Collection includes personal papers, professional papers, publications, field notes, slides and negatives relating to the career of Luther Cressman (1897-1994), an anthropologist and University of Oregon professor who focused on prehistoric man in Oregon.
Repository:
University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
Funding for encoding this finding
aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Luther Sheeleigh Cressman was born on October 24, 1897 outside of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He began his education at Pennsylvania State University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1918 majoring in the Classics and minoring in English poetry. He later studied at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University simultaneously. By 1925 he had been ordained an Episcopalian priest, received his Ph.D. in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology and had married Margaret Mead. In 1927 Margaret Mead met another man and asked for a divorce. The following year he married his life-long wife Dorothy Loch. In 1927 Cressman renounced the ministry and in 1929 took a position as Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon. Six years later his anthropological research became extensive enough to found the Department of Anthropology. Luther Cressman remained chair of the department from 1935 to his retirement in 1963.
Luther Cressman is known for many accomplishments throughout his career. He helped to organize the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural History and was the founding director of the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology. He is most known for his discovery of the sagebrush bark sandals at Fort Rock in 1938. The sandals were radiocarbon dated from 10,500 to 9,300 years old. In 1950 he founded the Oregon Coast Prehistory Program based on his interest in the prehistoric man and his migrations through Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Cressman’s major publications include A Golden Journey, Klamath Prehistory, and Prehistory of the Far West. Among his other numerous accomplishments were a Guggenheim Fellowship, the John Alsop King Fellowship, and the Charles E. Johnson Memorial Award. He continued to be active in his writing and research until his death in 1994.
Content Description
The Luther Cressman Papers, which span the years 1930-1990, consist of papers, field journals, publications, negatives, and photographs all relating to his work as an anthropologist. The collection documents his years as a professor at the University of Oregon, his involvement with other organizations, and his work after retirement. Many documents in the collection pertain to his research at Fort Rock where he discovered the sagebrush sandals considered to be the oldest known sandals in the world. The material from this research includes correspondence, publications, field notes and slides and photographs. The collection is organized into six series: personal papers, professional papers, publications, field notes, negatives and photographs, and index citation cards.
The Personal Papers series is arranged into two subseries: correspondence and Margaret Mead. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by general subject and contains incoming and outgoing letters. Researchers will be particularly interested in the Margaret Mead papers, which include media surrounding the controversy over her research in Samoa and an editorial Cressman presented in response.
The Professional Papers series is arranged into seven subseries: correspondence, Fort Rock, John Day Association, National Science Foundation, University of Oregon papers, general papers, and reference articles. The correspondence is organized into two parts, the first alphabetically by name and the second part is general correspondence arranged chronologically. The Fort Rock Cave subseries is especially interesting as this is where Cressman discovered the 9,000 year-old sandals.
The Publication series is arranged into six subseries: A Golden Journey, Klamath Prehistory, Prehistory of the Far West, minor publications, speeches, and publications about Cressman. The first three contain correspondence about publication and working and final drafts of the manuscripts. The publications about Cressman contain newspaper articles written about Luther Cressman.
The Field Notes series is arranged chronologically and contains expense books, notebooks, and loose papers from his field research. The Catlow Caves field book from 1937 has extensive research information regarding his excavations.
The Negatives and Photographs series is arranged into four subseries: negatives and photograph keys, mixed media, negatives, and photographs. The negatives are organized into three different categories: roman numeral, numbered, and general. These are especially interesting and relevant to his fieldwork. The index cards in boxes 17 and 18 provide information about the first two categories of negatives. The other negatives lack descriptions and are labeled as general. They are ordered numerically by a system used before the negatives were donated. The mixed media contains a film showing Luther Cressman’s memorial service and audiotapes.
The Index Citation Cards series is arranged first by author and then by state. These cards contain information about reference articles and research locations.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Collection is open to the public, but selected files are closed due to confidentiality of student records.
Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use :
Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the
Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The
reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation :
[Identification of item], Luther Cressman Papers, UA 005, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
The collection is organized into the following series:
Series I: Personal Papers
Subseries A: Correspondence
Subseries B: Margaret Mead
Series II: Professional Papers
Subseries A: Correspondence
Subseries B: Fort Rock
Subseries C: John Day Association
Subseries D: National Science Foundation
Subseries E: University of Oregon Papers
Subseries F: General Papers
Subseries G: Reference Articles
Series III: Publications
Subseries A: A Golden Journey
Subseries B: Klamath Prehistory
Subseries C: Prehistory of the Far West
Subseries D: Minor Publications
Subseries E: Speeches
Subseries F: Publications about Luther Cressman
Series IV: Field Notes
Series V: Negatives and Photographs
Subseries A: Negatives and Photograph Keys
Subseries B: Mixed Media
Subseries C: Negatives
Subseries D: Photographs
Series VI: Index Citation Cards
Subseries A: By Author
Subseries B: By State
Processing Note :
Collection processed by Keisha Janney and Emily Hartsfield.
Separated Materials :
Photographs in this collection are stored separately under call number PH344.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
