Matthew Williams Stirling

Matthew Williams Stirling (born August 28, 1896 in Salinas , † January 23, 1975 ) was an American ethnologist . He made important contributions to the study of the Jivaro Indians in South America and the culture of the Olmecs in Central America.

Life

Stirling studied anthropology at the University of California . In 1920 he completed his studies and worked at the university until 1921. From 1921 to 1925 Stirling worked at the Smithsonian Institution . In parallel, he obtained a Masters Degree in Anthropology from George Washington University . In 1943 he received his PhD from Tampa University .

In 1923/24 he undertook an excavation on Weedon Island for the Bureau of American Ethnology , in the summer of 1924 excavations followed in various villages of the Arikaree in South Dakota . In 1931/32 he took part in Donald C. Beatty's expedition to Ecuador and did research there on the Jivaro .

Films from Stirling

Retained in the Human Studies Film Archive , Suitland, Maryland

• Exploring Hidden Mexico - Documented excavations in La Venta and Cerro de las Mesas.
• Hunting Prehistory on Panama's Unknown North Coast - Documents the 1952 excavations of the sites in Northern Panama .
• Aboriginal Darien: Past and Present - Documented the flora, fauna, and ethnography of parts of Panama on a trip in 1954.
• On the Trail of Prehistoric America - Documents a research expedition to Ecuador in 1957, along with brief ethnographic footage of the Colorado Indians.
• Mexico in Fiesta Masks
• Uncovering an Ancient Mexican Temple
• Exploring Panama's Prehistoric Past
• Uncovering Mexico's Forgotten Treasures

bibliography

• America's First Settlers, the Indians National Geographic, 1937
• Great Stone Faces of the Mexican Jungle National Geographic, 1940
• An Initial Series from Tres Zapotes Mexican Archeology Series, National Geographic, 1942
• Origin myth of Acoma and other records BAE Bulletin 135, 1942
• Finding Jewels of Jade in a Mexican Swamp (with Marion Stirling) National Geographic, 1942
• La Venta's Green Stone Tigers National Geographic, 1943
• Stone Monuments of Southern Mexico BAE Bulletin 138, 1943
• The native peoples of New Guinea. Washington, DC The Smithsonian Institution 1943 digitized
• Indians of the Southeastern United States National Geographic, 1946
• On the Trail of La Venta Man National Geographic, 1947
• Haunting Heart of the Everglades / Indians of the Far West (with AH Brown) National Geographic, 1948
• Stone Monuments of the Río Chiquito BAE Bulletin 157, 1955
• Indians of the Americas National Geographic Society, 1955
• The use of the atlatl on Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan BAE Bulletin 173, 1960
• Electronics and Archeology (with F. Rainey and MW Stirling Jr) Expedition Magazine, 1960
• Monumental Sculpture of Southern Veracruz and Tabasco Handbook of Middle American Indians, 1965
• Early History of the Olmec Problem Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, 1967
• Solving the mystery of Mexico's Great Stone Spheres National Geographic, 1969
• Historical and ethnographical material on the Jivaro Indians. Washington: Gov. Print. Off., 1938 (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology; 117)
• An archeological reconnaissance in Southeastern Mexico BAE Bulletin 164
• Tarquí, an early site in Manabí Province, Ecuador (with Marion Stirling) BAE Bulletin 186
• Archaeological notes on Almirante Bay, Panama (with Marion Stirling) BAE Bulletin 191
• Archeology of Taboga, Urabá, and Taboguilla Islands, Panama (with Marion Stirling) BAE Bulletin 191
• El Limón, an early tomb site in Coclé Province Panama (with Marion Stirling) BAE Bulletin 191

Web links

• The Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec
• National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration
• The Latin American Studies' Stirling Page