FIFTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT 



OF THE 



BUREAU OF AMERICAX ETHNOLOGY 



M. W. Stirling, Chief 



Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the field 

 researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June SO, 1942, conducted in 

 accordance with the act of Congress of April 5, 1941, which provides 

 "* * * for continuing ethnological researches among the American 

 Indians and the natives of Hawaii and the excavation and preservation 

 of archeologic remains. * * *" 



During the fiscal year, the energies of the Bureau have been diverted 

 to an increasing extent to activities concerned with the war effort. In 

 particular, members of the Bureau staff have cooperated with the 

 Ethnogeographic Board, and it is expected that diversion of effort in 

 this direction will increase as the war continues. Activities concerned 

 with Latin America have likewise been emphasized. 



SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES 



M. W. Stirling, Chief of the Bureau, left Washington for Mexico 

 early in April 1942 in continuation of the program of work for the 

 Smithsonian Institution-National Geographic Society archeological 

 project in southern Mexico. A visit of 2 weeks was made to the site 

 of La Venta in Tabasco, w^here Dr. Philip Drucker was conducting 

 excavations on the same project. From La Venta, Mr. Stirling went 

 to Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas in order to attend the archeological 

 conference held under the sponsorship of the Sociedad Mexicana de 

 Antropologia. While in Chiapas opportunity was taken to visit vil- 

 lages of the Zoque, Tzotzil, and Chamula Indians. A trip was also 

 made to the ancient Maya ruins of Palenque, where a week was spent 

 at the site. Mr. Stirling returned to Washington early in June. 



The remainder of the year was spent in Washington administering 

 the affiairs of the Bureau and in the preparation of reports dealing 

 with the work in Mexico. 



Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, devoted the greater part of the 

 fiscal year to digesting and carding the extant materials in the lan- 

 guage of the Timucua Indians of Florida, a language which passed out 

 of existence early in the eighteenth century. He also devoted some, 

 time to the revision of a large general paper on the Indians of North 



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