World-Renowned Melanesian Archive Turns 30

Donald Tuzin with Arapesh people of Ilahita Village during his first fieldwork in Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s. The other photos need captions (attached) as well. On May 1, the UC San Diego Libraries will present an exhibit of materials in Geisel Library from its world-renowned Melanesian Archive, a unique archive of materials on the people, cultures, history and languages of Papua New Guinea and other island countries of the southwestern Pacific. Papua New Guinea is considered one of the world's most culturally, linguistically, and geographically diverse places on earth, with more than 800 languages spoken and terrain ranging from glaciers to coastal lowlands. The archive, which features the personal papers of some of the world's most prominent anthropologists and linguists who have worked in the region, includes a variety of native art, as well as photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, sound recordings, and film and video. Along with the exhibit, the Libraries will hold a symposium on May 9 to mark the 30-year anniversary with the renaming of the archive for UC San Diego anthropologist Donald Tuzin. The symposium, Melanesian Anthropology: Archival Perspectives , will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Seuss Room in Geisel Library and will be followed by a reception.