The Handbook of South American Indians is a monographic series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in ethnographic studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution between 1940 and 1947.
In 1932, Baron Erland Nordenskiöld agreed to edit the series for the National Research Council Division of Anthropology and Psychology; however, he died that year. The Smithsonian Institution agreed to sponsor the series but adequate funds were not approved by US Congress until 1940. Julian Steward edited the series. Ultimately, over a hundred scholars from Latin America, the United States, and Europe contributed and provided advice for the series.
This six-volume series, with an additional index volume, documents information about Indigenous peoples of South America, including cultural and physical aspects of the people, language family, history, and prehistory. This is a reference work for historians, anthropologists, other scholars, and the general reader. The series utilizes noted authorities for each topic. The set is illustrated, indexed, and has extensive bibliographies. Volumes may be purchased individually.
Paul Radin reviewed the first four volumes, generally giving a favorable evaluation, but noting that the volumes are a "compromise between a handbook and a textbook." Radin criticizes the relative neglect of religion as a topic, as well as the neglect of functional aspects of indigenous cultures. He highly praises the inclusion of the cultures of the indigenous in the Southern Cone, which is new in the anthropological literature. He also esteems the article on Andean civilizations, while deeming the volume on the circum-Caribbean groups the weakest.
Bibliographic information
Handbook of South American Indians / Julian H. Steward, General Editor. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1940-1947.
Volume 1: The Marginal Tribes
Sections
Indians of Southern South America
Indians of the Gran Chaco
The Indians of Eastern Brazil
Volume 2: The Andean Civilizations
Volume 3: The Tropical Forest Tribes
Sections
The Coastal and Amazonian Tupi
The Tribes of Mato Grosso and Eastern Bolivia
Tribes of the Montana and Bolivian East Andes
Tribes of the western Amazon Basin
Tribes of the Guianas and the Left Amazon Tributaries
Volume 4: The Circum-Caribbean Tribes
Sections
Central American Cultures
The Cultures of Northwest South America
The West Indies
Volume 5: The Comparative Ethnology of South American Indians
Sections
A Cross-Cultural Survey of South American Indian Tribes
Jesuit Missions in South America
The Native Populations of South America
South American Cultures: An Interpretative Summary
Volume 6: Physical Anthropology, Linguistics and Cultural Geography of South American Indians
Sections
Ancient Man
Physical Anthropology
The languages of South American Indians
Geography and Plant and Animal Resources
Volume 7: Index
See also
Handbook of North American Indians
Handbook of Middle American Indians
List of indigenous peoples of South America
Notes
External links
Volume 1: The Marginal Tribes., online at Biodiversity Heritage Library
Volume 2: The Andean Civilizations., BHL
Volume 3: The Tropical Forest Tribes., BHL
Volume 4: The Circum-Caribbean Tribes., BHL
Volume 5: The Comparative Ethnology of South American Indians., BHL
Volume 6: Physical Anthropology, Linguistics and Cultural Geography of South American Indians., BHL Volume 7: Index., BHL