[article ID:257]

For further details about the colonial history of the region see http://pittweb4.prm.ox.ac.uk/relational/page.php?title=5"

[article ID:258]

Canada

Greenland

USA

[article ID:259]

7,381.

NB there is some double counting between sub-continental regions in the Americas, a total of 8 objects could also be from Middle America and 3 from South America, a small number of other entries suggest objects could also come from Asia etc

Overall 9 per cent of the collections come from the Americas as a whole, 4 per cent from North America.

[article ID:260]

Definitely archaeology - 2,660

Definite ethnography - 4,229

Archaeology or ethnography - 492

As can be seen the split between archaeology and ethnography for the North American collections is very similar indeed to the global percentage split.

[article ID:261]

Definitely Canada: 1,682

Definitely Greenland: 217

Definitely USA: 3,945

Unprovenanced to specific country: 1,536 [made up of 7 entries that are possibly also outside N America, 1,277 objects that could be either USA or Canada, 2 items that could be Canada or Greenland and 250 items that could be Canada, Greenland or USA]

Normally it would not be possible to provide the above pie-chart because of double-counting issues, however with this small number of countries in one continental region it is possible to take account of all the double-counting possibilities and work out the split between the specific countries. It can be seen that USA dominates the collections (perhaps surprising if one assumed that ex-colonial ties might mean closer links given that Canada remains part of the Commonwealth and was a formal part of British Empire until just 20 years before the Museum was founded). Specifically provenanced items from Greenland form a very small percentage of the whole North American collections, and the Canadian collections are under half the size of the American collections. The majority of the 21 per cent of unspecifically provenanced items are most likely to come from either Canada or USA not Greenland.

[article ID:262]

North America

1880s - 1,556 objects

1890s - 1,140 objects

1900s - 318 objects

1910s - 1,637 objects

1920s - 1,252 objects

1930s - 799 objects

1940 - 1,945 - 685 objects

NB We first worked out the individual countries totals for each decade, this gave a result for the 1880s of Canada 951, Greenland 332 and USA 1240 which shows the degree of double counting as that gives a much greater total than the 1,556 above for the whole of North America (the double counting probably largely between Canada and the USA). We have therefore worked out for the countries below only those items which are definitely from that country and no other, the remaining unspecifically provenanced items are only included in the composite North American figures

The oddest thing about this distribution is that there is a fall in accessions during the 1900s and also that it almost totally fails to match the global distribution of accessions across decades rising almost always was the global pattern declines and vice versa!

N American archaeology

1880s - 140

1890s - 217

1900s - 42

1910s - 663

1920s - 883

1930s - 362

1940 - 1945 - 352

N American ethnography

1880s - 1,164

1890s - 824

1900s - 269

1910s - 937

1920s - 330

1930s - 380

1940 - 1945 - 332

N American archaeology or ethnography

1880s - 252

1890s - 99

1900s - 7

1910s - 37

1920s - 39

1930s - 57

1940 - 1945 - 1

Canada

1880s - 215

1890s - 506

1900s - 141

1910s - 177

1920s - 252

1930s - 348

1940 - 1945 - 44

A contributor to the peak in the 1890s is probably the Charles Harrison collection

Greenland

1880s - 92

1890s - 3

1900s - 7

1910s - 29

1920s - 1

1930s - 82

1940 - 1945 - 3

The peak in 1880s is due largely to the Greenland items in the founding collection although there were also sizeable transfers from the Ashmolean, of course these objects probably pre-date the 1880s. The reason for the 1930s smaller peak seems less clear as the objects came from a variety of different sources

USA

1880s - 506

1890s - 285

1900s - 106

1910s - 1,264

1920s - 962

1930s - 337

1940 - 1945 - 480

There doesn t seem to be a simple explanation of the source of the 1910s smaller peak, there is a large donation from Barbara Freire-Marecco but other objects come from a variety of sources

[article ID:263]

North America

Definitely archaeology - 2,660

Definitely ethnography - 4,229

Arch or eth - 492

Overall North America has a slightly higher percentage of definite archaeological items than the global picture at the end of 1945, but it also has a lower percentage of items that are not clearly archaeological or ethnographic. The ethnographic percentage is almost identical.

Note that in the following calculations and pie charts only items which are definitely provenanced to these countries are included

Canada:

Definitely archaeology - 422

Definitely ethnography - 1,150

Arch or eth - 110

The percentage of archaeology is very low compared both to the general North American picture and to the global picture (roughly 10 per cent under expected figures)

Greenland:

Definitely archaeology - 0

Definitely ethnography - 208

Arch or eth - 9

Items from Greenland are overwhelmingly ethnographic

USA:

Definitely archaeology - 2,039

Definitely ethnography - 1,753

Arch or eth - 153

USA has a much higher percentage of definite archaeological items rather than ethnographic

Unprovenanced North America:

Unprovenanced figures are obtained by taking the above specifically provenanced ethnographic etc objects away from the total number of objects for ethnography, archaeology etc.

73 per cent of all unprovenanced items are ethnographic

There are no archaeology objects from Greenland

A quarter of all ethnographic objects are unprovenanced, and USA is the location of a majority of those items that are provenanced

A large number of unprovenanced items are also not clearly archaeological or ethnographic

[article ID:264]

EVERY North American objects is NOT colonial. If however you take the event of the clear status of Dominion as independence being granted [which took place in 1931] and took Canada as being colonial up to that point then the following would apply

Canada

The total number of objects from North America is 7,381, making the total of non-colonial items to be 6,087 [7,381 minus 1,294]

In other words, even at the most trenchant definition of parts of British Empire, only 18 per cent of the North American collections definitely came from part of the Empire. Please note that the above pie chart was calculated using only those items definitely provenanced to Canada and does not include those items which might have come from there

[article ID:265]

North American classes

[note usual caveat about double-counting between categories as more than one class can be used for a single object]

Agriculture -   55

Animalia - 99

Animal Gear - 16

Bag -   195 

Barkcloth -   6 

Basketry -   276 

Body Art -   29 

Box -   50 

Carving - 8 

Ceremonial - 281 

Children - 90 

Clothing - 404 

Commemoration - 3

Cordage - 69 

Currency - 363 

Dance -   76 

Death -   172 

Dwelling - 19 

Fan - 3 

Figure -   481 

Fire -   71 

Fishing - 297 

Food -   354 

Furniture Dwelling - 46 

Geology -   50 

Headhunting - 0

Hunting -   329 

Insignia -   15 

Lighting -   44 

Lock -   0 

Marriage - 9 

Mask -   39 

Measurement - 8 

Medicine - 74 

Metallurgy - 11 

Model -   243 

Music - 309 

Narcotic - 184 

Navigation -   168 

Ornament & bead - 586

Photograph -   112 

Physical Anthropology - 72

Picture -   56 

Plant - 181 

Pottery - 958 

Punishment and  

Torture - 3

Religion -   406 

Reproduction - 54 

Scientific Apparatus - 0

Signal - 0 

Specimen - 355 

Sport -   35 

Status - 31 

Technique - 88 

Textile -  116 

Theatre - 4 

Time -   2 

Toilet - 27 

Tool - 1,798 [tool excluding double counting as weapon = 786]

Toy & Game - 379

Trade -   273 

Transport -   105 

Vessel - 393 

Weapon - 2,916 [weapon excluding double counting as tool = 1,904]

Writing - 31

North American classes in descending order:

Weapon - 2,916 [weapon excluding double counting as tool = 1,904]

Tool - 1,798 [tool excluding double counting as weapon = 786[1]]

Pottery - 958

Ornament & bead - 586

Figure -   481

Religion -   406

Clothing - 404

Vessel - 393

Toy & Game - 379

Currency - 363

Specimen - 355

Food -   354

Hunting -   329

Music - 309

Fishing - 297

Ceremonial - 281

Basketry -   276

Trade -   273

Model -   243

Bag -   195

Narcotic - 184

Plant - 181

Death -   172

Navigation -   168

Textile -  116

Photograph -   112

Transport -   105

Animalia - 99

Children - 90

Technique - 88

Dance -   76

Medicine - 74

Physical Anthropology - 72

Fire -   71

Cordage - 69

Picture -   56

Agriculture -   55

Reproduction - 54

Box -   50

Geology -   50

Furniture Dwelling - 46

Lighting -   44

Mask -   39

Sport -   35

Status - 31

Writing - 31

Body Art -   29

Toilet - 27

Dwelling - 19 

Animal Gear - 16

Insignia -   15

Metallurgy - 11

Marriage - 9

Carving - 8

Measurement - 8

Barkcloth -   6

Theatre - 4

Commemoration - 3

Fan - 3 

Punishment and  

Torture - 3

Time -   2

Headhunting - 0

Lock -   0

Scientific Apparatus - 0

Signal - 0   

North American top 20 classes are substantially different from the global priorities. For a start off two classes appear in the top 10 that don t appear in the global top 10 - toy and game[up from 12th position globally to 9] and currency [up from 17 to 10] and these will be added to the list of classes to be examined for each country [the two that are less common in North America than globally are specimens and Music].

The ranking is also substantially different, Weapons are the number one rather than tools (by quite a margin that increases if one looks solely at definite weapons as tools then slip from position 2 to 3 for North America). Pottery is also the third ranked object swapping places with ornaments and beads. Figures are slightly more common [5 from 6], Clothing [7 from 8], Toy and game and Currency [discussed in the last paragraph], Food [12 from 13], Hunting [13 from 36, a big increase], Fishing [15 from 28 also a big leap but not as large as Hunting], Ceremonial [16 from 27], Trade [18 from 26], Model [from 33 to 19] and Bag [from 38 to 20].

Objects that are less common in the North American collections than globally are: Specimens [9 position globally to 11th], Music [10 to 14], Textile [11 to 25], Death [14 to 23], Box [15 to 39], Narcotics [18 to 21], Writing [19 to over 40], Measurement [20 to over 40]

NB All the figures below, for each country, are for those items that are definitely from the country, there are no class totals for the unprovenanced North American material.

Of the tools 786 definite tools, 519 are stone tools [66 per cent]

Total number of objects from each country :

Definitely Canada: 1,682

Definitely Greenland: 217

Definitely USA: 3,945

Canada classes:

Clothing - 145

Figures - 150

Music - 37

Ornaments and beads ** - 293

Pottery - 235

Religion - 143

Specimens - 31

Tools - 431

Vessels - 67

Weapons - 390

Toy & Game - 166

Currency - 236

In contrast to the general North American picture tools are more common than weapons:

Definite tools- 244

Definite weapons - 203

Tools or weapons - 187

Canada has a very low percentage of tools (nearly half the global figure) even taking into account the larger percentage f objects which are not definitely tools or weapons.

Of the 244 definite tools 157 are stone tools [64 per cent just below the general North American figure]

However the percentage of Canadian objects that are ornaments and beads is much higher.

Greenland classes:

Clothing - 17

Figures - 32

Music - 3

Ornaments and beads ** - 0

Pottery - 1

Religion - 9

Specimens - 21

Tools - 61

Vessels - 10

Weapons - 79

Toy & Game - 18

Currency - 0

Definite tools- 42

Definite weapons - 60

Tools or weapons - 19

Greenland also has more weapons than tools, a higher percentage of weapons and a lower percentage of tools than the global figures

USA classes:

Clothing - 112

Figures - 221

Music - 246

Ornaments and beads ** - 244

Pottery - 719

Religion - 240

Specimens - 177

Tools - 944

Vessels - 304

Weapons - 1,636

Toy & Game - 101

Currency - 119

Definite tools- 420

Definite weapons - 1,112

Tools or weapons - 524

Yet again there is a much higher percentage of weapons from USA and lower percentage of tools. Of the relatively small number of definite tools [420] 329 are stone tools [78 per cent]

Pottery items are 18 per cent of the overall USA collections up to 1945

[article ID:266]

Americas in general:

Field collectors of note:

Beatrice Blackwood - 317

Barbara Freire-Marreco - 450

PRM sources:

Beatrice Blackwood - 333

Barbara Freire-Marreco - 452

Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers - 871

Edward Burnett Tylor / Anna Tylor - 583 [he is named as possible field collector of 203]

Ashmolean Museum - 376

Canada [Definitely Canada: 1,682]

I cannot spot any very significant field collectors or PRM sources apart from the following:

Field collectors:

Charles Harrison - 205

Edmund James Peck - 103

PRM sources:

Tylor - 291

Charles Harrison - 204

Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers - 132

Greenland [Definitely Greenland: 217]

There does not appear to be any particularly significant collectors or donors of Greenland material

USA [Definitely USA: 3,945]

I cannot spot any very significant field collectors or PRM sources apart from the following:

Field collectors:

Blackwood - 271 [7 per cent]

Freire-Marreco - 440 [11 per cent]

PRM sources:

Pitt Rivers - 229

Blackwood - 287

Freire-Marreco - 442

Tylor - 257

ESRC 'Relational Museum'

October 2003

[1] That is, if the definite tools figure was used tools would slip from second to third place after pottery, however there are a significant number of tools or weapons which would not then appear in the list and which are one or the other so I have kept them in all these lists and included the double-counting.