REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF PREHISTORIC ANTHROPOLOGY 



IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1!! ,!, » 



By Thomas Wilson, Honorary Curator. 



The general character of the work for the year ending June 30, 1880, 

 has been much the same as in former years, although there have been 

 changes and much extra work. Implements of the usual character 

 have been received and have been examined, classified, arranged, en- 

 tered and numbered, as formerly. To this customary routine were the 

 added duties incident to the Cincinnati Exposition (whicli opened July 4, 

 1888, and closed November 15, 1888), the investigation of paleolithic 

 implements and of rude notched axeis, and other matters, involving a 

 great increase of the clerical work of the office. The number of imple- 

 ments received, to be catalogued and displayed, has been largely in- 

 creased, and likewise the number of objects sent for examiuatiou and 

 report. 



The reception of three hundred new trays during the year gave an 

 opportunity long desired, to place specimens in trays instead of loosely 

 upon the shelves and bottoms of the cases. In November 1888, the 

 work of repainting the trays and cases was begun, requiring the re- 

 moval and changing of position from case to case of every tray and 

 specimen in the entire collection. This work has been continued until 

 the present time. It is now almost finished. 



During the last two and a half months of the year, carpenters and 

 laborers have been at work putting new shelves in the cases, wherever 

 possible, to utilize vacant space (this work is not completed); placing 

 shelves in the window-seats for the reception of the stone images from 

 Central America and the West Indies, twenty of which are thus dis- 

 played; and placing casters under the tall upright cases, seventeen 

 of whicli are thus arranged. This has been preparatory to the pro- 

 posed re-arrangenient of the cases in the Museum, placing four rows 

 of cases instead of three, as before, and making three aisles, one of 

 which is the center, instead of four aisles as heretofore. By this ar- 

 rangement much space is gained. The cases which before approached 

 the center of the hall, and so nearly covered it, are now retired towards 

 either cud of the hall, leaving a large space in the center which affords 

 room for rearrangement and better display of the Pueblo village mod- 

 els and the Mexican architectural sculptures (Lorillard and Abadiauo 



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