Copies of Board for Anthropological Research data cards, 1923-1937.

Archive Collections / Dr Joseph Benjamin Birdsell / Series AA689/09 / Copies of Board for Anthropological Research data cards, 1923-1937.

THIS ITEM CONTAINS RESTRICTED MATERIAL
These item contains copies of the anthropological data cards recorded during expeditions by the Board for Anthropological Research (BAR, see AA 346).

In the first instance the original BAR anthropological cards should be consulted, as in most cases the copies are incomplete in their data and may not contain the complete sequence of cards..

Several different types of anthropological cards were made over the years, for details of the contents of the cards refer to BAR (see AA 346/4). Many of these cards contain the following types of information: [an individual's subject] Number; Native name; European name; Sex; Age; Date; Locality; Tribe; Totem; Anthropological Measurements and physical observations. The reverse of the card contains the following information: relationships, physical indices and observational notes.

Note that within any given series the amount of data recorded varies from card to card.

Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological data cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of copies of these photographs. Where there is a corresponding copy of sociological photographs in the Birdsell collection these have been noted.

  1. 'South Australian Natives' data cards.
    Cards are numbered: SA1-SA16; SA unnumbered [one card]; SR1- SR3 [Swan Reach]; PP1-PP7 [Point Pearce]. This item contains a total of 34 cards, 33 data cards and a one title card. Date Range: September 1923 - July 1936. These copies are incomplete sets of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/2-5).

  2. Expedition A, Mount Eba, South Australia, 1923.
    Cards are numbered: A1-A10. This item contains a total of 12 cards, 10 data cards, an index and one title card. There is also a typed page with handwritten annotations outlining the BAR expeditions from Macumba 1926 to the Australia wide Harvard Adelaide Expedition in 1938-39. This is a complete copy made from the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/6).

  3. Expedition B, Ooldea, South Australia, 1926.
    Cards are numbered: B1-B32. This item contains a total of 33 cards, 32 data cards, 1 title card and 7 small pages of handwritten notes by Birdsell. This is a complete copy made from the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/7).

  4. Expedition C, Macumba, South Australia and Alice Springs, Northern Territory 1926-1927.
    Cards are numbered: C1-C64. This item contains a total of 65 cards, 64 data cards and 1 title card. This is a complete copy made from the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/8).

  5. Expedition D, Koonibba, South Australia, 1928.
    Cards are numbered: D1-D59. The cards: D26-D28, D30, D35-D49, are missing from the Birdsell set but are in the BAR set. This item contains a total of 44 cards, 43 data cards and 1 title card. This is an incomplete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/9). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/1).

  6. Expedition E, Hermannsburg, Northern Territory, 1929.
    Cards are numbered: E1-E100. Card E38 is missing from both the BAR and Birdsell data cards. This item contains a total of 100 cards, 99 data cards and 1 title card. This is an incomplete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/10). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/1).

  7. Expedition to MacDonald Downs, Northern Territory, 1930.
    Cards are numbered: F1-F61. This item contains a total of 62 cards, 61 data cards and 1 title card. This is a complete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/12). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/1).

  8. Expedition to Cockatoo Creek, Northern Territory, 1931.
    Cards are numbered: G1-G80. This item contains a total of 81 cards, 80 data cards and 1 title card. This is a complete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/13). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/2).

  9. Expedition to Mount Liebig, Northern Territory, 1932.
    Cards are numbered: H1-H72. This item contains a total of 73 cards, 72 data cards and 1 title card. This is an incomplete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/14). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/2).

  10. Expedition to Mann Range and Ernabella, South Australia, 1933.
    Cards are numbered: I1-I190. This item contains a total of 191 cards, 190 data cards and 1 title card. This is a complete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/15). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/3).

  11. Expedition to Diamantina, South Australia, 1934.
    Cards are numbered: J1-J49. This item contains a total of 91 cards, 90 data cards and 1 title card. There are two different anthropological cards for each individual. These copies were made from the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/16). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/3).

  12. Expedition to Warburton Range, Western Australia, 1935.
    Cards are numbered: K1-K54. This item contains a total of 109 cards, 108 data cards and 1 title card. There are two different anthropological cards for each individual. This is a complete copy of the original BAR data cards anthropometric (see AA 346/4/17). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/4).

  13. Expedition to The Granites, Northern Territory, 1936.
    Cards are numbered: L1-L46. This item contains a total of 67 cards, 66 data cards and 1 title card. Some individuals have two different anthropological cards. This is a complete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/18). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/4).

  14. Expedition to Nepabunna, South Australia, 1937.
    Cards are numbered: M1-M10. The individual of the subject number M5 was not measured, there is no anthropological card in BAR or the Birdsell data cards. This item contains a total of 19 cards, 18 data cards and 1 title card. This is a complete copy of the original BAR anthropological data cards (see AA 346/4/19). Individual subject photographs were taken for the BAR sociological cards. The Birdsell collection contains an incomplete set of sociological photographs (see AA 689/4/1/4).

CreatorDr Joseph Benjamin Birdsell
ControlAA 689/9/2-15
Date Range1923  -  1954
Quantity 17.5cm,   14   sets of data cards 20.5 x 12.7 cm in box
Series AA689/09