Anthropology Archives

National Anthropological Archives 

The National Anthropological Archives collects and preserves historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world’s cultures and the history of anthropology. The NAA was formed in 1968, but the foundations of its collections can be traced to the founding of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1879 and early anthropological research at the Smithsonian (as early as 1846). Its collections represent the four fields of anthropology - archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics - and include field-notes, journals, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, maps, and sound recordings created by Smithsonian anthropologists, other preeminent scholars, and Indigenous peoples from around the world. 

Human Studies Film Archives 

The Human Studies Film Archives is devoted to preserving, documenting, and providing access to anthropological moving image materials. The Film Archives officially began its mission in 1975 when, as the National Anthropological Film Center, it initiated a program that both created and collected films of anthropological research interest. The archives promotes the importance of moving image materials as an integral part of the anthropological record related to documentation and research. HSFA collections and resources support research on specific cultures, the development of ethnographic film, and the broad study of visual culture. 

Search Guide

This search guide and information packet includes information about the NAA and HSFA, as well as helpful tips for finding materials using the Smithsonian online catalogs, Collections Search Center and the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA). 

Contact Us

Questions about collections in the National Anthropological Archives? Contact the archivists at naa@si.edu or call 301-238-1310.

Questions about the collections in the Human Studies Film Archives? Contact the archivists at hsfa@si.edu.