REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 15 



Several valuable contributions to the collections were received dur- 

 ing- the year. From the Cocopa,Yaki, Yuma, Papago, and other tribes 

 of Sonora, Mexico, and Lower California, Mr. Edward Palmer collected 

 for the Museum objects illustrating the industries of these tribes. Val- 

 uable material was also received from Mr. II. W. Bartlenian, United 

 States legation, Caracas, Venezuela; Prof. Henry II. Giglioli, director 

 of the Royal Zoological Museum, Florence. Italy; Hon. Rouusevelle 

 Wildinan, United States consul at Singapore, India; Prof. I. C. Rus- 

 sell, U. S. Geological Survey; Lieut. G. B. Harber, U. S. Navy, and 

 Mr. J. Walter Fewkes, Cambridge, Mass. The number of specimens 

 received during the year was 2,241, and the number of catalogue entries 

 1,243. 



PREHISTORIC ANTHROPOLOGY. 



The curator, Dr. Thomas Wilson, has continued his investigations of 

 the evidences of the remote antiquity of man in America, and in this 

 connection has made a special study of arrow-heads and spear-heads, or 

 knives. He was called upon to prepare exhibits for the Madrid Exposi- 

 tion and also for the World's Columbian Exposition. 



About 10,000 specimens Mere added to the collections of this depart- 

 ment during the year. The principal collections were received from 

 Edward Palmer; the Royal Zoological Museum, Florence, Italy; the 

 National Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, Florence, Italy; 

 A. C. Carlisle, De Witt Webb, the Bureau of Ethnology, Edward 

 Lovett, Henry Balfour, and others. 



ORIENTAL ANTIQUITIES. 



This section is devoted to biblical archaeology, and to the archaeology, 

 history, languages, arts and religions of the people of western Asia 

 and Egypt, and is under the immediate charge of Dr. Cyrus Adler, as 

 assistant curator. During Dr. Adler's recent visit to the east, in the 

 interests of the World's Columbian Exposition, he obtained several 

 interesting objects. Two carefully made and well-preserved paper 

 molds of a piece of sculpture and a cuneiform inscription from Perse]) 

 olis, have been received through the Department of State, from the 

 Hon. Truxtou Beale, United States minister to Persia. The Telfair 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences of Savannah, Ga., has deposited a 

 portion of the collection of oriental books and manuscripts owned by 

 the late William B. Hodgson. 



GRAPHIC ARTS. 



The most important additions of the year, as reported by Mr. S. R. 

 Koehler, curator, are the illustrations of the half-tone relief screen- 

 process, and of a variety of the photo- aquatint intaglio process. Inter- 

 esting specimens illustrating the advances made in chromo collographic 

 process-work were given by Mr. E. Bierstadt, of New York, and by the 



