Research Guides: Anthropology Research Guide: Online Sources

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Online Sources

Recommended sites about anthropology.

The American Folklife Center (Library of Congress)
"The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to "preserve and present American folklife" through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibitions, publications, and training. Designated by the U.S. Congress as the national center for folklife documentation and research, the American Folklife Center continues to collect and document living traditional culture, while preserving for the future its unparalleled collections in the state-of-the-art preservation facilities of the Library of Congress."
The Archaeology Channel
"The Archaeology Channel (TAC) is a streaming media website brought to you by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI). ALI is a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing and bringing attention to the human cultural heritage, by using media in the most efficient and effective ways possible."
CIA World Factbook
"The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map."
Handbook on Ethical Issues in Anthropology
"Edited by Joan Cassell and Sue-Ellen Jacobs a special publication of the American Anthropological Association number 23." Includes case studies in anthropological ethics.
Open Anthropology
An open access, public journal of the American Anthropological Association

Links to online museums and exhibits.

American Museum of Natural History: Anthropology
"Established in 1873, only four years after the Museum's founding, the Division [of Anthropology] has acquired over 500,000 objects representing the peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands. As one of the oldest departments of anthropology in the United States, our collections and archives are important resources for the history and continuing work of our discipline."
CAS Anthropology Collections Database (California Academy of Sciences)
"The permanent research collection of the Department of Anthropology comprises approximately 16,000 objects, most of which are ethnographic. These pieces originate from around the globe, documenting the diversity of human cultures and the ways in which we humans have adapted to Earth's varying environments. ... The database includes digital images of the entire collection."
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (University of Michigan)
"The Museum of Anthropological Archaeology is a research and collection museum within the College of Literature, Science and the Arts focused on the study of humanity's past. Since its founding in 1922, the Museum has been dedicated to research, teaching, and the curation of anthropological collections from around the globe."
National Anthropological Archives (Smithsonian Institution)
"The National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives collect and preserve historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world's cultures and the history of anthropology. Their collections represent the four fields of anthropology – ethnology, linguistics, archaeology, and physical anthropology – and include fieldnotes, journals, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, maps, sound recordings, film and video created by Smithsonian anthropologists and other preeminent scholars."
National Museum of the American Indian
"A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego."
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University
"From towering Native American totem poles and large Maya sculptures to precious artifacts of the ancient world, the Peabody Museum is among the oldest anthropology museums in the world. Founded in 1866 by George Peabody, the museum has one of the finest collections of human cultural history found anywhere."
Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford)
"The Pitt Rivers Museum displays archaeological and ethnographic objects from all parts of the world and all time periods. It is truly a global museum. The museum is also a teaching and research institution and the curators are also university lecturers in either cultural anthropology or prehistoric archaeology."
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology
"Founded in 1887, the Penn Museum has always been one of the world’s great archaeology and anthropology research museums, and the largest university museum in the United States. With roughly one million objects in our care, the Penn Museum encapsulates and illustrates the human story: who we are and where we came from."

Anthropology-related associations and organizations.

American Academy of Forensic Sciences
"The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is a multi-disciplinary professional organization that provides leadership to advance science and its application to the legal system. The objectives of the Academy are to promote professionalism, integrity, competency, education, foster research, improve practice, and encourage collaboration in the forensic sciences."
American Anthropological Association
"The American Anthropological Association is the world’s largest association for professional anthropologists, with more than 10,000 members. Based in Washington, D.C., the Association was founded in 1902, and covers all four main fields of anthropology (cultural anthropology, biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology)."
American Association of Physical Anthropologists
"The AAPA is the world's leading professional organization for physical anthropologists. Formed by 83 charter members in 1930, the AAPA now has an international membership of over 1,700."
American Board of Forensic Anthropology
"The American Board of Forensic Anthropology was incorporated in 1977 as a non-profit organization to provide, in the public interest and the advancement of science, a program of certification in forensic anthropology."
American Ethnological Society
"The American Ethnological Society is the oldest professional anthropological organization in the United States. Founded in 1842 to encourage emerging anthropological research on human cultures."
Archaeological Institute of America
"The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology."
Royal Anthropological Institute
"The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world's longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense."
Society for American Archaeology
"The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an international organization dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas."
Society for Applied Anthropology
"The Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) was founded in 1941 to promote the investigation of the principles of human behavior and the application of these principles to contemporary issues and problems."
Society for Medical Anthropology
"The Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA), formed in 1967 and incorporated into the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in 1971, is dedicated to the profession and practice of medical anthropology, which uses concepts and methods from anthropology to produce new understandings of health, disease, illness, treatment, and care."
World Council of Anthropological Associations
"The World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA) is a network of national, regional and international associations that aims to promote worldwide communication and cooperation in anthropology."

Alternative search engines. Useful for locating specific types of sources.

CiteSeer^x
"CiteSeer^x is an evolving scientific literature digital library and search engine that has focused primarily on the literature in computer and information science."
Congress.gov
"Presented by the Library of Congress, Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information."
FDsys (Federal Digital System)
"GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government."
Google Images
Image search from Google - either text-based or reverse image.
Google News
A news aggregator
Science.gov
"Science.gov searches over 60 databases and over 2,200 scientific websites to provide users with access to more than 200 million pages of authoritative federal science information including research and development results."
TinEye Reverse Image Search
Reverse image search - upload an image or provide a URL to an image's online location.
USA.gov
"USA.gov is an interagency product administered by USAGov (formerly the Federal Citizen Information Center), a division of the U.S. General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Service. Our mission is to create and organize timely, needed government information and services and make them accessible anytime, anywhere, via your channel of choice."
WolframAlpha
"Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers—not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods."
Want to have fun? Look what the response is to the question "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"