Stanley Field, Acting Director Orr Goodson, and the entire staff of 

 the Department of Anthropology were present to welcome the guests 

 and to explain the exhibits. 



The first section deals with the Indian civilizations as the white 

 men found them about 1492. The technique employed for present- 

 ing archaeological materials in this hall is different from any pre- 

 viously used in this department. Here the visitor will find to his 

 delight that good lighting, liberal use of gay colors harmoniously 

 and tastefully blended, and practically no labels, make for attractive 

 displays of the few specimens. 



There will be three sections in the hall, when it has been 

 completed : 



1. "Indian America," the New World civilizations as the white 

 man found them (now completed and opened). 



2. The New World civilizations as they were in the thousands 

 of years preceding Columbus. This section will exhibit the main 

 accomplishments of the Peruvians, Mayas, Aztecs, and Pueblos, as 

 well as those of the Indians of the Mississippi Valley and the rest of 

 North America. It will also show the chronological order and the 

 sequence of these civilizations from approximately the year 1492 

 back to the earliest evidence of man in the New World — or about 

 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. The task of presenting these subjects 

 will be carried out by means of dioramas and a limited number of 

 specimens tastefully arranged to illustrate use. This section was 

 opened late in the year although not completed. 



3. Techniques: how stone, bone and metal tools, pottery, baskets, 

 and clothing were made and used ; how archaeologists find, excavate, 

 and date ancient ruins; and finally, how archaeologists collect and 

 interpret information such as is assembled in Section 2. 



The exhibits in Section 1 of this hall deal with a series of important 

 culture traits arranged to show their forms and their spatial distri- 

 bution over North, Central, and South America. Specifically we 

 take up the following subjects: (1) Where we obtain some of our 

 knowledge concerning the customs of the Indians; (2) architecture 

 (houses and temples); (3) travel and transport; (4) clothing; (5) 

 decorative art; (6) economy — agriculture, tobacco, hunting and 

 fishing, pottery, weaving and textiles, and metal work; (8) a chart 

 showing why some Indian civilizations are rated higher than others; 

 and (9) writing. 



Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Mrs. Anne Spoehr, and Dr. Martin 

 formulated many of the ideas used in Hall B, and together they 



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