The Handbook of South American Indians, Vol 4 – The Circum-Caribbean Tribes

Steward, Julian H., The Handbook of South American Indians, Vol 4 – The Circum-Caribbean Tribes, Washington: Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, 1948.

Sections:

1. Central American Cultures
2. The Cultures of Northwest South America
3. The West Indies.

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.[1] 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.[1] 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.