Anthropology Research Guide
Anthropology traditionally includes the subdisciplines of Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Biological or Physical Anthropology, and Anthropological Linguistics. This guide presents some select resources that include most areas. The Queens College Department of Anthropology includes many useful links, especially in the Links section. Other Library resources in education, psychology, or politics, may also prove useful for your research.
Prof. James T. Mellone
Bibliographer for Anthropology
Books
When beginning research, often information found in books can provide good background on a topic. Once you know the basics on your topic search for more published scholarship, such as books, in the CUNY Catalog or other catalogs. See Articles for additional information sources.
Encyclopedias & Guides
- Cultural Anthropology: A guide to reference and information sources (Ref. GN42. J33 2007)
- Excellent annotated guide to print and internet resources.
- Encyclopedia of Anthropology (Ref. GN11. E63 2005, 5 vols.)
- Well illustrated, alphabetical arrangement, all areas of anthropology.
- Encyclopedia of World Cultures Online, 10 vols.
- Organized by geographical regions, this offers a comprehensive, authoritative overview of representative cultures.
- Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Ref. P29. E48 2006, 14 vols.)
- Focus is linguistics, covers topics of interest to anthropology.
- Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory (Ref. GN281 E53 2000, 2nd edition)
- Authoritative one volume work on human evolution.
- Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities (Ref. GN495.4. E63 2005, 3 vols.)
- Convenient, comprehensive.
- Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Ref. E77. G15 1998, 4 vols.)
- Basic encyclopedia, articles written or reviewed by Native Americans or tribal councils.
- Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (Ref. QL7. G7813 2003, 17 vols., 2nd edition)
- Standard zoological reference source for basic information on species. Primates are covered in volume 14, in the section Mammals III.
- Handbook of Middle American Indians. Smithsonian Institution (Ref. F1434 H3, 16 vols.)
Handbook of North American Indians. Smithsonian Institution (Ref. E76.2. H36, multivolumed, in progress.)
Handbook of South American Indians. Smithsonian Institution (Ref. F2229. S75, 7 vols.) - These three handbooks present excellent, authoritative overviews.
- HRAF—Human Relations Area File
- Online keyword and concept-searchable library of information on many cultures. Includes articles, books, dissertations, etc. Excellent for cross cultural studies.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Ref. H41 .I58 2001, 26 vols.)
- The new standard reference work with authoritative essays on all manner of topics in the social sciences including anthropology.
Finding Books
Use library catalogs to find additional books:
- CUNY Catalog
- Search for books at the Queens College libraries, as well as other CUNY libraries. Request books from other CUNY libraries using the CUNY Book Delivery system, CLICS.
- New York Public Library
- Books at the research libraries are non-circulating and must be consulted on site. NYPL has one of the premier research collections in the country and is open to all New York State residents.
- WorldCat (OCLC Catalog)
- Search for books in this national and international catalog. Includes holdings from libraries in other parts of the world, primarily European or English-speaking.
Articles
A journal article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. It documents the resources the writer used by providing bibliographic citations such as footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography so a reader can check or repeat the research the scholar has completed. Here is a comparison between popular and scholarly periodicals.
A scholarly journal is edited by other scholars, and any article published in the journal has usually been approved by the author's peers or by referees (other scholars expert in the subject who may review and critique the article before it is accepted for publication). This is why most scholarly journals are referred to as a Peer-Reviewed or Refereed journals. Here is a comparison between popular and scholarly periodicals. Use the following databases to search for journal articles on a topic. You can use other Databases depending what topic you are researching.
- Abstracts in Anthropology
- Articles in all subdisciplines of anthropology, 2001—Also print, Queens College Library, Reference Index, Table 14, 1970–2008.
- Anthropological Index
- From the Royal Anthropological Institute, Journals of the British Museum, many international, from 1957.
- Annual Review of Anthropology
- Review articles on all subdisciplines of anthropology, lengthy reference lists, from 1970.
- Communications & Mass Media Complete
- Useful for language and culture topics, from the 1990s on.
- General Science Full Text
- Abstracts of scholarly journal articles and science magazine articles.
- JSTOR
- Multidisciplinary: Searchable full text journals. Retrospective, with most recent (usually 3–5 years) absent. Use other databases to retrieve current publications.
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
- Useful for topics in anthropological linguistics, since 1973.
- MEDLINE (EBSCO)
- Comprehensive, from National Library of Medicine. Can be useful for some topics in biological anthropology, from 1960s on.
- PrimateLit Database (Wisconsin Primate Research Center)
- A bibliographic database for primatology. Publication coverage is 1940-2010.
- Science Direct (Elsevier)
- Full-text of scholarly journal articles in the sciences, technology, and medicine.
- Web of Science
- Combines Arts and Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences Citation Indexes, from 1994. Excellent database, searches thousands of important scholarly journals and allows for citation searching.
Websites
- ArchAtlas
- Developing website showing satellite imagery of archaeological sites.
- ArchNet
- Gateway to online information in archaeology.
- Ethnobotany: Native American Plants (University of Michigan)
- Database of plant-derived foods, dyes, drugs, etc., used by Native Americans.
- ETHNOLOGUE
- Encyclopedic catalog of living languages.
- FAMSI: Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies
- Maps, essays, bibliographies on Mesoamerica.
- National Park Service Archeology Program
- Current programs, links to information on specific projects, e.g. Kennewick Man.
- Primate Info Net
- Information about primates from the Wisconsin Primate Research Center including bibliographies, vocalizations, slide shows, and other resources.
Associations, Libraries, & Museums
- American Anthropological Association
- American Association of Physical Anthropologists
- American Museum of Natural History: Division of Anthropology
- American Museum of Natural History: Research Library
- American Society of Primatologists
- Primate Society of Great Britain
- Royal Anthropological Institute
- Society for American Archaeology
- University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Image Database
