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Anthropology: Specialized Databases

An overview of the databases, online catalogs , topical research collections and websites that cover one or more of the subdisciplines of anthropology

Specialized Databases

  • ABZU: Guide To Resources For The Study Of the Ancient Near East Available on the Internet - Sponsored by the Research Archives of the Oriental Institute of Chicago since 1994, this site provides access to the increasing amount of data on the web dealing with the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and other lands of the region. Useful features are listings of relevant journals which have electronic editions (some full text), online library catalogs, museum collections, and an index by archaeological site name.
  • Archaeological Data Service Digital Library - Based in Great Britain, this set of 350,000 records from 15 countries, providing detailed maps showing the relative archaeological activity and records for specific regions. Searches available by place and site name. Datasets accessible cover dating, artifact collections, and texts. Digital Archives from excavation and fieldwork - the full text of a British publication on "the best way to create and document digital materials produced in the course of fieldwork and to preserve it. . .for future use." Very useful as a practical guide for field archaeology.
  • Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C, from the Mediterranean to the Indus - This colorful site was created as a supplement to the exhibit of the same name presented at the Metropolitan Museum in 2003. Some two dozen examples of Third Millennium B.C. art from an area stretching from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean across Iran and Central Asia to the Indus Valley are presented, some in more than one section. The artifacts are arranged by eight themes ranging from masterpieces such as the famous Standard of Ur, through cities, their rulers and the gods to writing systems, seals and styles of clothing and personal dress.
  • Bibliography of Dendrochronology ( not updated after 2013)
  • Darwin Correspondence Project
  • Ethnologue: Languages of the World - Ethnologue is a catalog of more than 6,700 languages spoken in 228 countries. This database is produced by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, an organization that conducts research on both written and unwritten languages and whose goal is to promote cross-cultural communication and develop usable literature in the form of dictionaries, grammars, and Bible translations.
  • GenBank - Sequence data on the human and other genomes.
  • I Love Languages - More than 2400 web-based resources related to language and literature - the linguistics section is most applicable to anthropology.
  • National Anthropological Archives & Human Studies Film Archives - Housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the NAA site lists anthropological correspondence, papers, photos, film, works of art, and artifacts available, for study by appointment at the Smithsonian Institution.
  • National Archaeological Database,  - Born out of a congressional directory "to improve access to archaeological activities nationwide." This site contains 240,000 reports on archaeological planning and investigation, mostly of limited circulation. The full-text of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is available here as well.
  • Primate Info Net - Housed at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center in Madison, this site offers links to homepages of primate study centers, wildlife sanctuaries, and scientific societies involved with primatology.
  • UCSC Genome Bioinformatics

Subject Guide

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Robert Ridinger
Contact:
268A Founders Memorial Library, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL 6015-2868.