University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

J. Alden Mason, noted archaeological anthropologist and linguist and curator of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, conducted ethnographic and archaeological research in Puerto Rico from 1914 to 1915. Holdings include field notebooks, most notably phonetic recordings of Puerto Rican folklore from Utuado, San German, Loiza, Copa, and Coamo. Notable items include a draft of the manuscript "Painted Cave Petroglyphs in Puerto Rico" from 1939 and correspondence regarding wax cylinder recordings. Included also are letters from Mason to his daughter, Kathy, and several translated tales sent to her.

J. Alden Mason, noted archaeological anthropologist and linguist, was born in Orland, Indiana and attended school in Philadelphia attaining his A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907. He pursued his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley completing his dissertation on the ethnography of the Salinan Indians of California. Mason was influenced by Alfred J. Kroeber while at Berkeley and Edward Sapir of the University of Pennsylvania. The J. Alden Mason curatorial years (1922-1967) produced three archival boxes of correspondence and in-house memos, along with Section reports, research notes and articles and notes for publication. This material, in addition to personal records of Dr. Mason and evidence of his scholarship were arranged into series and placed in chronological order.

At the turn of the century, the Río Grande de Coclé changed course, revealing the site of a pre-Columbian cemetery when pottery and gold ornaments were washed out of the river banks. In 1940 the University of Pennsylvania Museum began to excavate Sitio Conte, which belonged to a private landowner, located in the province of Coclé. A very small portion of the pre-Columbian cemetery, estimated to cover four or five acres in its entirety, was selected for excavation. The expedition yielded 6,600 pounds of pottery and stone. The textual records consist of 1.5 linear feet of field notes, diaries, and object cards; correspondence; administrative records concerning contracts, expenses, transportation, and equipment; and unpublished and published reports and articles concerning findings. The arrangement of the records became apparent after some research, for the original order had been lost. Most of the original folder titles, however, have been maintained.

Piedras Negras is a Maya site in Guatemala particularly noted for the beautifully sculpted stelae and hieroglyphic inscriptions it has yielded. Between 1931 and 1939 the University of Pennsylvania Museum conducted extensive excavations at this site. John Allen Mason led the first two seasons of work at the site (1931–1932), and Linton Satterthwaite directed the remaining six seasons (1933–1939, excluding 1938). Most of the monuments at the Museum borrowed from Guatemala were returned in 1947; only Stela 14 and one leg from Altar 4 remain on display in the Museum today. The textual records from the excavations of Piedras Negras consist of 11 linear feet of correspondence, financial records, field notes and diaries, catalogs, and reports and publication materials. The arrangement of the records reflects the original order insofar as could be detected, and portions that had been separated over time were re-integrated into this scheme.

The J.Alden Mason Linguistic Expeditions to Mexico consist of six trips to study the languages of the Northern and Southern Tepehuan Indians of the region around Durango and the Nevome of the lower Pima Bajo area. From 1912 to 1954, Mason gathered information on the languages, ceremonial activities, prayers, and botany of the Piman tribes of northern and southern Mexico. Mason took numerous photographs and his second expedition, financed by Percy C. Madeira who accompanied Mason, consisted entirely of aerial photographs of the area. The 1936 Durango Expedition with Robert M. Merrill produced photographs, plates and objects from archaeological sites like Chalchihuites and Zape in the Durango region. The photographs and plates were reproduced in a 1937 article, "Late Archaeological Sites in Durango Mexico." During this trip, Mason shot unedited film showing the indigenous people and the countryside around Durango. Two additional expeditions in 1951 and 1954 resulted in reports of the Northern Tepehuan and Nevome languages and cultures.

Daniel Garrison Brinton is considered one of the founders of modern American Anthropology. He was also the first to hold a professorship in Archaeology in the United States. His library, which includes the Carl Hermann Berendt collection of manuscripts in the indigenous languages of Mexico and Central America, is considered the core of the University of Pennsylvania Anthropology Library. Among the collection are 4515 items; rare illustrations, contemporary photographs, portraits of individual authors, and texts in Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Brinton gathered his information from archival and library studies and did not participate in any archaeological expeditions. This small collection, attributed to Brinton by J. Alden Mason of the University Museum, consists of thirteen folders. Two contain linguistic notes on the Maya languages and another two contain drawings of pottery, objects, sites, and maps of Maya regions, primarily in Mexico. Some of the drawings are believed to be those of Carl Hermann Berendt, purchased by Daniel Brinton for the library at the University. The collection also has four scrapbooks and a book of poems written by Dr. Brinton. The collection is in fragile condition and many of the items are in need of conservation assessment, particularly the Berendt drawings.