Regional overview: South America

South America has been one of the strongest areas of recent collecting activity by the Museum. Early collections include prints by missionary Andrew Pride in the Gran Chaco (c.1900) and Charles Kroehle in Peru (c.1890). Recent acquisitions have included extensive and significant field archives, such as that of ethnobiologist Darrell Posey in Brazil (1980s), anthropologist Peter Rivière in Brazil and Surinam (1960s and 70s), Brian Moser and Donald Tayler in Colombia (1960–1), and Jonathan Ambache and Richard Saumarez Smith in the same country (1965).

Two children

Two Kayapó boys, Gorotire, Brazil, by Darrell Posey, 1980s. PRM 2001.82.1957

Our work with the Kayapó on the Darrell Posey photograph and manuscript collection

The Museum is working with scholars and Kayapó community members on research and education outcomes centred on an important collection of Kayapó photographs and documents made by the ethnobiologist Darrell Posey in the 1980s. In 2020 a former collaborator of Darrell's, Payakã, spoke to researcher Elaine Elisabetsky about the importance of the collection to the community and the need for more research and educational resources based on it. If you would like to help support this project, please do get in touch.

 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/748778792

Payakã on the Darrell Posey collection (2020) from Pitt Rivers Museum on Vimeo.