image of the European as a symbol of mate rial wealth and influence. 26 A figure also crowns an early 20th-century walking stick from Cherry Valley, Arkansas (fig. 18). Standing stoically over a carved, winding staff, the 17 1 8 Fig. 21. Figure Holding Bowl. Afro-American, United States (Fayetteville, NY.). Carved Pine. Ca. 1860. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Va. Fig. 22. Simon Sparrow, Untitled, 1983. Mixed media assemblage on wood. Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago. Photo by Cheri Eisenberg. 19 20 Fig. 23. Oath-Taking and Healing Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi). Yombe, tury. Field Museum collection, cat. 91300, N109327. Fig. 24 (opposite) Zaire. Wood, clay, fiber, metal, pigment, cowrie shell. Late 19th cen- shows detail N109329. Photos by Diane Alexander White. 21 Fig. 25. Doris Ulmann, Decorated Grave in the Carolina Sea Islands, ca. 1930. Photo courtesy William Clift. 22 suited male figure incarnates his own version of emi' nence. Holding a book (possibly a bible) in his right hand, while his left hand is hidden in his jacket pock- et (fig. 19), he recalls the contained gestures of the Kongo "Dutchman." But unlike the representation of the Dutchman-as-economic/political might, this AfrcAmerican walking stick equates the authority of its upper figure with secular and/or spiritual in- sight. The Kongo walking stick came to Chicago in 1893, when collector and dealer Carl Hagenbeck sold a large number of artifacts to the Columbian Museum of Chicago, now known as the Field Museum of Natural History. 27 Subsequent acquisitions of Kongo art have expanded the museum's holdings from this region of Africa, making extensive museum-based research into Kongo aesthetics and material culture possible. One of those subsequent Kongo acquisitions is a carved wooden pipe (fig. 20), a gift to the Field Museum from the celebrated, London collection of Captain A. W. F. Fuller. 28 In addition to classic, Kon- go designs encircling the pipe, a rapacious bird appears on the stem, and a male figure straddles and clutches the drumlike bowl. Though essentially con- ceived in the proportions of a Western-style smoking pipe, the figurative elements and implied gestures of generosity and contemplation push this implement into the parameters of Kongo ethics and cosmology. 25 The same sense of meditative giving filters through the placid expression of an Afro-American carving from Fayetteville, New York, circa 1860 (fig. 21). Pur- portedly done as a token of appreciation by a fugitive slave enroute to freedom, this carving of a seated man holding a vessel conveys a reciprocity that is also very much a part of the Kongo pipe's directive — that man must ultimately give of himself in this world. Aspects of African religions, such as the pre sence of vital forces throughout the universe, an inti- mate and personal Supreme Being, or the inevitable retribution for actions both good and bad, 30 gave Afri' can captives a basis for embracing those aspects of Christianity that also promoted these ideals. The syn- cretic nature of traditional black religion also allowed for African symbols to become Christian ones — a fact of creolization that explicitly shows itself in the Afro- Catholic shrines of Brazil, Haiti, and Cuba. But this conversion was not limited to the Catholic Americas, as evidenced in the ritual and style of older black Pro- testant churches in the American South. 31 Afro-U.S. religion reveals its more expressive side in a recent mixed media assemblage by Wiscon- sin artist Simon Sparrow (fig. 22). Consisting of old costume jewelry, buttons, beads, and various bric-a- brac, all glued on a wooden board in a carefully- conceived format, Sparrow's creation indulges in visual swoops and collaged shouts that rival the gos- pel artistry of an Alex Bradford or Clara Ward. 32 Sparrow's particular attention to symbolic accretions — as seen in a cross and "spirit hound" rendered in glitter and pearls, or in the strategic placement of a huge shell — is an aesthetic impulse that most likely draws on his New Bern, North Carolina roots, and on that region's cultural debt to Kongo-influenced cemetery ornamentation and charm-making. 33 One of the finest examples of a sculpted Kongo charm, or Ttyisi H'Kondi (fig. 23), illustrates the visual ancestor for Sparrow's meaningful but elusive assemblage. Collected in Bas-Zaire and acquired for the Field Museum in 1907, this oath-taking and heal- ing figure carries in its whole being the basic tenets of Kongo beliefs and judiciary law. 34 Clients present their arguments, illnesses, and various problems be- fore a ritual expert, who in turn, addresses the solu- tions, remedies, and oaths to the T^kisi WKondi. Each nail, blade, and screw represents an important matter that was resolved by hammering the iron staves into the figure. The massive swelling in the abdomen symbolizes a negative force that can only be brought under control with the moral righteousness and entree of a shell or piece of glass: metaphors for an African Insights: Sources for Afro-American Art and Culture will be on view in Gallery 9 April 29 through December 31, 1984 eternal, parallel world. The shimmering bits of jewel- ry and large white seashell in Simon Sparrow's work is echoed on the shell- and tinsel-decorated graves from cemeteries in coastal Carolina and Georgia com- munities (fig. 25). From a related use of shells, porce- lain, and/or reflecting glass in Kongo charms and graveyards, to an overall Black Atlantic "collage sensibility," Simon Sparrow's untitled opus to creativ- ity and the Creator displays all of the necessary accumulative powers through what Robert Farris Thompson calls the "Flash of the Spirit." 35 Just as the J^kisi 7^'Kondi is a glorification of the judge, healer, and policing agent, so too is Sparrow's assemblage an homage to the previous owners (and ultimate Own- er) of the rings, chains, necklaces, and other gems of the universe. The African and Afro- American objects dis- cussed in this essay, and the rest of the visual statements from African Insights: Sources for Afro'American Art and Culture can be viewed as a gathering of past and present lives, carved in history, and based on the needs of village associations, royal artisans, uprooted slaves, inspired freedmen, and ingenious men and women. This exhibition not only represents an art historical case of aesthetic giving and taking, but also the timeless phenomenon of turn- ing idea, act, and impulse into concrete philosophy: concepts that are held up, displayed, worn, danced, and passed down from generation to generation. Though the context for singling out selected, Bb.ck Atlantic images is intentionally didactic, the objects and the accompanying stories of cultural transmis- sion make the looking and learning process a gratify- ing, trans- Atlantic sojourn: a rite -de passage avail- able to one and all. FM 23 NOTES 1 . Richard Wright, Black Power (New York: Harper and Broth- ers, 1954), p.56. 2. Of course, Richard Wright's statement is a persona! observa- tion on African and Afro- American linkages. One of the earliest, and perhaps the most controversial scholarly investigation into this subject is Melville J. Herskovits, The Myth of the Negro Past (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1941). Though debated at the time of its publication, Herskovits 's study of African influences in the New World has had reverberations on subsequent writers, most notably James A. Porter, "The Trans-Cultural Affinities of African Negro Art," in Africa Seen by American J^egroes, ed. John A. Davis (Paris: Presense Africaine, 1958), pp. 119-130, and Robert Farris Thompson, "African Influences on the Art of the United States," in Black Studies in the University, eds. Armstead L. Robinson, Craig Foster, and Donald H. Ogilvie (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969), pp. 122-170. Thompson's most re- cent book on trans-Atlantic art and culture, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro- American Art and Philosophy (New York: Ran- dom House, 1983) provides contemporary readers with addi- tional data that traces specific African traditions (Yoruba, Kongo, Dahomean, Mande, and Ejagham) to various New World communities. 3. The best source for the percentages and origins of African slaves in the Americas are Philip D. Curtin, The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), and James A. Rawley, The Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade: A History (New York: WW Norton and Company, 1981). 4. The "reading" of West African textiles as woven and dyed discourses on rhythm occurs in Roy Sieber, African Textiles and Decorative Arts (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1972), p. 190, and Robert Farris Thompson, African Art in Motion (Ber- keley: University of California Press, 1974), pp. 10-13. Jules Staub discusses the looms, weaving techniques, and types of cloth among the Mende in Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Materiellen Kultur der Mendi in der Sierra Leone (Solothurn: Buchdruckerei Vogt-Schild AC, 1936), pp. 28-35. Still, another fine analysis of Mende textiles appears in John Picton and John Mack, African Textiles (London: The Trustees of The British Museum, 1979), pp. 103-106. 5. Dominic Parisi conducted a series of interviews with older black quilters in Eastern Kentucky during the summer of 1979. Among the many conclusion that were drawn from that study was the overwhelming preference among the quilters for a high contrast of colors: a basic canon for Western Sudanic textiles as well. Conversations with Black Women who live and quilt in East- ern Kentucky, unpublished manuscript by Dominic Parisi, 1979. Also see Pascal James Imperato, "Bamana and Malinke Covers and Blankets," African Arts, vol. 7, no. 3 (1974), pp.56-67, 91. 6. William Ferris, "Pecolia Warner, Quilt Maker," in Afro- American Foll{ Art an d Crafts, ed. William Ferris (Boston: G.K. Hall and Company, 1982), pp. 98-108, and Maude Southwell Wahlman and Ella King Torrey, Ten Afro-American Quilters (University: The Center of the Study of Southern Culture/ University of Mississippi, 1983) discuss Pecolia Warner's artis- try in the context of classic, Afro-American quilt making. I am especially indebted to Maude Wahlman for bringing to my atten- tion the ex ' ^otional Warner quilt (figure 3) presently in the collection c V Center for Southern Folklore, Memphis, Tennessee. 7. Mary Twin i.]... "Harvesting and Heritage: A Comparison of Afro-American and African Basketry," Southern Folklore Quar- terly, vol. 42 (1978), pp. 159-174. 8. The cultural impact of Senegambian, Windward coast, and Kongo/ Angolan peoples on colonial South Carolina is addressed 24 in Peter Wood's landmark book BlackMajority: Jiegroes in Colo- nial South Carolina from 1650 through the Stono Rebellion (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1974). 9. Wilfred Hambly, The Ovimbundu of Angola/ Frederick H. Rawson Field Museum Ethnological Expedition to West Africa (Chicago: Field Museum ofNatural History, 1934), pp. 169-172. 10. Herskovits, op. cit. and Pierre Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun a Bahia, la Baie de tous les saints, au Bresil et a Vancienne Cote des esclaves enAfrique (Dakar: IFAN, 1957). 11. Curtin, op. cit., pp. 89-91. 12. Discussing the juncture between West African civilizations and an emerging Afro-American culture in Suriname, two anthropologists hold the opinion that the early Maroons "did share certain general cultural orientations that, from a broad comparative perspective, characterized West and Central Afri- can societies as a whole." Sally and Richard Price, Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest (Berkeley: University of Cali- fornia Press, 1980), p. 196. 13. I thank Christopher Healy, who specializes in the art and culture of Suriname's Maroon populations, for sharing his exper- tise on this Saramaka comb. 14. The objects of much creative energy in Ghana, combs like this one are appreciated for their formal beauty and power to communicate, as discussed by Janet Adwoa Antiri in "Akan Combs," African Arts, vol. 8, no. 1 (Autumn 1974), pp. 32-35, and Herbert M. Cole and Doran H. Ross in The Arts of Ghana (Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History/University of California, 1977), pp. 48-53. 15. Daniel J. Crowley, "Negro Folklore, An Africanist's View," The Texas Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 3 (Autumn 1962), p. 67 16. For an in-depth study of the multiple roles that women play in traditional societies, see Judith Hoch-Smith and Anita Spring, eds. Women in Ritual and Symbolic Roles (New York: Plenum Press, 1978). The novels of two outstanding Nigerian writers, Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta, also explore women's issues. Flora Nwapa, Idu (London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1970) and Buchi Emecheta, TTie Slave Girl (New York: G. Brazil- ler, 1977). 17 John C. Messenger, "Ibibio Drama," Africa, vol. 41, no. 3 (1971), pp. 208-222. 18. A major area of research for art historian Sylvia A. Boone has been the perception of beauty in Africa and Afro-America. Conversations with Professor Boone, 1981-82, and the exhibition catalog by Roslyn A. Walker, African Women/ African Art (New York: The African-American Institute, 1976) have greatly con- tributed to my understanding of this area. 19. For a thorough interpretation of Fon religion and society, see Melville J. Herskovits, Dahomey, an Ancient West African Kingdom, vols. I and II (Evanston: Northwestern University press, 1967). Discussions of snake imagery also appear in P. Mer- cier, "The Fon of Dahomey," in African Worlds, ed. Daryll Forde (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), pp. 220-222, and Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro- American Art and Philosophy (New York: Random House, 1983), pp. 176-179. 20. This small piece of iron, shaped like a snake and decorated with a brown feather, is inserted into the ground by the traveler. Libations of palm-oil, alcohol, red kola, and drinking water are made to it, and the ritual is completed with a prayer. Herskovits, ibid., vol. II, p. 282. The iron snake and the related rituals of the Fon were brought to Haiti during the slave trade, as seen in the worship of snake deities throughout Haiti, and in the use of iron snakes in Vodun ceremonies. Alfred Metraux, Voodoo in Haiti (New York: Schocken Books, 1972). 21. "... crossing the road where a snake has crossed will give you a backache unless you turn around and walk backwards over the spot." — Newbell Niles Puckett, Folk Beliefs of the Southern A[egro (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1926), p. 436. The connections between snakes, traveling, and one's physical state of well'being are not only observed in this old saying from Alabama, Bill Traylor's drawing, and in various Fon rituals, but among the Angolan peoples as well. Wilfred Hambly mentions carved snakes in divination, serpents as either good or bad omens, and the wearing of snake vertebrae as a cure for rheumatism. Hambly, op. cit., pp. 138, 275, and 298. 22. Bill Traylor and Inez Nathaniel-Walker are discussed at length in Jane Livingston and John Beardsley, Blac\ Folk, Art in America: 1930'1980 (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi/ Center for the Study of Southern Culture, 1982), pp. 138-145, 104-109. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, thousands of Cuban and Haitian immigrants poured into Louisiana. Though differing in race, caste, and class, these immigrants brought to North America their Caribbean traditions, many which were the products of strong, African influences. Samuel Wilson, N[ew Orleans Architecture, vol. IV: The Creole Faubourgs (Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 1974), pp. 25- 36, and H.E. Sterkx, The Free Tsjegro in Ante'Bellum Louisiana (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1972). 23. Philip Curtin, op. cit., pp. 156-158, and Robert Farris Thompson and Joseph Cornet, The Four Moments of the Sun: Kongo Art in Two Worlds (Washington, D.C: National Gallery of Art, 1981), pp. 147-151. 24. In a forthcoming work by Ramona Austin, the aesthetic effects of Kongo staffs are convincingly traced to figurated walk- ing sticks and "conjuring" canes in the black United States. I am grateful to Ms. Austin for sharing her ideas about these canes during a conversation, 6 February 1984. The Gudgell cane was first mentioned and illustrated in James A. Porter, Modern J^egro Art (New York: Dryden Press. 1943), pp. 27, 201. Robert Farris Thompson, "African Influences on the Art of the United States," op. cit., discusses the Gudgell cane in the context of other early, Afro- American masterpieces. 25. A close comparison between this Kongo figure and a Kongo figure illustrated in Kurt Krieger, 'Westafrikanische Plasti\, I (Berlin: Museum Fur Volkerkunde, 1969), PI. 187 and p. 91, sugg- est that one school, or even one carver created both works. This is very likely, since the collectors for the Berlin and Chicago figures traveled in the same area of Central Africa at about the same time. 26. For a discussion about depictions of Europeans in African art, see Phillip H. Lewis, "Primitive Artists look at Civilization," Chicago Jiatural History Museum Bulletin, vol. 32, no. 7 (July 1961), pp. 2-3, 8, and Roslyn A. Walker, The Stranger Among Us (Washington, D.C: National Museum of African Art/ Smithsonian Institution, 1982). 27 The details concerning this transaction are found in the cor- respondence from Carl Hagenbeck's Zoological Arena and World's Museum, to the Columbian Museum of Chicago, Au- tumn 1893, Accession File 81, Anthropology Department, Field Museum of Natural History. 28. For a brief synopsis of Captain A.W F Fuller's career as a collector, see Philip J. C. Dark, The Art of Benin: A Catalogue of an Exhibition of the A.WT. Fuller and Chicago Natural History Museum Collections of Antiquities from Benin, Nigeria (Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum, 1962), pp. 1-2, 17-18. 29. Smoking in many African societies is looked upon as both recreational pasttime and ritual act. Wilfred Hambly recounts a legend on the origins of smoking from the Bushongo, a people who live to the east of the Bakongo: "A man . . . astonished his tribesmen by producing a pipe from the trade goods brought from distant places. While smoking in the center of a curious circle, he proceeded to explain the value of tobacco by saying, "When you have had a quarrel with your brother, you may wish to kill him; sit down and smoke a pipe. By the time this is finished you will think that death is too great a punish' ment for your brother's offence, and you will decide to let him off with a thrashing. Relight your pipe and smoke on. As the smoJ^e curls upward, you will think t ' lat a f ew harsh words would serve instead of blows. Light your pipe once more and, when the bowl is empty, you will ready to go to your brother and forgive him" Berthold Laufer, Wilfred D. Hambly, and Ralph Linton, Tobacco and its Use in Africa, Leaflet 29 (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1930), p. 23. While one might consider the Field Museum pipe to be an aberrant, tourist item, based on its West- ern form and unusual figuration, other pipes from the Kongo area raise the spectre of an indigenous, figurated pipe tradition. For a similar pipe form from the Kongo area, see a Teke pipe from the Goteborg Museum, illustrated in Raoul Lehuard, Statuaire du Stanley-pool (Villier-le-Bel: Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1974), p. 171. 30. John S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy (New York: Praeger, 1969), and Dominique Zahan, The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979). 31. Rev. Joseph A. Brown brilliantly assesses the "Africaniz- ing" process in "Voices Stirring the Waters: Reflections on the Religious Impulse of Afro-American Art" (M.A. thesis, Yale University, May 1983). 32. Concerning the seemingly excessive decoration of a Mobile, Alabama home, one anthropologist concluded that "... the feel- ing in back of such an act is that there can never be enough beau- ty, let alone too much." This point-of-view is also quite applicable to the art of Simon Sparrow. Zora Neale Hurston, "Characteris- tics of Negro Expression," in A[egro Anthology, ed. Nancy Cunard (London: Wishart and Company, 1934), p. 40. Ken Hodorowski, Director of Carl Hammer Gallery, generously brought to my attention the talents of Simon Sparrow. 33. Elizabeth A. Fenn, "Grave Decorations in Coastal North Carolina," unpublished paper delivered in the graduate seminar, Space and Architecture of the Black Atlantic World, Yale Uni- versity, April 1983. In addition to Ms. Fenn's excellent survey of decorated graveyards in North Carolina, there are literally scores of studies that examine this largely southern phenomenon. Of special note are: Puckett, op. cit., pp. 104-108; Samuel Miller Lawton, The Religious Life of South Carolina Coastal and Sea Island A[egroes (Ph.D. dissertation, George Peabody College for Teachers, 1939); John M. Vlach, The Afro- American Tradition in Decorative Arts (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978), pp. 139-147; and Robert Farris Thompson and Joseph Cor- net, op. cit., pp. 181-203. 34. Specific references to the Field Museum Jtyisi N'Kondi appear in Ezio Bassani, "Kongo Nail Fetishes from the Chiloango River Area," African Arts, vol. 10, no. 3 (April 1977), pp. 36-40, 88, and Robert Farris Thompson, "The Grand Detroit N'Kondi," Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, vol. 56, no. 4 (1978), pp. 206-221. 35. Thompson, Flash of the Spirit/op. cit. A discussion of the "collage sensibility" and other aspects of Afro- American art are addressed in Richard J. Powell, "The Blues Aesthetic: Afro- American Culture as an Instrument of Style in Modern Amer- ican Painting" (M.A. thesis, Yale University, May 1982). 25 Tours For Members An exciting, adventurous and in- depth safari carefully planned under the expert guidance of our leader, Audrey Faden. She served on the Field Museum Volunteer staff and has done field research and general collecting of plants in Kenya. A na- tive of Kenya, Audrey is a former staffer of the National Museum of Kenya, and her keen interest in wildlife, conservation, and plant life makes her a natural to lead our tour. If you have an inquisitive mind and would like to learn about the wild' life, ecology, and plant life, this safari should be your choice. Photog- raphy will be a major objective on this tour and our specially equipped safari vehicles will provide clear visibility for all tour participants. Our itinerary will include a day stop-over in London on both the outbound and return flights. We'll fly direct from London to Nairobi, Kenya. During our stay in Kenya we'll visit Amboseli National Park (justly famous for its big game and KENYA September 8-27, 1984 $3,595 (per person, double occupancy) superb views of Mount Kili- manjaro), Tsavo National Park, Aberdare National Park, Samburu game reserve, and the Northern Frontier district, spending two nights at the famous Mount Kenya Safari Club. We'll visit Lake Naivasha, where the birdlife is spec- tacular. It is estimated that there are over 500 bird species on this Rift Valley lake. We'll spend two nights at Kichwa Tembo Safari Camp, where we'll enjoy two full days of game viewing in Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The tour price includes hotel and camp accommodations, three meals each day, except in Nairobi Audrey Faden where full breakfast only is in- cluded, plus a special cocktail party and welcome and farewell dinners. No meals in London. Air transporta- tion via British Airways, plus all transfers, baggage handling, safari vehicles, entrance fees, hotel taxes and all gratuities. An advance de- posit of $50.00 per person will en- sure your reservation on this East African Safari. Please make checks payable to Field Museum. For fur- ther information, please call or write Dorothy Roder: (312)322-8862. Audrey Faden COMING ir> Peru Tour (October), with an overnight stay at Machu-Picchu. <&■ China Tour, which will include Beijing (Peking) and Sian. Last call for Field Museum's June tour to Alaska. If interested, please call Dorothy Roder now (322-8862). 001F288 EDITH FLEMING 946 PLEASANT OAK PK, IL 60302 Black April 14, Saturday, 2:00pm : 28, Saturday, 2:00pm: May 5, Saturday, 2:00pm: 6, Sunday, 2:00pm: 13, Sunday, 2:00pm : 19, Saturday, 2:00pm: 20, Sunday, 2A0pm: June 3, Sunday, 2KX)pm : 17, Sunday, 2:00pm: 23, Saturday, 2:00pm-. Folk Art in America: 1930-1980 April 14-July 15 "What Is Folk Art?: Symposium" Panel: Lynda Roscoe Hartisan, Phyllis Kind, James Parker, Sterling Stuckey moderator: Richard Powell Lecture: "Indelible Icons: The Black Atlantic Visual Tradition" by Robert Farris Thompson, professor of art history, Yale University Lecture: "The Origins and Development of Black American Folk Art" by Regenia Perry professor of art history, Virginia Commonwealth University Performance: "Gospel Music: Spirit of the People" by 180 choir members of Trinity United Church of Christ of Chicago Performance: "A Teller of Tall Tales, Jack Tales and Ghost Tales" by Jackie Torrence, Granite Quarry N.C. Lecture: "Memory and Sense of Place in Black Folk Art" by William Ferris, director, Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi Performance: "Blues Chicago Style" by Chicago musicians,- moderators: Amy and Jim O'Neal, editors of Living Blues, journal of the black American blues tradition. Performance:" West African Rhythms" by Mandingo Griot Society of Chicago Performance: "Adventures in Rhythm and Song," by Ella Jenkins, Chicago folk singer Performance: "Africa's Gift to the World," by Darlene Blackburn Dance Troupe, Chicago "Fish," painted wood and metal sculpture by Leslie Payne, 13 x 45% x 7Vb" (1970s), on view in exhibit "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980," April 14 through July 15. ■>.:• ?:r*ss, r:r:w,,r*\\sW';y*\rw^^ FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BULLETIN June 1984 ..■• \ A VrSH '<* >■ A' •1 S* : : && if* "tUp. - «■$*' - ra-*M* ' ii L«P"- J>* a»- 'fe^K fo*k <>- Nfe-f-:; f*$ i**j IVest African Rhythms by The Mandingo Criot Society: June 3 Adventures in Rhythm and Song by Ella Jenkins: June 17 Darlene Blackburn Dance Troupe: June 23 Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Pamela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bowen Blair Willard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnelley II Thomas J. Eyerman Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphy, Jr. Earl L. Neal Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Byron Smith Robert H. Strotz Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Julian B. Wilkins Blaine J. Yarrington Life Trustees Harry O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C. Gregg William V. Kahler William H.Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard Wood CONTENTS June 1984 Volume 55, Number 6 Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined July/ August issue, by Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, II. 60605. Subscriptions: $6.00 annually, $3.00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policy of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- tory, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, U 60605. ISSN:0015-O703. Second class postage paid at Chicago, II. June Events at Field Museum Fort Ancient: Citadel Or Coliseum? by Patricia S. Essenpreis, research associate in Anthropology, and Michael E. Moseley, curator of Middle and South American archaeology and ethnology In Pursuit of Amphibians and Reptiles in East Malaysia A report from the field by Robert F. Inger, curator, 11 Division of Amphibians and Reptiles William G. S\\ art chile 1, Jr., in Memoriam 13 STICI: A Training Program for Teachers by Carolyn Blackrnon, chairman, Department of Education, 14 Maija Sedzielarz, coordinator of the Joyce Foundation Teacher Training Program, and Helen H. Voris, special projects writer, Department of Education Volunteers Honored 18 Tours for Members 27 COVER Chinese snuff bottles: 32 representath , es (front and back cover) from Field Museums extensive collection. A large selection oftfiese beautiful objects have recently been placed on permanent exhibit in Hall 24 ("Ancient China"). The art of fashioning snuff Ixtt ties in China came about as the result of a gift from Louis XIV of France in 1692 to the Emperor K'ang Hsi (1662-1722): a set of striking, gold -enameled boxes for holding snuff. The emperor was more intrigued by the gemlike boxes than their con- tents, and he invitedjesuit artists to Peking to demonstrate how to reproduce certain colors used on the boxes. Howeivr. it remained for Kang Hsi's grandson, the Emperor Ch'ien Lung (1735-95), to bring about a i"ogue for snuff and snuff bottles. A large number of the Museum s snuff bottle collection were the gift* in 1936, of Mrs. Frances Gaylord Smith, and all of those shown liere nvregiivn by her, except one (top row, front coi>er, second from left — the gift of Mr. Sidney Teller). Front cover, row bv row. from top left: C232447: porcelain, stopper of imitation coral. C233421a: lacquer-cowed brass. C232420: porcelain, stopper of coral. C2324Z4: blue glass painted with enamel, stopper of rose quartz. C232193: glass, quartz stopper C232403: glass painted on inside, stopper of jade. C232154: glass, jade stopper. C232266: brown onyx, stopper of jade. C232339: chalcedony, stopper of glass. C232324: stone, stopper of quartz. C232291: agate, stopfer of jade. C232371: agate, stopper of glass. C232034: porcelain, coral stopper. C232238: quartz, stopper of coral and turquoise. C232480: ivory (made injapan. probably for the Chinese market). C232221: cinnabar lacquer, stopper of lacquer. Back cover: C232206: glass, stopper qfglass. C232175: glass, stopper of quartz. C232165: gtassfade stopper. C232178: glass, glass stopper. C232410: brown stone, jade stopper. C232092: glass, coral stopper. C232400: agate, stopper of coral and turquoise. C232478: porcelain, stop- fer of imitation coral. C232134: porcelain, glass stopper. C232110: glass, stopper of jade. C232469: porcelain , stopper of quartz. C232043: glass, stopper of coral and glass. C232259: rock crystal, jade stopper. C232429: porcelain, stopper of lapis lazuli. C232217: walrus tusk (stained), quartz stopper. C232054: glass, stopper ofgfass. Photos of snuff bottles by William C. Bent ley, a iolunteer. T Events T Black Folk Art Programs These programs are designed to complement the special exhibit "Blac\ Fol\Art in America 1930-1980" The programs are funded by a grant from the 'National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. West African Rhythms The ~Mandingo Griot Society and Foday Musa Suso Sunday, June 3, 2:00pm ]ames Simpson Theatre, West Entrance In Western Africa, griots form a special group of master musicians, oral historians, praise singers, poets, and keepers of tradition. Since its formation in 1977, the Mandingo Griot Society has captivated audiences throughout Europe and the United States with its unique blending of African and West- ern musical styles. In addition to bass, tap drums, and guitar, the society uses a wide range of ethnic instruments, includ- ing the kfira, the 21-string harp played exclusively by the Mandingo griots. Join us for this performance, which blends Mandingo traditional songs and original compositions. Tickets: $6.00 (Members: $4.00) Please use coupon on p. 4 to order tickets. Adventures in Rhythm and Song Ella Jenkins, singer and songwriter Sunday, ]une 17, 2:00pm Stanley Field Hall Ella Jenkins would like to teach the world to sing — and per- fect harmony doesn't matter! Ella Jenkins is a magician with children of all ages and devotes her life to demonstrating her extraordinary musical talents to people all over the world. Along with her harmonica and ukulele she encourages every- one to snap fingers, clap hands, stomp feet, hum, and whis- tle, creating a spontaneous and impromptu sing-along con- cert. Join us for this high-spirited concert as Ella sings and gets folks a-singing! This program is free with Museum admission, and tickets are not required. Africa's Gift to the World Darlene Blackburn Dance Troupe Saturday, June 23, 2:00pm Stanley Field Hall Since 1967, the Darlene Blackburn Dance Troupe has per- formed to enthusiastic audiences the world over. In this two- part program the troupe performs numerous West African Dances, includingju Ju Social Dance, the Fetish Priest Dance, and Adowa, a funeral dance done by the Ashanti people. The second part highlights Darlene Blackburn's ori- ginal choreography and features Raw Soul, From Africa to America, Female Ritual, and the St. Thomas Calypso. This performance is free with Museum admission, and tickets are not required. The Mandingo Griot Society Black Folk Art: Film Series Films are screened on Saturdays in June, beginning at 1:00pm. On Saturday, June 23 children's films are featured. Film notes are available. These films are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. June 2: "Maxwell Street Blues" (56m) June 9: "Du Cote de Memphis" (58m) "Hush Hoggies Hush" (4m) June 16: "Bottle Up and Go" (18m) "The Blues According to Lightnin' Hopkins" (28m) June 23: "A Boy Creates" (10m) "Legend of John Henry" (11m) "George Dumpson's Place" (8m) "A Story, A Story" (10m) June 30: "Sermons in Wood" (27m) "Nellie's Playhouse" (14m) CONTIMIKIKO c.dM'IMKn FROM PAGES Events June Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demonstra- tions, and films related to ongoing exhibits at the Museum are designed for families and adults. Listed below are only a few of the numerous activities available each weekend. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for the complete schedule and program locations. These weekend programs are free with Museum admission and tickets are not required. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. June 9 2:30pm Traditional China (tour). Examine the as you explore Bhutan, "Land of the Thunder timeless imagery and superb craftsmanship rep- Dragon." resented by Chinese masterworks in our per- 3:30pm Tibet (tour). A closer look at Field manent collection. Museum's Tibetan exhibit. June 10 12:00 noon We/come to the Field (tour). Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore the scope of Field Museum. 2:30pm Treasures From the Totem Forest (tour). A walk through Museum exhibits introduces the Indians of southeast Alaska and British Col- umbia, whose totem poles and masks proclaim their pride of rank and mystical ties to animals and spirits. June 16 2:30pm China: The Golden Age (slide lecture). Look at the achievements of several early dynas- ties of traditional Chinese civilization. June 17 2:30pm Life in Ancient Egypt (tour). Focuses on the objects and practices, including mummifica- tion, which illustrate ancient life in the Nile Valley. June 23 11:30am Ancient Egypt (tour). Tour the Museum's Egyptian exhibit and investigate the traditions of ancient Egyptian civilization from everyday life to mummification and the promise of an afterlife. 1:30pm Tibet Today (slide lecture). See Lhasa and other towns now open to tourists, as well as Tibetan refugees who have carried their religion into the mountainous areas surrounding this ancient religious center. 2:30pm Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon (slide lecture). Experience a Himalayan journey June 24 12:00 noon Welcome to the Field (tour). Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore the scope of Field Museum. 2:30pm Chinese Ceramic Traditions (tour). This 45-minute tour of masterworks in the per- manent collection explores 6,000 years of Chinese ceramic art. June 30 2:30pm China and the Silk, Roads (slide lec- ture). Travel the ancient caravan routes and fol- low the course of empires, arts, and faiths. Ella Jenkins, Sunday, June 17 Registration Program Title Member Tickets # Requested Nonmember Tickets # Requested Total Tickets # Requested Amount Enclosed Please complete coupon for your program selection and any other special events Com- plete all requested information on the applica- tion and include section number where appro- priate. If your request is received less than one week before program, tickets will be held in your name at West Entrance box office until one-half hour before event Please make checks payable to Field Museum Tickets will be mailed on receipt of check Refunds will be made only if program is sold out Total Name Street For Office Use: Date Received Date Returned City State Zip 4 Telephone Daytime Evening Have you enclosed your self-addressed stamped envelope? Return complete ticket application with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Public Programs Department of Education Field Museum of Natural History Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago. IL 60605-2497 Fort Ancient: Citadel or Coliseum? Past and Present Field Museum Explorations Of a Major American Monument by Patricias. Essenpreis and Michael e. Moseley Fig. 1. Warren K. Moorehead (center, white suspenders) with his crew of excavators in Ohio during explorations for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1891. Although a self-taught archaeologist, Moorehead discovered more about Fort Ancient than any other investigator, past or present. Photo courtesy Ohio Historical Society. The Monument Fort Ancient is a vast, remarkable earthwork erected more than 2,000 years ago by Hopewell inhabitants of south- western Ohio. It encloses the spacious summit of a mesa towering 80 m above the Little Miami River, where it flows through a deep, narrow canyon. Monumental construction Patricia S. Essenpreis isa research associate, Department of Anthro- pology; Michael E. Moseley is curator, Middle and South American archaeology and ethnology. entailed the building of linear earthen embankments up to 7 m high and 21 m wide, over a distance of 5.7 km. These walls run strategically along the crest of a figure 8-shaped mesa to form large northern and southern enclosures con- nected by a narrow, elongated middle or central enclosure (figs. 2 and 3). At the time the great embankments were constructed and for almost a millennium thereafter, Fort Ancient was one of the largest monuments in North America. The nat- ural topography is interrupted on such a vast and forceful «1 t /l* -fl frr jftfi Fig. 2. (left). Map of Fort Ancient drawn in 1891 for the World's Colum- bian Exposition under Moorehead 's supervision (5 72 feet per inch). A parallel-walled enclosure (not shown) once extended '/& mile to the northeast from the two mounds by the road in the upper right. Fig. 3 (above). Recent topographic map of Fort Ancient State Memorial (3,280 feet per inch). The site and museum are open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day scale that the earthwork has long commanded admiration. Interest began when the youthful United States Congress opened Ohio to settlement by awarding land grants to Revolutionary War veterans and political supporters. When the main stage road between Cincinnati and Chillicothe, Ohio, was built at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it ran through the north enclosure of Fort Ancient and descended to the river along an ancient graded way. By straddling a major thoroughfare the co- lossal earthwork attracted wide public attention. In 1809 the Philadelphia Port Folio printed a story and sketch map of the monument. Thereafter, many of the nation's most distinguished scholars and institutions became involved in the nineteenth-century explorations of Fort Ancient. These early explorations account for much of what is pres- ently known about this imposing architectural complex and led to the ruins being protected as Ohio's first state park in 1891. Appropriately, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, which led to the founding of Field Museum, played a significant role in the exploration of Ohio earthworks, including the mapping of Fort Ancient. Mapping a monument the size of Fort Ancient is not an easy task. The earthworks follow a tortuous path and encircle an area of 51 hectares (about 30 city blocks, or 1/5 square mile). There are at least 72 passages through the embankments, including 3 so-called "great gateway" com- plexes with causeways and attendant mounds. Within the three enclosures there are moatlike ditches adjacent to the embankments, flagstone pavings that probably served as roadways, a few small flagstone circles and several col- lapsed rock structures of unknown use, as well as 11 small free-standing mounds of oval and crescent form. However, the vast interior areas are basically vacant and lack evi- dence of Hopewell houses or remains of a resident popula- tion. Exterior to the embankments, artificial terraces were cut into the mesa sides, and below the south enclosure there are several "great terraces," each 4 m wide and up- wards of 500 m long. Seven small mounds dot the plateau to the east, while a small circular earthwork sits atop the bluff across the river. Fig. 4. After bending and pounding more than 50 copper breast- plates, earspools, and other ornaments out of shape, the Hopewell covered them with sheets of mica and buried them as a ceremonial offering in a small hole. This object was an embossed breastplate. Ohio Historical Society Cat. 23989. Fig. 5. Aerial view of the south, or "old," fort, looking northeast. The embankment can be seen as a faint light line following the bluff edges. The arrow points to the great gateway, the main entry connecting the middle to the south enclosure. The Mound Builder-Red Man War During the nineteenth century and at the time the Co- lumbian Exposition was organized, scholars generally rec- ognized three great New World civilizations: the Inca, the Aztec, and the more ancient and mysterious "Mound Builders," whose many great earthworks confronted the nineteenth century public. Mound Builder monuments fascinated the nation's greatest minds. Thomas Jefferson ranks as the first naturalist to systematically excavate and record an ancient earthwork when he supervised the open- ing of a mound on his Virginia estate prior to 1781. Europe was equally intrigued by the engineering and architectural achievements of the "lost civilization"; and two of the earli- est ground plans of Fort Ancient were published in Ger- many and in France during the first decades of the 1800s. Fort Ancient and other monuments attributed to the Mound Builders were correctly viewed as the works of a truly great civilization. Yet, this civilization was incorrectly thought to have been sacked and exterminated by the "bar- baric Red Man," and thus was not ancestral to the Amer- ican Indian. This interpretation was a product of the polit- ical climate of the times. Following the Revolutionary War the greatest "for- eign" foes of the United States were not European powers, but native societies battling colonization and expropriation of their territory by the new nation. The states rationalized westward expansion by espousing the notion that the na- tives were rude savages unworthy of occupying the terri- tory they held. The prevalent sentiment was succinctly expressed in the simple motto, "The only Good Indian is a Dead Indian." In driving the Red Man from the land, yet finding the land occupied by imposing works of a great civilization, the idea of the earthworks as evidence of Indian accomplish- ment was intellectually untenable. However, they could easily be accepted as the ruins of a vanished civilization that had been destroyed by the Indians. This explanation did two things. First, it separated ancient civilization from Indian ancestry. Second, it "proved" that Indians were sav- age interlopers who did not deserve the lands they occu- pied because they had acquired them by annihilating a great civilization. Permeating nineteenth-century thinking, this inter- pretation — known today as the "Mound Builder myth" — carried with it notions of a protracted war between Mound Builders and Red Men. This fabled war shaped early explorations and explanations of Fort Ancient. In essence, by portraying the earthwork as a great citadel of van- quished civilization, the fictitious war with the nihilist Red Man was demonstrated, and the Mound Builder myth thus substantiated. The tenor of nineteenth-century interpretation was set by Caleb Atwater in the Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society of 1820. As a forefather of American archaeology, Atwater visited, described, and classified a variety of significant Mound Builder monuments. These included a number of flat hilltops enclosed by linear embankments about which he concluded: "On the whole, I have ventured to class them among Ancient Fortifica- tions,' to which they appear to have higher claim than most any other, for reasons too apparent to require recital." Dis- missing the many entrances and gateways as gaps left by incomplete construction, Atwater's assertion that Fort Ancient represented a defensive structure was based en- tirely upon its strategic castlelike setting and upon his con- viction that "I have always doubted whether any people of sane minds would ever have performed quite so much labour in mere sport." The setting of the monument is indeed dramatic and impressive. The earthwork has a commanding view of the Little Miami River, where it has cut a deep, narrow canyon through a wide plain flattened by Pleistocene glaciers. The Fig. 6 (drawing). Fig. 7 (photo). The great gateway even today funnels traffic into the south enclosure. A prehistoric stone pavement now buried beneath the sod connects the small mound left of the road to a deep ditch next to the wall and continues to the point from which the photographer took this photo. mesa enclosed by artificial walls is a remnant of this wide plateau, isolated by two streams, Randall and Cowen Runs. These streams arise less than 200 m apart at two springs some 100 m east of the north enclosure. Fort Ancient's builders treated the springs as very important, erecting a high, circular mound near each to create so- called "twin mounds." Although Randall and Cowen Runs have cut deep valleys along most of their courses, they are not deeply incised near the springs, leaving a wide natural land bridge between the mesa and the plateau to the east. At the time of Atwater's observations, a very distinc- tive geometric structure still survived on the plateau. Beginning at the base of the twin mounds, two long, low earthen embankments extended inland in parallel for more than one-half mile to enclose a single small mound. The embankments were approximately 1 m high, 4 m wide, and 20 m apart with a flagstone pavement between them. 10 Fig. 8. Moorehead excavated a number of stone graves in the valley below Fort Ancient. He assumed that these villagers built Fort Ancient and fled there for refuge during enemy attacks. We now know, however, that these burials belong to a later culture. Photo courtesy Ohio Historical Society. Although structurally unlike the rest of Fort Ancient, sim- ilar parallel-walled structures were built at other monu- ments. Atwater advanced the interpretation that these were roadways for playing ceremonial games: "If the roads were for footraces, the mounds were the goals from whence the pedestrians started, or around which they ran." This ceremonial explanation did not suggest to Atwater that other structures at the monument might be of similar character, or at least nondefensive in nature. The great terraces below the south enclosure are massive fea- tures noted on the earliest site maps. Yet, seeing Fort Ancient as akin to a Rhineland castle, Atwater felt the ter- races were of a military nature, having been "designed for persons to stand on, who wished to annoy those who were passing up and down the river." Subsequent to Atwater's observations, Professor John Locke of Cincinnati and a party of a dozen engineers spent two days surveying and measuring the monument. Pub- lished in 1843 and reissued in 1848 in Volume I of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, the resulting map and short accompanying article remained the most authoritative statement about the earthwork for decades. Locke also interpreted Fort Ancient as a defensive work, even though his survey demonstrated many facts that today make the site untenable as a fort. There are no interior quarters that might have garrisoned troops. Yet, the multitudes of troops needed to defend the 5 + km perimeter of earthworks would number in the tens of thou- sands. Moats are located inside embankments rather than defensively outside. The steep sides of the mesa are cut by deep narrow gulleys that alternate with gently sloping ridges and spurs (fig. 17). The embankments were placed so as to block and close off the heads of the gulleys, yet pro- vide passages opening onto the ridges. In turn, the ridges were often graded and partly paved, and probably served as routes of access from valley bottom to the principal enclosures. With more than 70 passages opening on access routes, the architecture is hardly defensive in design. Locke correctly identified this multitude of passages; yet, by asserting that each passage held a wooden block- house or bastion, he supported the prevailing notion that only a great fort could command such a strategic setting. However, while the embankments may have supported wooden structures atop their wide summits, excavations in Continued on p. 20 Fig. 9. Exotic artifacts, such as this mica cutout of a human hand from the Hopewell group, are common at geometric enclosures, but rare at hilltop enclosures like Fort Ancient. Cat. 110132. N90925. REPORT FROM THE FIELD: In Pursuit of Amphibians And Reptiles in East Malaysia A letter from Curator Robert E Inger, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, to Field Museum President WillardL. "Sandy" Boyd Traveling by motorized canoe on the Mengiong River; Paul Walker at left, Nanga Tekalit Sarawak March 18, 1984 Dear Sandy: It has been raining continually but lightly since late yesterday evening, forcing us to postpone work in the for- est this morning and giving me a chance to write some letters. We haven't had much time for that activity. Nanga Tekalit isn't on many maps — and for a good reason. There's nothing here, so far as cartographers are concerned, except the junction of a large creek with a riv- er, and that is what gives this spot its name: Nanga is an Iban word meaning "stream mouth!' and Tekalit is the name of this treacherous creek, though it is lovely. We are about as far from the coast of Sarawak (the west coast of Borneo) as one can be without falling out of the country into Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. This is not the first time I've worked at Nanga Tekalit. I set up a camp here in 1962 and left a small party here for a year. I returned again in 1970 for a short while. And now once more. I'm beginning to think of making a homesteading claim. The reasons for coming here in the first place were the existence of a large area of primary rain forest (the main reason) and the existence of the last longhouse about 30 miles downriver, a source of good, essential labor. No one lives upriver on the Mengiong (which the Tekalit meets here). After that first year, I had enough data to answer a few questions, such as how many species of amphibians and reptiles live in one place (approx- imately 150). More importantly, additional questions cropped up and I became aware of the potential of this place as a site for investigating the structure and organi- zation of a rain forest community of amphibians and reptiles. One of the issues we hope to get reasonably con- clusive data for is fluctuation in population size of lizard species in these forests. We already have good samples from three rain forest sites in Sarawak, including this one Simply comparing these three samples tells us that pop- ulation size varies from place to place. By obtaining a good sample from here, we hope to obtain an estimate of variation over time (a 20-year interval) at one place. Curator Inger at camp site. 11 12 Above: Associate Curator Harold Voris processes specimens in camp. The artfully tattooed back belongs to an I ban tribesman, one of six local helpers. Right: Frog specimen collected on forest floor (about lifesize). We also hope to learn something about changes over time in the frog populations living along creeks here. I published a paper on these populations in 1969. Collect- ing frogs, which we do by wading up streams at night using headlamps and our hands, is tiring but rewarding. We see and collect so much, and the creeks are beautiful, crystal-clear water (except after rain), with rocky bottoms over-arched by the forest. On moonlit nights, the scene is spectacular. But after a heavy rain, these streams are not so nice; in fact, it could be worth your life to step into one. When we work on them, however, we are able to concentrate on frogs — several of the smaller species form large aggregations of calling males and ripe females, and most of the larger species spread out along the banks. One of the observations that intrigues me is finding that the same species use the very same pools for breeding sites as in 1962. Although that is in a sense not surprising, it establishes a sort of stability and predictability that I find satisfying. But why these particular pools and not others on the same creeks? And how far do these particu- lar species move away from these pools in the interval be- tween breeding bouts? We did learn, by marking frogs and toads in 1962-63, that individuals return to the same pool where they were first marked. Another general topic we are working on is the density of amphibians and reptiles on the forest floor. Most people have the notion that rain forests are filled with these creatures, that one must watch out for fear of stepping on a snake or frog. Not here! We've seen only four snakes in ten days and it isn't because we haven't been looking. The procedure we are using for estimating density is to lay out a square 25 feet on a side marked by twine and, then, working inward from all sides, to remove care- fully all the dead leaves and debris, capturing all the frogs, lizards and snakes we uncover. We've been very lucky so far and have found one animal per quadrat (as these square plots are known in ecology). By scattering the location of quadrats in random fashion and doing a large number of them, we will be able to estimate dens- ity. I've done this kind of work before at this site, in northeastern Thailand, and in south India. Repeating the process here provides a check on our earlier results. Then Walker (left) and Voris process the night's catch. William G. Swartchild, Jr. 1909-1984 The death of William G. Swartchild, Jr., former chairman of Field Museum's Board of Trustees, on March 15, was a loss beyond measure to Field Museum and its trustees, Women's Board, and staff. Mr. Swartchild was born in Chica- go in 1909. After graduating from Dart- mouth, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he entered Swartchild & Company, a family business of which he was president at the time of its sale in 1973. Although he devoted a great deal of his time to public service throughout his life, his retirement from active business responsibilities freed him to devote full time in service to oth- ers — service which continued until his death. He was elected a trustee of Field Museum in 1966. Typical of his sense of commitment to any institution with which he became associated, he quick- ly took an active leadership position among the trustees. In 1972-73 he was a member of a trustees' committee that developed a reorganized Board struc- ture. Upon that reorganization he be- came vice chairman of the Board, head- ing the important Program Planning and Evaluation Committee. He was elected chairman of the Board of Trust- ees in 1978, serving in that capacity until 1982. Following his chairmanship, Mr. Swartchild served as vice chairman, Internal Affairs, and as a member of the Nominating Committee. William Swartchild had an ex- traordinary understanding of the dynamics of nonprofit institutions and the various constituencies comprising the institution. At Field Museum this was evidenced by the complete con- fidence in him on the part of the staff, Women's Board, and trustees. He was active and equally re- spected in the American Association of Museums, serving as a vice chairman of the Trustees' Committee and as a member of the Commission on Museums for a New Century — a na- tional planning effort for the years ahead. He was instrumental in prepar- ing American Association of Museums' Museum Trusteeship and Museum Ethics. Active for many years in the field of health care, Mr. Swartchild served as Trustee of Michael Reese Hospital, Children's Memorial Hospital, and McGaw Medical Centers and he was chairman of Children's and McGaw, as well as the Council on Governance of the Illinois Hospital Association, at the time of his death. He had served as a director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and of HMO Illinois. Mr. Swartchild was also a trustee of the Brookfield Zoo. William G. Swartchild, Jr. Beyond all of his achievements in business and philanthropy, he was a warm and thoughtful person who cared about people. He brought a qual- ity of excellence and humanity to any- thing he touched. He was a model of dedication of personal energy for the public good. The City of Chicago is a better place because of William Swart- child's life. we will feel better about comparing results from forests all over tropical Asia. Maybe I should explain use of the plural pronoun. As you know, Harold Voris [associate curator of amphib- ians and reptiles], is here, having joined me in Singapore after his work on sea snakes in west Malasia. The other "Westerner" is Paul Walker, a graduate student at Leeds University, in England. The Sarawak Museum in Kuch- ing (by the way, that institution is slightly older than the Field Museum) has an interest in this project and has attached one of its collectors, Bidai, to our party. Bidai worked with me in 1956. (Heavens! I've known him most of his life.) Our labor force consists of 6 Ibans from "our" longhouse. Good people, strong, hard working, knowledgeable in the forest, and pleasant to be with. Our living accommodations, if I may dignify them that way, consist of an open-walled shack made of poles lashed together with vines and topped by red-white-and- blue striped plastic and a detached cook stand. We've used nails almost exclusively for hooks to hang clothing and miscellany, which seems to be a very large category. The camp clearing is, perhaps, 100 x 50 feet and on a steep 25 x 50 foot bank. The forest surrounds us except for the river front. That steep bank is essential to a good camp site here— though the Mengiong is about 200 feet wide at this point, it can rise 20 feet in 4-6 hours. Our food, like our dwelling, is simple and a bit monotonous, but we didn't come for gourmet food. We hope things are well at the Museum. Harold will see you early in April and I in early June. My best to everyone. — Bob 13 STICI: A Training Program for Teachers by Carolyn Blackmon, Moija Sedzielarz, and Helen H. Voris A Museum biology instructor introduces program participants to new aspects of public exhibits. What's wobbly as an egg? . . . silvery as fish scales? . . . heavy as a pancake at mid- night? If you answered, "a wok," you may have been talking to one of the participants in Field Museum's "Student/Teacher Internship in a Cultural Institution." "STICI," as it's known for short, is the Education 1 4 Department's program of workshops and field trips designed to train Chicago teachers in the special object-based skills needed to teach effectively in museums. The two-year program, funded by The Joyce Foundation, offers groups of teachers the opportunity to participate in a two-week workshop at Field Museum followed by a field trip to the Museum with their classes. The goal of the STICI program is to develop A stici teacher brings her class to the Museum for the field trip portion of the program. Diane Alexander White teachers' confidence and competence in using museums as extensions of their classrooms. To bring excitement and life to subjects that students can otherwise only read about, the program stresses the importance of "getting students inside the exhibits" and of fully integrating museum experiences with classroom studies. To accomplish these goals, the pre gram trains teachers to develop focused field-trip ex- periences that require students to interact with the exhibits by observing, questioning, hypothesizing, comparing and contrasting, drawing conclusions, and creating verbal, written, or artistic expressions of their experiences. The workshops begin with behind'thescenes Carolyn Blackrnon is chairman of the Education Department, Maija Sedzielarz is coordinator of The Joyce Foundation Teacher Training Program, and Helen Voris is writer for special projects in the Education Department. tours of the Museum to enable the participants to learn about its extensive research collections and the work of its scientist'scholars. The participants have the opportunity to see how scientific specimens — from clay pots to nuthatches — are documented, pre pared, and stored, forming a "library" of reference material used by.scholars throughout the world. In the Exhibition Department they see how ex- hibits are developed, prepared, and mounted. They also learn how to analyze exhibits to determine how they communicate, and how to develop field'trip themes and exhibit 'based experiences to teach almost any subject. Math concepts of size and proportion, for example, take on reality for elementary school chib dren who try to see how many can fit inside the out' line of the whale skeleton on the floor of the skeletal structure hall, or how much of the Apatosaurus, in the fossil vertebrate hall, is tail! The participants receive special introductions to the Education Department, where they meet key 15 stici teachers learn how to use museums to help their students develop life-long learning skills. 16 staff members and learn of the many programs and materials provided for teachers and their classes. They visit special teaching facilities in the Museum — the Place for Wonder and the Pawnee Earth Lodge — and they explore offerings in the Museum's free loan program, including portable exhibit cases, experience boxes ("hands-on" specimens and artifacts), and au- diovisual and printed materials — slide sets, film' strips, videotapes, discovery units, posters, and curriculum coordination guides. "Getting to Know You," a self-guided tour developed especially for the STICI teachers, enhances their familiarity with the public areas of the Museum as they explore its furthest corners to find clues in answer to such questions as "What is the design on the Indian Mic-Mac dice?" or "What skeletal struc- ture is unique to all marsupials?" In this process they learn how to ask effective questions to get students to look closely at the objects in the exhibits, and they learn about practical matters important to any teacher with a large group of small children — such as how to get to the nearest restroom from any point in the Museum! Participants also take trips to other museums to learn about additional resources avail- able to teachers and students in Chicago's other cultural institutions. Getting back to the observation that a wok is as wobbly as an egg — how does that fit in? Teachers participate in a variety of exercises designed to help them (and eventually their students) develop abilities to observe and question; these abilities, in turn, will enable them to learn from objects — anthropological artifacts, biological and geological specimens, and works of art. In one exercise, teachers are asked to devise food similes for describing a wok, which is one of ten objects set up around a classroom. Observa- tional as well as language skills are involved in the responses, but there is more to it than that. For stU' dents, the observations and interest generated by the exercise could serve as the basis for further questions and investigation about the wok: its materials, con' struction and function, and the significance of its fuel-conserving design in Chinese culture. During the sessions, teachers develop and try out activities to use with their classes before and after a field trip to the Museum. Subsequently they plan and carry out their class field trips, using free bus transportation provided by the STICI program. The teachers have been delighted and often surprised at the results of their STICI training: the absence of prob' lems on their class field trips, their own confidence and ease in the Museum, and, most of all, the chil- dren's responses. Many teachers have found that shy children open up with the excitement of learning in the museum and that this continues later in the class- room; that children who can be discipline problems in the classroom often adopt different attitudes in the museum; and that children who have trouble reading and writing develop new confidence in themselves by using observational and verbal skills at the museum. STICI teachers acknowledge that they put more time and planning into their field trips than before, but they overwhelmingly feel it is worth it. "I never knew a field trip could be relaxed," "Even the parent chaperones enjoyed the trip," and "Many children who had been to the Museum before had such a dif- ferent experience this time that they wanted to bring their parents back" are typical comments made in follow-up sessions. Teachers often remark that children remember details of their field trip experiences and bring them up in class discussions long after the trip is over. One first grader, after studying plants and animals from Hawaii and Alaska on an early fall field trip to Field Museum, asked his teacher as Christmas approached, "Do you think Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer might really be a caribou?" One teacher summed it up best: "Children never forget what they really enjoy, and at the Museum they can both learn and enjoy." Field Museum will be offering four more ses- sions of the STICI program this summer to Chicago teachers. Interested teachers should contact the Education Department, 922-9410, extension 365. FM Program participants learn a variety of ways to use objects in their teaching, such as the wok, shown here. Stephen didn't think he needed a will. He was only 51 ... Stephen intended to have his will drawn up someday; first, there were things to get done. He had no idea he would need a will anytime soon — before he got those "things" done. A will is like life insurance: when you need it, it's too late to do anything about it. Now, Stephen's family is facing unnecessary de- lays, confusion, and extra expenses in settling his estate. Don't make the same mistake. Send for our com- plimentary booklet giving all the reasons why a will is important and how you can plan an effective will. CLIP AND MAIL TODAY To: Planned Giving Office Field Museum of Natural History E. Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, Illinois 60605 ( ) Please send me my free copy of "How to Protect Your Rights with a Will" NAME ADDRESS CITY- STATE ZIP I can be reached at: Phone Bus. J ) Res.J_ 17 Volunteers Honored Field Museum's 321 volunteers were honored for their 1983 service at a reception on February 14, held in Stan- ley Field Hall. Collectively, the volunteers had given 41,454 hours of dedicated service to the Museum dur- ing the calendar year, including 2,252 hours in connec- tion with the special exhibit, "Treasures from the Shanghai Museum," which opened November 5. Field Museum Director Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. gave an introductory welcome to the volunteers, and James J. O'Connor, chairman of the Board of Trustees, spoke of the great diversity of specialized talents brought to the institution by volunteers. Dr. Nevling then pre- sented a special award to Lorain Stephens Olsen, who had given fifteen years of continuous service. Carolyn Blackmon, chairman of the Education Department, and Melvin A. Traylor, Jr., curator emeritus of Birds, whose departments were primary beneficiaries of Mrs. Olsen's service, spoke of her dedication and par- ticular projects. Mrs. Olsen first came to Field Museum as a staff member, serving as a biology instructor on the Educa- tion Department, where she developed and presented programs to school classes. Although she relin- quished this position to raise a family, Field Museum had become an important part of her life, and she re- turned in 1968 as an Education volunteer. Hired in 1974 again as a staff member to organize the Kroc Field Trip program, Mrs. Olsen continued her volunteer activities. In 1975 she began assisting Mr. Traylor, who, in partnership with the Bird Department of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, was preparing bird locality gazetteers of South American countries. She assisted in completing the gazetteer for Columbia, then became involved in that for Peru as her special concern. After many years of research and writing, she completed the manuscript as coauthor with Mr. Traylor. Currently she is assisting in preparing the Guyanas gazetteer. In 1977 Mrs. Olsen was made an associate of Field Museum's Bird Division, to which she has given a minimum of 250 hours annually since 1976. Following the special presentation to Mrs. Olsen, Dr. Nelving presented gifts to volunteers who had contributed more than 500 hours during 1983. Con- cluding remarks were made by Joyce Matuszewich, volunteer coordinator, who expressed gratitude to volunteers as well as to staff supervisors for their joint achievements during the year. 18 Volunteers Who Served 500 Hours or More Sophie Ann Brunner, Zoology, Reptiles Division: skeleton preparation, organization, and maintenance. Pat Dodson, Anthropology: manuscript editing and proof- ing, correspondence and research. Margaret Martling, Botany: worked with reprint collection, helped select negatives for type photograph program, de- veloped indices for museum publication, maintained nomenclature reference files. Gary Ossewaarde, Education: researched and-conducted weekend tours on Egypt and China, "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volunteer, assisted in special events and workshops. Llois Stein, Anthropology: researched and cataloged Oceanic, Malaysian, and African collections; assisted in Pacific storeroom reorganization; assisted with cataloging the gamelan collection. Susan Saric, Anthropology: assisted in cataloging Oliphant collection of artifacts from Cameroun; Geology: worked on mammalian biogeography project; Planning and Develop- ment: researched foundations and corporate prospects. Over 400 hours Sol Century, Anthropology: cataloging, general projects in Asian Division. Nancy Evans, Education: helped plan and implement Sum- mer Fun Children's workshops, developed weekend Fami- ly Feature. Peter Gayford, Anthropology: research and cataloging of the Egyptian and sub-Saharan material in the McCormick collection. Dorothy Oliver, Library: indexed Museum's annual re- ports, assisted with interlibrary loan requests, filed new book cards, retrieved books for visitors; special projects. Forman Onderdonk, Education: conducted programs for school groups and public for the "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" exhibit and in the Indian halls and Pawnee earth lodge, assisted with children's workshops and special events. Jean Seiler, Geology: research in variation of dental charac- teristics of neotropical primates, photography, measure- ments of teeth and jaws, statistical analysis of data. Over 300 hours Jackie Arnold, Education: clerical assistance for several de- partments, "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volun- teer; assisted in special events and children's workshops. Margaret Axelrod, Education: conducted programs for school groups and public for the "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" exhibit and in the Place for Wonder, designed puppets for shadow puppet theatre program. Dennis Bara, Membership: weekend membership representative. Audrey Burns, Exhibition: assisted as exhibit preparator, fabricating and installing exhibits. Louva Calhoun, Anthropology: assisted in cataloging of specimens from Isimilia prehistoric site in Tanzania, a pro- ject involving 7,500 specimens which she began in 1977 and finished in December 1983. Connie Crane, Anthropology: assisted in correspondence regarding Maritime Peoples of the Northwest Coast ex- hibit, research assistant. Jeannette DeLaney, Anthropology: textile conservation, worked with pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles; Education: "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volunteer. Jeyson Daniel, Botany: worked on taxonomic revision of the Agaricales mushroom in Cryptogamic Herbarium. Halina Goldsmith, Education: conducted programs for school groups and public for the "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" exhibit, Maritime Peoples Hall and in Place for Wonder; assisted with special events. Evelyn Gottlieb, Education: gave programs to school groups and public in Egyptian halls, gave Highlight tours, assisted with special events and children's workshops. Carol Landow, Education: conducted programs for school groups and public in Place for Wonder; assisted with spe- cial events, "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volunteer. Carolyn Moore, Anthropology: researched special projects in Asian Division. Jennifer Newman, Public Relations: newsclip compilation and research, media liaison, updated mailing and contact lists, filled media requests, typed, helped with mailings. Eddie Nodzenski, Zoology, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles: collection management, cataloging of specimens and scanning electron microscope work. Dagmar Persson, Botany: research on Costa Rican species of the mint family. Florence Seiko, Education: gave programs for school groups and public in Egyptian halls and Maritime Peoples Hall, "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volunteer, assisted in children's workshop and special events. James Skorcz, Library: worked in reading room, filled inter- library loan requests, filed cards in card catalog, retrieved books for visitors, compiled statistics, special projects. Osa Theus, Public Relations: promotion research, media liaison, writing, typing, and mailings. Mary Wenzel, Education: conducted programs for school groups and public in the Place for Wonder, "Treasures From the Shanghai Museum" volunteer, assisted with special events; Zoology, Insects Division: handled correspondence, typed field notes and loan invoices, other office duties. 50 hours or more Neal Abarbanell Paul Adler Gretchen Ainley Cathy H. Agnone Dolores Arbanas Arden Frederick Jacqueline Arnold Terry Asher Margaret Axelrod Gail Bahl Beverly Baker Dennis M. Bara Lucia Barba Gwen Barnett Winifred Batson Dodie Baumgarten Virginia Beatty William C. Bentley Lawrence Berman Elaine K. Bernstein Blanche Blumenthal Sandra Boots William Borth Hermann C. Bowersox Charles Braner Carol Briscoe Linda Brown Sophie Ann Brunner Janet Bry Teddy Buddington Mary Ann Bulanda Laurel Bunce James Burd Audrey Burns Eleanor Byman Joseph Cablk Kathy Cagney Louva Calhoun Donna Compeol Deborah Carey Sol Century Margaret Chung Barbara Clauson Charlotte Cram Connie Crane Jeyson Daniel Margaret Davis Margaret Dejong Eleanor DeKoven Jeannette DeLaney Carol Deutsch Violet Diacou Marianne Diekman Phyllis Dix Patricia Dodson John E. Dunn Stanley Dvorak Lynn Dyer Carolyn Eastwood Linda Egebrecht Ruth Egebrecht Anne Ekman Agatha Elmes Bonnie Engel Sara Erve Jean Ettner Nancy Evans Nancy Fagin Martha Farwell Dolores Fetes Louise Fields Marie Fischl Michael Fisher Ruth Fouche Brad Foxen Gerda Frank Richard Frank Arden Frederick Ruth Fritz Janina Fuerst Shirley Fuller Miriam Futransky Bernice Gardner Suzanne Garvin Andrea Gaski Peter Gayford Donald Gemmel Marty Germann Audrey Gilman Elizabeth Louise Girardi Delores Glasbrenner Carla Goldsmith Halina Goldsmith Paul Goldstein Melanie Goldstine Evelyn Gottlieb Julie Gray Loretta Green Henry Greenwald Cecily Gregory Mary Lou Grein Ann B. Grimes Karen Grupp Michael J. Hall Patricia Hansen Nancy Harlan Curtis M. Harrell Calvin Harris Mattie Harris Nancy Hartnett Ollie Hartsfield Noreen Haslinger Shirley Hattis Margaret Helbing Audrey Hiller Clarissa Hinton James Hitz Peggy Hoberg Harold L. Honor Zelda Honor Scott Houtteman Claxton Howard Ruth Howard Ellen Hyndman Delores A. Irvin Doug Jacobs Paul Jensen Micki Johns Mabel S. Johnson Nancy Jonathan John Jones Malcolm Jones Carol Kacin Elizabeth Kaplan Dorothy Karall Mansura Karim Dorothy Kathan Shirley Kennedy Barbara Keune Joyce Kieffer Dennis Kinzig Alida Klaud Susan Knoll Glenda Kowalski Anita Landess Carol Landow Barbara Latondress Marion Lehuta Anne Leonard Frank Leslie Joseph F. Levin Laura Lewis James Lowers Ruth Luthringer Susan Lynch Gabby Margo Barbara Marion James A. Marshall Margaret Martling David Marusik Marita Maxey Melba Mayo Faye McCray Carole McMahon Withrow Meeker Ixtaccihuatl Menchaca Beverly Meyer Jerry Meyer Robyn Michaels Micki Johns Rosanne Miezio Lenore Miller Alice S. Mills Star Mitcheff Carolyn Moore Holly Morgan Eileen Morrow George Morse Charlotte Morton Anne Murphy Charlita A. Nachtrab Mary Naunton Jean Nelson John Nelson Mary Nelson Louise Neuert Jennifer Newman Ernest Newton Herta Newton Edwardine Nodzenski Sandra Nuckolls Dorothy Oliver Lorain Stephens Olsen Forman Onderdonk Joan Opila Marianne O'Shaughnessy Gary M. Ossewaarde China Oughton Anita Padnos Michelle Parker Raymond Parker Frank M. Paulo Christine Pavel Dagmar Persson Mary Anne Peruchini Trace Petravick Dorothea Phipps-Cruz Philip Pinsof Steffi Postol Georgianne Prather Jacquelyn Prine Martin Pryzdia Sylvia Rabinkoff Elizabeth Rada Lee Rapp Ann Ratajczyk Ernest Reed Sheila Reynolds Lucille Rich Elly Ripp William E. Roder Mary Anne Rogers William Rom Barbara Roob Beverly R. Rosen Sarah Rosenbloom Marie Louise Rosenthal Anne Ross Ann Rubeck Helen Ruch Lenore Ruehr Linda Sandberg Susan Saric Marian Saska Everett Schellpfeffer Marianne Schenker Sara Scherberg Sylvia Schueppert Thelma Schwartz Jean Seiler Florence Seiko Jessie Sherrod Judith Sherry James Skorcz Beth Spencer Irene Spensely Christopher Spurrier Llois Stein Robyn Strauss Mary Alice Sutton Gloria Taborn Elisabeth Taylor Jane Thain Lorraine Thauland Osa Theus Cathy Tlapa Mark Tokarz Ann C. Underriner Karen Urnezis Lillian Vanek Dalia Varanka Rita Veal Barbara Vear Virginia Vergara Charles A. Vischulis David Walker Harold Waterman Alice Wei David Weiss Mary Wenzel Ann West Lisa Wibel James Wilber Char Wiss Reeva Wolfson Zinette Yacker Laury Zicari 19 FORT ANCIENT, con 't from p. 10 the openings have produced absolutely no evidence of structures closing off the passages. Many early observers noted the numerous embank- ment openings and other features that would make Fort Ancient very difficult to defend. Yet the presumably defen- sive nature of the architecture was never seriously ques- tioned because it was vital to nineteenth-century intel- ligentsia that the monument be a great bastion of the Mound Builders. When interpreted as a fort, the mesa top earthwork provided tangible proof of the Mound Builder- Red Man wars. This, in turn, confirmed the notion that the noble Mound Builder had been defeated and driven from the land by the savage Indian, who was thus the true scourge of all civilizations, both past and present. "Fort Ancient, which would have held a garrison of 60,000 men, with their families and provisions, was one of a line of fortifications which extended across this state, and served to check the incursions of the savages of the North in their descent on the Moundbuilder's country," is how Professor John T. Short viewed Fort Ancient in his North Americans of Antiquity in 1879. Explorations for the World's Columbian Exposition In 1887 Warren K. Moorehead, a precocious young man of 21 with a passion for archaeology, began excavating at Fort Ancient. Largely self-taught, Moorehead sold antiquities to support his great passions, which were field work and collecting artifacts. He argued that although many authors had poured out copious thoughts about the great hilltop enclosures, few had ever sunk spade to earth to produce the facts necessary for making sound interpretations. With youthful ardor, Moorhead, set about correcting the situation, and. in the course of four years, spent a total of 43 weeks exploring the monument and digging, both alone and with crews. Although similar to other great enclosures of irregular form built upon high ground, Fort Ancient produced few artifacts of commercial value; but the destitute Moorehead carried out more work at the monument and learned more about it than has any other scholar. The World's Columbian Exposition was a centennial Fig. 10 (left). Partially excavated, stone-faced embankment. Fig. 11 (below). In this drawing of a cross-section through an embankment wall, differential shading shows successive construc- tion stages. Stone was used in several ways: as a rock core, to face the outer slope, and to build short walls for retarding erosion and slumping. 20 Fig. 1 2. The purpose of stone circles such as this one, excavated by William C. Mills in 1908, is unknown, but they are one of the few features discovered in the 126-acre interior of Fort Ancient. Photo courtesy Ohio Historical Society. celebration of exploration and development in the Western Hemisphere. To acquire objects, specimens, and materials for public exhibition, the fair occasioned and supported scientific expeditions to explore the ancient civilizations of the Americas. Professor Frederic Ward Putnam of Harvard University was retained to organize and coordinate these expeditionary programs. His long-term vision was singularly important in transforming the exposition into the Field Museum, the enduring world-class museum that Chicago now enjoys. Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Putnam was a distinguished scholar with wide research experience that included directing field projects at various monuments in Ohio and adjacent states. Because there were no academically trained archaeologists at the time, he retained Moorehead to carry out Mound Builder explorations in Ohio for the exposition. However, the eastern professor was suspicious of the "country boy's" excavation techniques, and demanded both improved note-taking and an end to Moorehead's selling of artifacts. For the purposes of the 1893 exposition, and central to laying foundations for a great museum, Putnam was concerned with collection building. From his own experi- ence with Mound Builder excavations this insightful scien- tist knew that the so-called forts, such as Fort Ancient, while architecturally impressive, produced few objects of note. Experience demonstrated that artifacts were more abundant at valley-bottom settlements and at geometric earthworks laid out as complexes of circular and square embankments. Putnam therefore encouraged his young Ohio correspondent to excavate sites producing graves and artifacts. With this prompting, Moorehead turned his atten- tion to an ancient settlement located on the banks of the Little Miami River immediately below the north enclosure of Fort Ancient. Although artifact accompaniments were neither rich nor common, digging yielded numerous graves, lined and covered with limestone stabs. Moore- head also excavated on the North Fork of Paint Creek, in a complex of geometric enclosures and mounds. He encoun- tered elite burials with truly spectacular accompaniments, ranging from stone pipes sculpted in the form of animals and birds, through fine artifacts chipped from obsidian imported from Yellowstone Park, to elaborate headgear and ornaments fashioned from copper. These magnificent discoveries rank among the finest pieces in the Museum's New World archaeological collections. The high-yielding complex of geometric enclosures, 21 Fig. 1 3. William C. Mills (left) excavated a number of small mounds at Fort Ancient in 1908 but failed to find the elaborate burials that are typical of geometric Hopewell sites. Here Mills and helpers are investigating a small stone mound near the great crescent. Photo courtesy Ohio Historical Society. 22 named Hopewell after the local landowner, became the archaeological type site for an early phase of monument building and occupation in Ohio. The settlement in the valley below Fort Ancient, now known as Anderson Vil- lage, became the archaeological type site for the late occupation of the Little Miami region. This occupation, however, is called the "Fort Ancient tradition" because Moorehead and later William C. Mills, who named the archaeological cultures and traditions, wrongly thought that the village was contemporaneous with and a satellite of the great hilltop enclosure. Thus, Fort Ancient the earthwork was built at an early Hopewell date, but mis- takenly supplied the name for a late archaeological phase, found at Anderson Village. Although collections were important to the 1893 Exposition, Putnam was a scholar of perception who also recognized the architectural significance of Fort Ancient and the importance of having an accurate map of the monument. Although Moorehead had previously hired surveyors to plot the ruins, Putnam placed little trust in the accuracy of the measurements and demanded that the monument be professionally resurveyed. Upon comple- tion of his excavations Moorehead turned his notes, col- lections, and the new map over to the Exposition. Unfortu- nately, this very important document has been overlooked for decades, and is here published for the first time (fig. 2). Field studies of the earthworks initiated by Patricia Essenpreis in 1980 have involved systematic "ground truth" checking of the Field Museum's Fort Ancient ground plan. This has entailed confirmation of structural identifications, such as accurately locating openings and assessing their origin: constructed by Hopewell or eroded by nature. The accuracy of the 1891 map and the instru- ment readings upon which it is based have also been field checked with the assistance of engineer James Marshall. Erosion and poor preservation make measurements on embankment width questionable. In other respects, how- ever, the 1891 survey notes are quite accurate and, as yet, there is no better ground plan of the monument. In the following effort to interpret the monumental architecture, we draw upon the map and its field checking, as well as upon early excavations, to describe the construction and positioning of the embankments and the passages. The Embankments There are two distinct classes of embankments. Massive linear "mounds," segmented by passages, define the prin- cipal mesa-top enclosures. In contrast, an extremely low, wide, continuous embankment defines the parallel-walled enclosure of geometric form which begins at the Twin Mounds and extends for nearly one-half mile to the north- east. The segmented embankments of the large enclosures have a total length of 5.7 km, today stand from 2 to 7 m high, have wide, flat summits, and comprise a total volume of construction material variously estimated at 117,500 to 480,000 cubic yards of earth and stone. There are two types of segmented earthworks: contour embankments and straight embankments. The former type contours along the sinuous edge of the mesa and, statistically speak- ing, comprises the longest embankments with the fewest passage segments. With the most passage segments, straight embankments are wider, higher, shorter, and in layout only roughly approximate the sinuous mesa edge by making sharp, angular bends near ridges and gulleys. The first embankment type was used to build the south and middle enclosures, and sections of the north enclosure, while the second type was employed in constructing the northernmost portion of the monument. The contour embankments are more eroded and less well preserved than the straight structures. This supports Moorehead's observation that the southern enclosure, which he called "the old fort," was built and used before construction of the northern "new fort." From its layout and outlying positioning, it is evident that the parallel- walled enclosure was erected after the north enclosure. Thus, Fort Ancient encapsulates three stages of an architectural history in which the layout of enclosures pro- gressed from irregular contour embankments, through straight angular embankments, to linear geometric forms. The differences between contour and straight embankments may include not just preservation and Fig. 1 5. The northeast gateway, with its twin mounds and parallel-walled enclosure, was Fort Ancient's most elaborate gateway. Ditches up to two meters deep connected each twin mound to a stream, tunneling traffic along a paved stone walkway between the parallel walls. Fig. 1 4. At the Hopewell group, this mica cutout of an eagle claw was found with an elaborate burial over which a mound was later built. Moorehead also investigated the Hopewell group for the Columbian Exposition; many exotic artifacts from this site are on view at the Field Museum. Cat. 110131. 23 ZBIGNIEWJASTRZEBSKI structural form, but construction technique as well, with a rock core present in the latter but not the former. Moore- head trenched a straight embankment at the north end of the north enclosure, where the earthworks have their long- est straightline course. He encountered evidence of multi- ple construction stages that began with a "core" of large blocks of limestone and sandstone (each weighing 70 kg) that had been "heaped in" with the earth to form the wall base. In transecting the embankment he also encountered areas of small limestone slabs that had been laid upon or fitted over the exterior face of the earthwork, presumably to stabilize the earthen face which had a slope of 52 de- grees. Guarding the inclined earthwork faces against ero- sion and slumping was, no doubt, a conscious architectural concern. Erosion has largely stripped the original exterior surfaces of the earthworks. Yet, remnants of flagstone fac- ing, in the form of low, masonry walls that were apparently stepped one above another, are not uncommon at Fort Ancient. Structurally, these acted as retaining walls for the earth fill, which had slopes of 35 to 43 degrees on the embankment exteriors. Architecturally, the stone facing and masonry terraces no doubt cast a very impressive if not imposing facade. A trench through the interior half of a contour embankment in the south enclosure cut in 1940 by Richard G. Morgan of the Ohio Historical Society did not reveal a stone core of the type Moorehead found in the northern straight embankment. Instead the contour earthwork was found to consist of several distinct layers of clay, with clear evidence that these had been deposited there from baskets. The surfaces of some layers appeared weathered, with a thin band of humus capped by clay layers of later construc- tion. During early phases of construction and use, faces of the lower interior embankment faces were nearly vertical and extended down to connect with adjoining moats or ditches. This transect combines with that excavated by Moorehead in indicating that the earthworks assumed their final form through cycles of construction and use. Ditches, termed moats by early explorers, parallel the interior faces of the large enclosures. Excavation has shown that ditches were often paved with flagstone or gravel Morgan's 1940 cut revealed substantial infilling with sediments eroded from the adjacent contour embank- ment. Interestingly, moat fill has produced more artifacts than have larger excavations in the open interior of the enclosure. This suggests that a great deal of past activity 24 went on atop the flat embankment summits. Passages and Gateways Our recent field studies indicate 72 embankment openings at Fort Ancient that can be securely identified as architectural features constructed by the prehistoric build- ers. They average 3 to 5 m wide, and tend to be slightly elevated above adjacent interior surfaces. Topography in- fluenced the placement of both embankments and their openings. The steep sides of the Fort Ancient mesa are cut by deep ravines that alternate with gently sloping ridges. Embankments were erected across the heads of the ravines and systematically block access from the gulleys. In con- trast, a majority (45) of the embankment passages were built adjacent to ridges or opened onto terraces and gently sloping land. Moorehead was the first to observe that the ridges served as routes of access, and his excavations showed that some spurs adjacent to passages had been arti- ficially graded and paved with stone slabs. In most cases, openings were not blocked by an interior ditch or moat, and thus they provided passage to the enclosure interiors as well as to the embankment summits. Although most passages are simply lower sections of the embankment wall, 10 percent are more elaborate. They include complex structures that early explorers called "gateways," although there is no evidence that they were ever closed by gates. The distinguishing feature of gate- ways is that each side of the passage is demarcated by a mound or by an unusually high section of embankment. The basic pattern is eloquently, but simply, expressed by the twin mounds that form the entrance to the parallel- walled enclosure (fig. 15). In the main enclosures, the gateway pattern is most often expressed as elevated embankment sections bracket- ing each side of a major entrance. Significantly, the greatest architectural elaboration occurs in the small middle enclo- sure that forms the narrow, elongated passage between the large north and south enclosures. Here Moorehead investi- gated two interrelated complexes that he named the "cres- cent gateway" and "the great gateway." The former consists of two low crescent-shaped mounds, each about 10 m long and 1.5 m high, erected a few meters apart, and more or less end-to-end per- pendicularly across the narrow isthmus linking the prin- cipal enclosures (fig. 17). The convex sides of the crescents face north, and in layout they were apparently designed to funnel traffic moving from north to south through the pas- sage between the mounds. A small circular mound was set within the curve of the east crescent. Fig. 1 6. Passages opened onto spurs and ridges which were sometimes paved, providing ready access to the valleys below. The funneling effect of the crescent gateway brought traffic into alignment with the great gateway, which con- stituted the principal entrance to the south enclosure. The gateway is formed by two circular mounds, 6 m tall and 3 m apart, that are connected to the adjacent elevated embankments. Passage between the mounds and embank- ments was across a low platform, 1.2 m. high. On the inte- rior, immediately southwest of the entrance there was a small circular mound connected by stone paving to the nearby embankment ditch (fig. 6, 7). In overview, the great gateway, the crescent gateway and the narrow middle enclosure apparently functioned in concert as an elaborate passageway leading to the southern enclosure. The cres- cents and mounds are neither high nor suggest that they supported defensive parapets. Rather, as at other early earthworks, they serve to embellish major passageways and distinguish these from the smaller, more numerous entries. Fig. 17. The crescent gateway restricted access to the middle enclosure and, with the great gateway, regulated entry into the south, or "old," enclosure. Fig. 1 8. These three flint blades (14-16cm long) were part of a ceremonial deposit discovered in a field near the parallel wails. The reason for deliberate burial of exotic goods by Hopewell peoples is not known. 26 Conclusions Commanding a strategic and imposing mesa, Fort Ancient derived its name and its general interpretation as a great bastion from early explorers who explained the vast earth- works in terms of Mound Builder-Red Man wars. Although the Mound Builder Myth fell into disrepute around the turn of the century, the impression that the monument was a fort has been more persistent. This romantic notion, however, is simply not compatible with the architecture of the great ruins. The 5.7 km length of the earthworks creates an enormous and very impractical pe- rimeter that would require tens of thousands of defenders to secure and hold. Yet, there is no evidence of large pop- ulations residing within the enclosures. In publishing the Fort Ancient map commissioned for the Columbian Exposition and in commenting upon its field checking, we have noted that multiple entries and interior moats or ditches are not compatible with achitecture of defensive design. We stress, however, that both multiple embankment openings and interior ditches are found as an interrelated complex of architectural forms at other Hopewell earthworks laid out in the form of geometric circles and squares. The geometric earthworks are interpreted as centers of pageantry and ceremony, and are frequently associated with magnificent ritual artifacts fashioned from exotic materials imported over great distances. Two caches of such exotic objects have been dis- covered in the vicinity of the parallel-walled enclosure. One cache contained more than 100 cut sheets of Appa- lachian mica lying atop 54 ritually destroyed objects of na- tive copper imported from the Upper Peninsula of Michi- gan. The copper imports include 35 breastplates, 16 ear- spool fragments, 2 celts (ax heads), 1 reel-shaped gorget (throat guard), and 1 bracelet. A second cache was recently discovered by a local landowner while plowing fields that now overlie the parallel-walled enclosure. It comprised ritual artifacts flaked from exotic stone, including 17 spear points and curved knives of obsidian procured from Yel- lowstone Park, Wyoming; 11 large ceremonial blades, each approximately 20 cm long, of finely crafted Wyandotte chert acquired from southern Indiana; and 5 magnificent blades, each some 7 cm long, of clear quartz crystal secured from an unknown locality. We conclude that the exotic caches complement the embankment architecture in removing Fort Ancient from classification as a fort and placing the monument securely within the mainstream of early ceremonial construction. That the vast earthwork served not as a great citadel, but as a colossal coliseum detracts neither from the splendor nor the importance of the monument. It simply indicates that the Hopewell erected one of America's largest monu- ments, not under duress of war, but in pursuit of religious and ceremonial beliefs similar to those that motivated the major architectural works erected by other great civiliza- tions of antiquity. Exploration of these early Hopewell be- liefs and practices forms the current focus of the Field Museum's research at Fort Ancient. Ffi Archaeological Tour of Peru And of La Paz, Bolivia October 7 to 24 $3,195 Discover the cultural and natural diversity of Peru (and a little bit of Bolivia too), under the guidance of a Field Museum archaeologist/anthropologist who has lived and worked in that country. Tour participants will be drawn into the fascinating, seemingly alien world of the orig- inal inhabitants of the South American continent by walking among the ruins of their once- great cities. Our leader will help you experience much more than what is encountered by the con- ventional sightseer as you view the incredible wonders of ancient Cuzco, Colonial Lima, and the Inca ruins of Puruchuco. An over- night excursion to the famous "lost city" of Machu Picchu, as well as a visit to the Chinchero Sunday market will be a memor- able weekend. An added bonus will be our pioneering two-day stop at the recently discovered archaeological site in the Moquegua Valley in which Field Museum will play a major research role. We'll com- plete our tour with a visit to Boli- via, a hydrofoil ride across Lake Titicaca, and a visit to the city of La Paz. Here we'll tour the near- by ruins of the Tiahuanaco civilization. We invite you to join us and to get an insider's view of the past and present. Our tour leader will be Dr. Bobert A. Feldman, research archaeologist for the Field Museum Ancient Irrigation Project and currently director of "Programa Contisuyu." He has done field work in the U. S. and Peru. Before joining the Field Museum project, Dr. Feldman conducted excavations at a 4,000- year-old fishing village on the Peru coast, uncovering some of the earliest monumental archi- tecture in South America. Ancient Capitals Of China September 22 to October 13 $3,550 We are pleased to again offer our unique itinerary for China, with the addition of a two-day visit to Wuxi and Nanjing and a Grand Canal cruise from Wuxi to Suzhou. This program also includes the most significant sites of early Imperial China and will provide an opportunity to explore in depth the civilization which characterized one of the oldest and longest-lived societies on earth. Following our direct flight from Chicago to Tokyo, where we will spend the night, we will visit Beijing for three days, then to Xian for three days. Successive points in the itinerary then include Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Shanghai. Mr. Phillip H. Woodruff, Ph.D. candidate in Chinese his- tory at the University of Chicago, will be our guest lecturer. Mr. Woodruff has recently returned to Chicago after two years of research at Beijing University. His experience of living in China, his fluency in Chinese, and excel- lent rapport with the Chinese guides are a superb supplement to his leadership skills. This is the fifth China tour he has led for Field Museum. Kenya September 8 to 27 $3,595 You are invited to join us for an exciting 19-day safari to East Afri- ca accompanied throughout by Audrey Faden, experienced lec- turer and tour guide, plus local guides. Game is still plentiful and this tour is scheduled to coincide with the animal migration. It will be Spring in Kenya. The time to go is now! A trip to Kenya is a vacation that never ends. We hope you will make your reserva- tion now. Start planning, now for . . . Tour of Egypt February, 1985 If you wish to be placed on the mailing list for this perennially popular tour, or if you have ques- tions about any of the other tours, please write or call Tours Manager Dorothy Roder, Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr. , Chicago, ll 60605. Phone: 322-8862. 27 \ Of see *n k. I *.- 4, \; pr~H / \S' OO 17 195-00 MISS MAR ITAMAXEY_ Mil N QKbbNVIEU ' CHICAGO* IL 60626 Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Pamela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bowen Blair WUlard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnelley II Thomas J. Eyerman Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphy, Jr. Earl L. Neal Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Byron Smith Robert H.Strotz Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Julian B. Wilkins Blaine J. Yarrington Life Trustees Harry O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C. Gregg William V. Kahler William H. Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard Wood CONTENTS July/August 1984 Volume 55, Number 7 July and August Events at Field Museum Books, Business, and Buckskin 5 the life of Edward E. Aver, Field Museum's first president by E. Leland Webber, president emeritus of Field Museum The Search for Paleontology's Most Elusive Animal: 11 The Conodont Animal by Derek E. G. Briggs Tours for Field Museum Members 26 COVER Scene at Illinois' Starved Rock State Park. Photo by John Kolar. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Do you like to work with children and can give one day a week during the school year? Field Museum's Education volunteers give programs to school groups on everything from dinosaurs to Indians. A background in education or natural history is preferred; a fall training program is required. Year-round Education volunteers are also needed to staff the Place for Wonder and Pawnee earth lodge, weekdays as well as weekends. Weekday volunteers with typing skills are needed in many departments Interested persons should contact Joyce Matuszewich, volunteer coordinator, at 922-9410, extension 360. Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined July/August issue, by Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, II. 60605. Subscriptions: $6.00 annually, $3.00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policy of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- tory, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, U. 60605. ISSN:0015-0703. Second class postage paid at Chicago, II PICNIC PLUS THREE Earth, Sky and Sea Saturday, August 11, 3:00-8:00pm Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium invite you to a summer picnic celebration. Bring your own food or buy it here — Eat on the lawns — Enjoy special evening hours at each institution. On this occa- sion your Field Museum membership card admits you free to the aquarium and the planetarium as well. For additional information please call (312) 322-8859 Events Family Features — July African Clay Pots Saturday and Sunday, July 14, 15 1:00-3:00 pm Cultures of Africa and Madagascar, Ground Floor Clay pots are found in African market places in a variety of shapes and sizes. By examining those like the tiny ink pots from Nigeria and the enormous water jugs used in all the Afri- can villages, we can learn a lot about the peo- ple who made them. Explore the different techniques used to make these African pots and create your own clay pot to take home. Dahomey Applique Saturday and Sunday, July 28, 29 1:00-3:00 pm Cultures of Africa and Madagascar, Ground Floor The Dahomey men of Africa cut symbols from pieces of brightly colored cloth. The symbols were arranged to tell stories about their kings and then appliqued on cloth. Learn the meanings behind some of these ancient symbols and then create your own story picture. Family Features are free with Museum admission; tickets not required. Berry baskets made of red cedar by Tlingit Indians (NW coast). Family Features — August Painting with Bone Saturday and Sunday, August 4, 5 1:00-3:00 pm Pawnee Earth Lodge, Main Floor Historical events of the Plains Indians were often recorded in colorfully painted picto- graphic scenes on animal skins. Printed geometric and symbolic designs richly deco- rated their clothing, containers, war shields, and drums. Experiment with the traditional painting techniques of the Plains Indians using a real animal bone as your brush for decorating an animal skin robe. Native American Baskets Saturday and Sunday, August 11, 12 1:00-3:00 pm Indians of Western North America Hall, Main Floor Baskets made by Native Americans are among the most beautiful in the world. Take a look at some Porno Indian baskets that are big enough to hide in and some that are as tiny as the tip of your smallest finger. Watch demonstrations of different weaving tech- niques, then try your hand at weaving a basket of your own. Plains Indian Parfleches Saturday and Sunday, August 18, 19 1:00-3:00 pm Indians of Western North America Hall, Main Floor Plains Indians relied on the buffalo for their subsistence, and travelled constantly to keep up with the herds. Pottery was too breakable to be used for food storage, so they made folded leather containers called parfleches. Look at some of these bags used by the Cheyenne, Pawnee, Sioux, and Crow. Make a parfleche to keep your own travel supplies in, decorating it with the beautiful geometric designs used by these tribes. These features are free with Museum admis- sion; tickets not required. continued^ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Events July/ August Weekend Programs Each Saturday and Sunday you are invited to explore the world of natural history at Field Museum. Free tours, demonstrations, and films related to ongoing exhibits at the Museum are designed for families and adults. Listed are only a few of the numerous activi- ties available each weekend. Check the Weekend Passport upon arrival for the com- plete schedule and program locations. The programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. July 7 1 1:30 am. Ancient Egypt (tour). Investigate the traditions of ancient Egyptian civiliza- tion from everyday life to mummification and the promise of an afterlife. 12:30 pm. African Mammals (tour). Exam- ine the lifestyles of various African mam- mals and the adaptations they have made to survive in their harsh environment. 1:30 pm. Disaster at Pompeii (slide lecture/ tour). Explore the civilization of Pompeii be- fore its devastation by Mt. Vesuvius. 15 1:00 pm. Welcome to the Field (tour). Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore the scope of Field Museum. 21 11:00 am. African Mammals (tour). Examine the lifestyles of various African mammals and the adaptations they have made to sur- vive in their harsh environment. 1:30 pm. Red Land/Black Land (tour). Tour the Egyptian exhibit focusing on the geography of the Nile Valley and the effect it had on Egypt. 28 12 noon. Disaster at Pompeii (slide lecture/ tour). Explore the civilization of Pompeii be- fore its devastation bv Mt. Vesuvius. August 4 11:30 am. Ancient Egypt (tour). Investigate the traditions of ancient Egyptian civiliza- tion from everyday life to mummification and the promise of an afterlife. 5 1:00 pm. Welcome to the Field (tour). Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore the scope of Field Museum. 12 2:30 pm. China and the Silk Roads (tour). Travel the great caravan routes and follow the course of empires, arts, and faiths. 18 1:30 pm. Treasures from the Totem Forest (tour). An introduction to the Indians of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska, and the totem poles and masks so important to their cultures. 19 1:00 pm. Welcome to the Field (tour). Enjoy a sampling of our most significant exhibits as you explore the scope of Field Museum. 26 1:00 pm. Traditional China (tour). Examine the timeless imagery and superb craftsman- ship represented by Chinese masterworks in our permanent collection. Books, Business, and Buckskin by E. Leland Webber President Emeritus of Field Museum Painting (detail) by unknown artist of Edward Ayer in liv- ing room of his Lake Geneva home, sur- rounded by memor- abilia of his travels and his beloved books. Most of his books are now in the Newberry Library. The thou- sands of archaeo- logical and ethno- logical artifacts he collected in his world travels are now for the most part in the collection of the Field Museum. -ny great American city is the result of the work of generations of committed visionaries. Some build only in the industrial and commercial realm. Others contribute in the nonprofit sector. But the great builders we usually recall are those who make their "Boohs, Business, and Buch.sh.in" is adapted from an address recently given try E. Leland Webber before Chicago's Fortnightly Club. money in the business world and then through con- tribution of time or money, or both, work to build the city outside of their day-to-day business life. In Chi- cago we quickly think of the University of Chicago The author and the editor are particularly grateful to the staff of the J\[ewberry Library for assistance in researching the life of Edward E. Ayer and for making available previously unpublished photos. A main source of information on Ayer's life was The Life of Edward E. Ayer, by Frank C. Lockwood, published by A. C. McClurg & Company, 1929. and John D. Rockefeller, Walter Newberry of the Newberry Library, the Field Museum and Marshall Field, the Museum of Science and Industry and Julius Rosenwald, and so on across the rich fabric that makes Chicago one of the world's great cities. collectors. Even during his lifetime, the Field Museum was a principal beneficiary of Edward Ayer's zealous collecting — an activity that served to in- spire many of his contemporaries to do likewise. He is also to be remembered as a generous donor of funds to Ayer, left, as a young man, pos- sibly in the Utah quartz mine where he worked briefly in 1860. Photo cour- tesy Newberry Library There are also those who don't leave their name on an institution, but in some respects have had a more profound effect on the city than some whose names have been institutionally perpetuated. So it is with Edward Everett Ayer, one of the really remark' able men in our city's history. A trustee and builder of the Field Museum, Ayer was one of the -world's great the Museum. Other Chicago institutions that be- nefitted from Ayer's largesse as well as his guidance include the Newberry Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Chicago Historical Society. Ayer was born in Southport, now Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1841. In 1846 his father, Elbridge Gerry Ayer, bought 200 acres of land 30 miles west of Kenosha, and established a combination general store and blacksmith shop. By the mid-1850s the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad was building a line northwest out of Chicago, eventually to reach Wil- Hams Bay, Wisconsin, and beyond. Elbridge Ayer, pocket, and obtained work sawing wood with a bucksaw. Meanwhile, the Civil War had broken out. Cali- fornia joined the Union and young Ayer enlisted in August 1861 in the first California unit — a cavalry Early engraving of Cerro Colorado Mine, near the Mexican border, where Edward Ayer was stationed for several months during the Civil War seeing an opportunity, sold his store and land, bought 400 acres five miles south and in 1856 laid out the town of Harvard, Illinois. The railroad soon came, Ayer prospered, and he became a leading citizen of that rural part of Illinois south of Lake Geneva. His son, Edward, in the meantime, lived a typi- cal rural life. He was no student, apparently loathing the "3 R's" that were the curriculum of the day; he attended school only three months or so a year until he was eleven or twelve. He then worked on the farm, took wagon trains of grains to Kenosha, and generally helped his father in business. At 18 he caught the wanderlust and in April 1860 with his father's permission, set out for California. He joined a wagon train, but left it in Utah to work in a quartz mine, 11 hours a day for $4, staying only long enough to save the fare to San Francisco. He arrived there five months after leaving Illinois, with only 25j>< FOKEIO* it I lilts, WOOOROFFE 7 S BOMBMIAN GLASS BLOWJBKS, WLU. BXU1BIT A OI.A8S STEAM KNOIWK MISS IHX1 SITI3I, HP?! MOTIA UUSTEKg, QVV Kff.u i' Ami Ll^h. ThB t*^A IJUMKT UWVHFN t«i 4h« Worlri, taster WILLIAM WALLACE, | *si:\ r Col*ln,"«" 11 ■•' CO»* BALI ARD, •I, )>»«*. „„i is j. !.',Y<" TVI 21 IIS I.i O (It I ^ 41 I 1 II lit 11 |^~ A BEAUTIFUL CIRCASSIAN MHL- The Grand Aquari a. The Happy Family. Err me - ~M"6 s » t is m^m xauus LiyiHG AFEICAN CHOWNED CRANES. Wax Figures of Noted Peisouages. GEOLOGICAL. CONC'at'LOOlCAL. mid MuadlBMATIC UOJi- LECTIONB Bl'iCIMllNS Or Ni'iU«AI, I1IHIOH7 W JJC BTATPA RT PAIHTIN08 BI8TO>lCAL HSUCS, Etc r ERWPOB k A *»H Alt t & a L l. EMIT; rictarOT '«tin »»irj iiuim n ih' «»>. «it.l i.v tin Nvw M»xi.«iiolM itUfc- ~rvtr »«»nljf (i IIipMiII. KM ..itr.. W«~.i>,.. i,y» A UULMMk ' 0» «JjMioiH'Mtl>i-AuH,.i„,, ,n:ut«»,.»" iiaiBECTiVAI.' WAiTiTiV^- A RIFLE AND PJSTOU CALLEhV HAUAHK ULLllli. t!„ ( .-:..!. r-L. .» AMI KOLttUU I «M *-*Ui | VK rtULIJt, tUJLJ. tH*w*AAUiUrtJ at »■*■ n|4LrUHtiii. I mm iluwf. U.xwiu u.j- KHUfettf M11 ,; M«'c]w«k ^ «.. **" i , hr«nckjf.t-'a.i fifiJ.H.atH.'aji Moa Cbtirtx L>y i'ro.. i.,wu;jjj j/* A/il«u<'«ii> V.ACS*" •l*W«4r» >■•> -oi*- u* w taM iM.i'.r froB lb» "•'l^rrtr-* W»ii'.ifin"trry ftfW*l8W*Y sns's ? K#*1 lift Kt Newspaper ad for Phineas T. Barnum 's "American Museum " in Man- hattan in the 1850s. More carnival than museum. Barnum s enter- prise devoted itseif to satisfying public demand for entertainment, which remains a primary mission of museums today 21 22 ued for its own sake. (Is King Lear beautiful? Picas- so's Guernica?) We prize the interestingness of things, for example, their startling differentness from the familiar; we enjoy quaintness. Perhaps such val- ues are not near the top of the moralist's scale, but they certainly play an important role in our lives and they are an ingredient in the entertainment function of museums. The third function of a museum is educative. With it, that institution has its broadest social im- pact. I want briefly to look at some different ways in which museums educate, while remembering throughout that all museum learning must be char- acterized by the presence of authentic objects. Visits to museums teach us quite specific things. We say about this unproblematic sense of "educa- tion" that, as we peruse an exhibit, we acquire information about some segment of the past: about an industrial process, about the art of medieval Siena or about the festive dresses of Scottish Highlanders. But that repeated "about" is misleading. Books give information about their subject matter; discourse ref- ers, is about, things. Museums, instead, make us ac quainted with things, so that we get to know those objects, rather than just learn about them. While we infer information from our viewings and derive it directly from labels and explanatory materials, the special quality of this learning resides in the direct- ness of our experience. Museums also educate in a broader sense, although that sense assumes and includes the specific function just mentioned. Because in museums we are confronted by objects that are especially collected and selected for display, the direct experience of which I spoke is not readily found outside museum walls. A visit to a museum, when it works well, is like a voyage into different times or places, or even like a trip into regions that are subdivisions of a conceptual map rather than a geographic one. Like real travel, such experiences can stretch the mind and enlarge the imagination by acquainting us with possibilities that lie beyond our own time- and place-bound expe- riences. If travel is educational, so are visits to museums. The educative function of museums can help combat two all-too-familiar responses to the percep- tion of real differences in the world, whether in dress or custom, moral values or ways of conducting daily "Museums . . . make us acquainted with things, so that we get to know those objects, rather than just learn about them." life, or artistic styles. One such response is provincial: supposing that what is different from the familiar is to be dismissed or even scorned. Museums can help, literally, to open our eyes and give us a bit of precisely that direct experience which creates familiarity and thus contributes to that understanding of differences which leads to appreciation. Museums can help in combating a second, more modern, conventional response to differences: call it mindless cosmopolitanism. This attitude takes every- thing to be equally good and finds no differences of value in the immense variety of customs, modes of life, and styles that have been generated by a world that never stays the same. Our discussion has moved us into the broader aspect of education that we might call the inculcation of taste. Because managing successfully in a post' industrial society calls for a great deal of information and for a goodly number of complex intellectual skills, we think that all education must produce such results. But in the daily choices we make in moral, political esthetic matters, we reflect both the values we have acquired and our ability to discriminate, judge and evaluate. Making judgments and evalua- tions, too, is something that is learned, so that educa- tion is relevant to this formation of taste in the broad sense. Here again, museums are relevant. Taste is ac quired in the experiencing of objects, whether wines or paintings, and not simply by means of discourse about things and situations. The role of art museums is obvious in a person's acquisition of taste in works of art; but the numerous other worlds that are opened up to the museum visitor can play a similar role in our ability to discriminate, assess and judge. The museum helps to form taste, because it is only once-removed from an unfettered world and can thus play a signifi' cant role in the shaping of our evaluative faculties. The distinctive role of museums, I have said, consists of the interrelated functions of particular kinds of scholarship, entertainment and education. A number of things follow about what museums should be doing if they are to play their roles well. First, they should undertake those things that will support an appropriate form of scholarship. Here the most fundamental task is to collect in a systematic way the objects that belong to the museum's domain — paintings, fossils, printing presses or whatever. Without collections, a museum is nothing. But pack rats are not yet curators. To build a collection requires a viewpoint as to what does and does not matter. Collecting itself is a scholarly activity. Astute selec tion of objects belonging to a domain can itself make important contributions to knowledge and insight. What is collected must be preserved. The main- tenance, repair, restoration and housing of collections call for more care and feeding than are needed by thoroughbred horses. There is no point in collecting, if these jobs are not well done. If a museum's collection is to be of use to scholars within or outside the museum, yet another set of handmaidenly activities (that are themselves schol- arly) are required. The notion of a collection not only implies principles of coherence; access to it pre- supposes order. A heap, however well its components were selected, does not support scholarship, and shrewd juxtaposition provides more insight than mere mechanical exposition. But even an ordered collection can be more or less intelligible. This is where the complex job of identifying, labeling and cataloging comes in: the basic and necessary scholarly activities of museums. If museums do not perform them, they are not likely to be performed at all. The second function of museums I have singled out is entertainment, with the pleasure provided by the museum's collections. The basic museum activity relevant here is exhibiting. Well-designed exhibits make a museum's objects attractive to the public — the notion of design covering everything from the very conception of an exhibit and the selection of the objects to be displayed, to placement, lighting and labeling. Without attractive packaging, the public — which lavishes only short spurts of time on museum collections — will not be entertained. Museums, I believe, are right to cater to the pub- lic and to mount pleasantly or even dramatically designed exhibits of their wares. They should remem- ber, however, that the functions of entertaining and educating overlap. It is far better to amuse with a display that also fulfills a higher teaching role than by means of one whose educational role is trivial. The entertainment function of museums can be a trap, because it is all too easy to forget the museum in that formula. Then, as elsewhere in the entertain- ment industry, the clicks of the turnstile become the measure of success: magicians, comedians or chefs for the eye or tongue become the magnet that makes those turnstiles move. When this happens, museums find themselves in futile competition with entertain- ers who are much more skilled and far better paid, while at the same time they arouse expectations in the public that make it ever harder for them to return to their own mission. The educational function of museums is the broadest, since it encompasses the other two. It is also the primary concern of many of the professionals who staff museums, as well as of the institutions, public and private, which support them. That educative function, I have said, consists of informing and enlightening by means of the museum collections. 23 24 Another quick look is needed at the special character of this transaction, if we are to see what needs to be done to have the educative function performed well. The objects themselves, I repeat, should educate by having the learner become directly acquainted with them. This special character of education in the museum is also the source of a weakness. Things do not speak for themselves; they must have a spokes' man, they must be referred to in discourse. Two poles of a continuum might thus be characterized, neither pole describing the educational activity of a museum. One end consists of a heap of objects that, however well collected, remains unintelligible and therefore cannot educate. At the opposite pole is pure dis' course. It is intelligible and thus informs and teaches, but because it does not provide direct experience of objects, such discourse is not an education that is dis' tinctive of museums. The educational activities of museums lie be tween these two poles. We move away from the pole of incomprehensibility by introducing not only coherent ordering of objects, but also labeling and explanatory phrases — the guideposts that permit us "The [museum 's] most fundamental task is to collect in a systematic way. ..." Melvin A. Traylor, curator emeritus of Birds, shown in earlier photo while unpacking shipment of bird skins. to derive understanding from objects. Things don't mean; discourse does. An exhibit that educates uses words to release the power of things by having us come to know just what we are becoming acquainted with. As we move further towards the pole of dis- course, we reach the exhibition catalog, on the one hand, and the docent's lecture, on the other. Both are discourse that refers to, and is illustrated by, the real objects that are part of the basic world of the museum. But this way of looking at the educational func- tions of museums suggests an entire area that at this time remains sadly underdeveloped. Our museums reverberate -with the noise made by crowds of chil- dren from primary schools, led from display to display by their teachers or members of the museum's staff. These goings-on can readily be located on our con- tinuum: words illustrated by objects; objects informed by a meaning provided by a discourse that explains and links them. But why is this valuable activity arrested barely above the level of sixth grade? It would seem that the educative activity most cen- tral to museums is to have their collections play a role in all of education, but especially in learning in secon- dary school and undergraduate study, as well as in the specialized pursuits of graduate work. What we take for granted about libraries — that they must be inte- grated into all facets and levels of education — is equally appropriate for museums, or at least for many of them. The educational programs of museums all too often ignore the distinctiveness of their role. Fre- quently, their lectures and courses are merely more or less adequate imitations of those properly developed in educational institutions of various levels. To the extent that museums mount educational programs that are indistinguishable from those of other institu- tions, they divert energies and resources from their proper educational mission, and to that degree leave this distinctive function unperformed. Conventional education is very word- dependent, and conventional educators seldom have the ability and training to break far out of the web of discourse. It is in the world of museums that we find persons who have the knack of teasing information out of things, 'who know how to marry discourse and direct experience of physical objects. We are depen- dent on the staffs of museums to take the initiative in making acquaintance with objects of nature and arti- facts a more important part of education at all of its levels. Such integration is at the center of the distinc- tive educative function of museums. Museums are not as unitary in their distinctive mission as Phillips screwdrivers: there are many things that only museums can do or that only museums can do reasonably well. Nevertheless, there are limits to the proper function of museums, and straying beyond them exacts its price. Chopping ice with that screwdriver mars its blades. The pursuit of irrelevant goals hampers the effectiveness of museums. The issue of resource allocation is clear: what is devoted to the peripheral is not there to be spent on the central, and an important function re- mains unperformed. More subtly, confusion within the museum infects a broader public outside it and fosters the belief that nothing of value is distinctive of that institution, that others can readily do what it does. What museums are good for is important. Reflecting on that mission may help the better to ful- fill it. FM "Direct encounters with authentic objects belonging to the experience of other lives are a powerful and necessary supplement to the paler evidence of reports. " 25 Tours For Members 26 Peru 's fabled "lost city "otMachu Picchu. Archaeological Tour of Peru And of La Paz, Bolivia October 7 to 24 $3,195 Discover the cultural and natural diversity of Peru (and a little bit of Bolivia too), under the guidance of a Field Museum archaeologist/anthropologist who has lived and worked in that country. Tour participants will be drawn into the fascinating, seemingly alien world of the orig- inal inhabitants of the South American continent by walking among the ruins of their once- great cities. Our leader will help you experience much more than what is encountered by the con- ventional sightseer as you view the incredible wonders of ancient Cuzco, Colonial Lima, and the Hermann C Bowersox Inca ruins of Puruchuco. An over- night excursion to the famous "lost city" of Machu Picchu, as well as a visit to the Chinchero Sunday market will be a memor- able weekend. An added bonus will be our pioneering two-day stop at the recently discovered archaeological site in the Moquegua Valley in which Field Museum will play a major research role. We'll com- plete our tour with a visit to Boli- via, a hydrofoil ride across Lake Titicaca, and a visit to the city of La Paz. Here we'll tour the near- by ruins of the Tiahuanaco civilization. We invite you to join us and to get an insider's view of the past and present. Our tour leader will be Dr. Robert A. Feldman, research archaeologist for the Field Museum Ancient Irrigation Project and currently director of "Programa Contisuyu. He has done field work in the U.S. and Peru. Before joining the Field Museum project, Dr. Feldman conducted excavations at a 4,000- year-old fishing village on the Peru coast, uncovering some of the earliest monumental archi- tecture in South America. Ancient Capitals Of China September 22 to October 13 $3,550 We are pleased to again offer our unique itinerary for China, with the addition of a two-day visit to Wuxi and Nanjing and a Grand Canal cruise from Wuxi to Suzhou. This program also Tours For Members includes the most significant sites of early Imperial China and will provide an opportunity to explore in depth the civilization which characterized one of the oldest and longest-lived societies on earth. Following our direct flight from Chicago to Tokyo, where we will spend the night, we will visit Beijing for three days, then to Xian for three days. Successive points in the itinerary then include Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Shanghai. Mr. Phillip H. Woodruff, Ph.D. candidate in Chinese his- tory at the University of Chicago, will be our guest lecturer. Mr. Woodruff has recently returned to Chicago after two years of research at Beijing University. His experience of living in China, his fluency in Chinese, and excel- lent rapport with the Chinese guides are a superb supplement to his leadership skills. This is the fifth China tour he has led for Field Museum. Kenya September 8 to 27 $3,595 You are invited to join us for an exciting 19-day safari to East Afri- ca accompanied throughout by Audrey Faden, experienced lec- turer and tour guide, plus local guides. Game is still plentiful and Kenya Tour, September 8-27. this tour is scheduled to coincide with the animal migration. It will be Spring in Kenya. The time to go is now! A trip to Kenya is a vacation that never ends. We hope you will make your reserva- tion now. Start planning now for . . . Tour of Egypt February, 1985 If you wish to be placed on the mailing list for this perennially popular tour, or if you have ques- tions about any of the other tours, please write or call Tours Manager Dorothy Roder, Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr. , Chicago, II 60605. Phone: 322-8862. China Tour, Sept. 22 to October 13. Stanton R Cook, courtesy Chicago Tribune 001F288 Edith Fleming 946 Pleasant „ Oak Pk > IL 60302 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BULLETIN October 1984 *w" a. -t <," y^ •>. :.;V °V VUv V ■Wl V -lye *sm% ^ X. Members 9 Night October I Dinosaur Days October Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin CONTENTS October 1985 Volume 55, Number 9 Published by Field Museum of Natural History Founded 1893 President: Willard L. Boyd Director: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. October Events at Field Museum Member s' Nights Editor: David M. Walsten Production Liaison: Pamela Stearns Staff Photographer: Ron Testa Pacific Research Lab: A New Look, Thanks to NSF G Board of Trustees James J. O'Connor chairman Mrs. T. Stanton Armour George R. Baker Robert O. Bass Gordon Bent Bowen Blair Willard L. Boyd Frank W. Considine Stanton R. Cook William R. Dickinson, Jr. Thomas E. Donnelley II Thomas J. Everman Marshall Field Richard M. Jones Hugo J. Melvoin Leo F. Mullin Charles F. Murphy, Jr. Earl L. Neal Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. Robert A. Pritzker James H. Ransom John S. Runnells Patrick G. Ryan William L. Searle Edward Bvron Smith Robert H.Strotz Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken E. Leland Webber Blaine J. Yarrington Life Trustees Harry O. Bercher Joseph N. Field Clifford C. Gregg William V. Kahler William H. Mitchell John W. Sullivan J. Howard Wood Social and Unsocial Behavior in Dinosaurs byjohn H. Ostrom Pigeon Whistles by Berthold Laufer 10 22 Field Museum's Planned Giving Program 24 by Clifford Buzard, Planned Giving Officer Field Museum Tours 27 COVER Fossilized skeleton of dinosaur Protoceratops andrewsi, on view in Hall 38. October is "Dinosaur Month" at Field Museum. Check "Dinosaur Days" (Oct. 20, 21) activities in "Events" section, pp. 3,4. Field Museum of Saturj! History Bulletin (USPS 898-940) is published monthly, except combined )uly August issue, bv Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. II. 60605. Subscriptions: 56.00 annually, S3. 00 for schools. Museum membership includes Bulletin subscription. Opinions expressed bv authors are their own and do not neces- sarily reflect the policy of Field Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Museum phone: (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should include address label and be sent to Membership Department. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Field Museum of Natural His- tory. Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive. Chicago, II. 60605. ISS\:0015-0703. Second class postage paid at Chicago, II. Ownership. Management and Circulation Filing dale Sept 14. 1984 Title Field Museum of Saiural History Bulletin Publication no 898940 Frequency of publication Monthly except lot combined July August issue Number of issues published annually: II Annual subscrip- tion price So 00 Office Roosevelt Rd at Lake Shore Drive. Chicago. 1L 60605:41*6 Publisher Field Museum ol Natural Hisiory Editor David M Walsten Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders none Nonpmfit status has not changed during the preceding 12 months Frtal copies printed Paid Circulation (sales ttuough dealers vendors, carnersi Paid circulation : mail subscripts Total paid circulation r:cz c stnbution loial distribution Office use. lefl.iset Toul no. copies each issue preceding 12 mos 33.070 Actual no copies single issue nearest to filine date 30.500 None None 28.889 26.454 28.889 26.454 578 578 29.467 27.032 3.603 3.468 33.070 30.500 1 scriifv ihji ihe sijien: s nuJc bv me above are correct and complete Jimm\ w Crofi. vice president for Finance and Invitation for Volunteers Field Museum needs people with special skills who can volunteer one day a week with a minimum com- mitment of one year. If you are interested in sharins your love of natural history with younssters, you might become a "Place for Wonder" volunteer. The Pawnee earth lodge needs volunteers with public speaking ability and a special interest in Native American culture. Zoology needs weekday volunteers who can type or who are willing to work with alcohol speci- mens in the Fishes or Reptiles Divisions. Weekday volunteers are also needed in Membership, Public Relations, and Planning and Development. For more information please contact the Volun- teer Coordinator at 922-9410, extension 360. Events Dinosaur Days — Feature Lectures "Dinosaurs: An Alternate Evolutionary Experiment" Dr. Dale Russell, Chief, Paleobiology Division National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario Saturday, Oct. 20, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre Dinosaurs may have vanished abruptly approxi- mately 65 million years ago. What brought about their demise? There are numerous theories. Accord- ing to one viewpoint, this mass extinction may have been aided by a huge asteroid hitting the earth's sur- face. The great extinction of reptiles prevented them from further evolution. It can be speculated that they would have achieved human levels of brain complex- ity had they survived extinction. Join us as paleo- biologist Dr. Dale Russell presents his provocative theories of the process of evolution — what dinosaurs would look like today and whether or not life evolves in the exotic biospheres of distant stellar systems. $5.00 (Members: $3.00) This program is funded in part by the Ray A. Kroc Environmental Foundation. Fees are nonrefundable. "New Fossils — New Evidence" A Conversation with the Curators Sunday, Oct. 21, 2:00pm, James Simpson Theatre Recently new dinosaur fossils have been discovered that give us clues and information about how these creatures behaved. Nests, eggs, skin impressions and the fossils of juvenile dinosaurs are providing evi- dence about the everyday lives of dinosaurs. In an informal conversation, leading scientists discuss these new discoveries and present current theories about life durin