hcl.harvard.edu

To honor the Peabody Museum’s original focus on New World archaeology and ethnology. we acquired as our 250,000th volume a rare early-18th century work on the various peoples of the Americas.

 In what today we might call a textbook, the anonymous author presents to his German-speaking readers detailed descriptions of the cultures and customs of Native Americans, supplemented with fanciful woodcut drawings.  A selection appears below.

Neu-Eröffnetes Amphi-Thearum. Worinen III, Aus dem Gantzen America all Nationen nach ihrem Habit…. [Newly Inaugurated Amphitheater: Includes, From the Entire American Continent, All Nations According to Their Dress, Presented in Clean Drawings....]  (Erfurt, 1723) 009891272