Comments on: Online archaeology and anthropology film from Penn

Online archaeology and anthropology film from Penn

Rumple — Sun, 03 May 2009 13:28:19 -0800

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has put 675 reels of archival 16 mm film online via the Internet Archive. Most of the film is unedited, and stems either from Museum research, or was donated by interested amateurs. Much of it is silent, reflecting the technology of the day. One highlight are the four surviving reels of the long-running TV show 'What in the World" (look for the episode starring Vincent Price), but the archive is full of other hidden gems, such as the 1950s archaeological expedition to Tikal, a 1940 film "A 1000 Mile Road Trip Across America", and Glimpses of Life Among the Catawba and Cherokee Indians of the Carolinas (1927). The films are downloadable in various formats, including MPEG2, Ogg Video, and 512Kb MPEG4. Happy browsing! via.

By: fcummins

fcummins — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:05:06 -0800

Wonderful post, thanks!

By: greekphilosophy

greekphilosophy — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:10:30 -0800

Oooh, this is fun. Great museum too - one of many hidden gems here in Philly.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:14:41 -0800

Nice find—I just watched a film of Rangoon in 1930, only three years after Orwell left. Thanks for the post!

By: NoMich

NoMich — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:17:28 -0800

Cool. I got to transfer some of those films. Great stuff.

By: Alex404

Alex404 — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:27:17 -0800

Not to be boyzone, but there are many remarkably beautiful women in the Catawba and Cherokee video. It's very lovely.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:30:37 -0800

That Rangoon one is great, thanks. Love the shipping. This Lahore & Khyber Pass (1930) film is looking good as well.

By: zaelic

zaelic — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:41:59 -0800

The Frank Speck film about the Catawbas is fascinating and a really special document. Speck was the chair of the Penn Anthro dept for many years, and a specialist in the culture of Native American Indian groups that had been prematurely labeled "extinct" - especially those East Coast tribes such as the Catawba, Mohegan, and Nanticoke. He was raised as a sickly kid in the 1890s by Fidelia Fielding, the last speaker of the Mohegan language, and from that he eventually became a linguist and anthropologist (trained under Franz Boas at Columbia U. in the early 20th century) dedicated to the idea that cultures do not "disappear", but adapt. Amazing to see his Catawba footage. I didn't even know he had filmed any of this. One of these days I'll get around to a Frank Speck FPP....

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:50:56 -0800

Great post, Rumple, thanks - can't wait to explore more. I am a big fan of historic silent footage - we are so lucky with the glimpses of living history we now get to see via the web - this looks like a great resource. Add me as a fan of the Catabwa one - I loved seeing the people and was thrilled to see some coil pots being made. Alex404, it is not just you - I found all the people so attractive in that clip.

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:49:22 -0800

It's totally cool that they're making them available for download in different formats. Excellent stuff.

By: dogrose

dogrose — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:02:36 -0800

This is why I love the tubes.

By: mrzarquon

mrzarquon — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:46:01 -0800

> Amazing to see his Catawba footage. I didn't even know he had filmed any of this. A lot of early anthropologists, especially the ones under Boas (and Boas himself), were huge fans of film and tried to use it as another tool to aid in documenting and recording the events they were witnessing. I haven't been able to find the article yet, but I remember reading in my undergrad that a lot of northwest tribes have recently been able to reconstruct a lot of their lost traditions by combining their existing verbal history of the events with film and other materials Boas and his students generated.

By: ageispolis

ageispolis — Sun, 03 May 2009 23:14:45 -0800

hello doug