Collections

Jeffrey R. Parsons was Curator of Latin American Archaeology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He was a professor at the same institution for over forty years starting in 1966 and carried out extensive research on settlement patterns in the basin of Mexico, in Peru, and in many other countries. Parsons is known for his role in the development of systematic settlement survey methods in archaeology, a methodology which has become common in archaeological work around the world. Material includes papers, maps, site surveys, photo negatives, aerial photographs and digital scans of the negatives.

The Jeffrey R. Parsons papers document the archaeologist's research in the Basin of Mexico, his work at the University of Michigan as professor, Curator of Latin American Archaeology, and Director of the Museum of Anthropology, and his work with colleagues and institutions around the world. Materials date from 1960 to 2009 while the bulk of it is from 1966 to 1973. The majority is related to his fieldwork in the Valley of Mexico and includes paper, photographic material, maps, and documentation about materials collected as part of the surveys, such as information on ceramic sherds. The collection is arranged in nine series: Personal Files, Correspondence 1966-2005, Archaeological Sites and Projects, Topical Files, Publications, Student Years, Visual Materials Series, and Maps.

Environmental, population control, and immigration reform advocate; organization and litigation files relating to his various interests and activities; includes correspondence, legal documents, memos, topical files, and miscellaneous photographs.

The papers of Dr. John Tanton consist of materials documenting his work as a political and environmental activist from 1960 through the 2000s. The portion of the collection open without restriction is divided into the following series: Personal/Biographical; Population and Immigration Organizations and Issues; Conservation Organizations and Issues; Topical Files and Activities; Correspondence; Politics and Government; and Social Issues. The portion of the collection closed to research until 2035 includes the continuation of several series: Correspondence; Personal/Biographical; Population and Immigration Organizations and Issues; Conservation Organizations and Issues; and one new series, Public Interest Organizations and Issues.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive (SAAF), the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art (ACSAA) Collection. The collection contains photographs and slides of Southeast Asian monuments, sculptures, Indian rock-cut architecture, and more.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven smaller collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive, the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art Collection (ACSAA). The Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive contains photographs, collected by John Adams Thierry, that document sculptures, monuments, and archaeological sites in Cambodia, Java, and Thailand. Many of these sculptures and monuments were vandalized, damaged, insensitively restored, or destroyed. The Breezewood Collection focuses on the art and architecture of Thailand, but also includes examples of sculptures, decorative arts, ceramics, and paintings from Burma, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia. The Ajanta Caves Collection contains the research work of Walter Spink and photographically documents 29 of the 31 rock-cut caves. The photographs range from panoramic views of the Ajanta complex to detailed photographs of the façades, porches, courts, shrines, and interiors. The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection further documents the research of Walter Spink by looking at rock-cut architecture of other caves throughout India, including Aurangabad, Badami, Bagh, Bedse, Bhaja, Elephanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and others. The Walter Spink Collection contains additional research of the rock-cut architecture of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. The Borobudur Collection documents the Buddhist monument of Borobudur, found in Central Java, in detail. The last collection is the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection. This collection contains a wide array of materials depicting Southern Asian art and architecture.