NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 7 



evaluated list of anthropologists, but was extended to include other 

 disciplines as well as nonprofessionals. A mimeographed form was 

 devised (Appendix B2) which emphasized the specific Pacific Islands 

 with which the individual was familiar, the documentary or illustra- 

 tive materials which he possessed, the languages which he knew, and 

 his proficiency in them. Each individual was asked whether he would 

 be willing to fill out a follow-up, specific-knowledge report, or be will- 

 ing to be interviewed. He was also asked to supply the names of 

 others who might have valuable experience and knowledge of the Pa- 

 cific. This questionnaire form, considerably simplified, was adopted 

 later by the Ethnogeographic Board in building up its own roster. 



The assembled personnel data were mimeographed in six install- 

 ments entitled : "Personnel List of Oceania," and turned over to the 

 Ethnogeographic Board for distribution. Later, the committee sent 

 out a follow-up questionnaire asking for detailed information on 

 geography and peoples of the Pacific (Appendix B3). 



The chairman of the Oceania committee, George Peter Murdock, 

 was also the director of the Cross-Cultural Survey at Yale so that 

 the activities of the two organizations were linked. The Survey had 

 been engaged for many years in getting published data on the primitive 

 tribes of the world, and in processing and filing them systematically. 

 When the war started the Survey approach was enlarged to include 

 more than the primitive and strictly anthropological, and the efl:"orts 

 of the staff were concentrated on the Pacific Islands, particularly 

 Micronesia. Together, the committee and the Survey prepared a num- 

 ber of factual accounts about specific islands and island groups which 

 again were distributed by the Ethnogeographic Board and this col- 

 laboration continued even after the Survey was taken over by the 

 Navy. On the whole, the Oceania committee deserves great credit in 

 furnishing materials and setting patterns of procedure for the Board, 



Committee on African Anthropology 



Shortly after the Oceania committee was established a similar 

 one on Africa was appointed by the National Research Council. This 

 group built up "The Personnel List of Africa" which was mimeo- 

 graphed in six installments and distributed by the Ethnogeographic 

 Board. The Africa committee worked on a tribal bibliography, a 

 tribal location index, and sought out native informants in this coun- 

 try for use in an intensive language study. The Africa committee 

 was also an important contributor to the Board. 



