Filename arc.aker_findingaid.pdf

Guide to the R.B. Aker Document Collection

Author, Date MA, 2007

Encoder, Date CB, CO, 2007

Creator of Collection, Birth-Death Dates R.B. Aker, 1915-1992

Collection Dates 1940s – 1980s

Accession Number 402.1988

Repository Archaeological Research Center, Biodiversity Institute The University of 1340 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7550 Telephone: 785.864.4245 Fax: 785.864.5243 URL: http://www.arc.ku.edu/

Abstract: A guide to the archaeological artifacts and documentation of the R.B. Aker collection, which was collected primarily in Platte County, , and is now housed at the University of Kansas Archaeological Research Center.

Access Restrictions: Prior notification is required. Contact the ARC staff to arrange for access to requested materials.

Use Restrictions ARC staff may determine use restrictions dependent upon the physical condition of manuscript materials. Researchers may be required to use photocopies.

Extent 1 documents box

Dimensions Box size: 5” x 12” x 11”

Associated Records Correspondence, field notes, site maps, manuscripts, artifact inventory

Biographical Name R.B. Aker

Biographical Note As a boy growing up in Parkville, Missouri (a town just north of Kansas City in Platte County), R.B. Aker developed an interest in prehistoric Indian artifacts that he found in nearby farm fields. His interest grew over the years and he began to record the locations of archaeological sites, collect materials from the surfaces of recently plowed fields, and assist professionals from the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas in excavations. Mr. Aker’s persistence in learning professional standards and his diligence in collecting from the same site over a period of years, even during construction activities that subsequently destroyed the site, resulted in the accumulation of a sizeable and well documented collection from over 50 archaeological sites representative of 10,000 years of human occupation. Most of the artifacts were collected from sites recorded within an area about one mile wide and about 35 miles long on the east side of the from Parkville to St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1988, Mr. Aker donated his extensive collection to the University of Kansas.

Scope and Contents Primarily artifacts, with little associated documentation, field notes, or photographs. Tools, vessels, implements, and ornamentation that are representative of Hopewellian and Mississippian periods, as well as Paleoindian and Archaic occupations in the region. Documentation includes field notes, maps, manuscripts, and correspondence.

The collection is divided into two series:

Series 1: Artifacts (x drawers)

Bone artifacts, reconstructed ceramic vessels, diagnostic stone tools, clay pipes, ground stone implements.

Series 2: Documents (1 box)

Hand drawn maps, field notes, site lists, manuscripts, interview manuscript, and correspondence of museum curator with third parties pertaining to collection.

Related Material The R.B. Aker Collection: A Significant Collection for Future Research along the Lower Missouri River Region in Northwest Missouri, Rose F. Estep. Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly, 1993, 10(2):12-17.

Nebraska Phase Burials in Northwest Missouri: A Study of Three Localities, Jim D. Feagins. In Kansas City Area Archaeology: the Last 1000 Years, edited by Robert T. Bray. The Missouri Archaeologist, 1991, 49: 41- 56.

R.B. Aker and the Archaeology of the Kansas City Area: A Personal Perspective, Jim D. Feagins. Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly, 1993, 10(1):12-17. Watson Library, Call Number: E77.8 .M45x.

Archaic prehistory on the prairie-plains border, University of Kansas Publications in Anthropology #12, Alfred E. Johnson, University of Kansas, Watson Library, Call Number: E78.M67 A73.

Hopewellian archaeology in the lower Missouri river valley, edited by Alfred E. Johnson, University of Kansas, Kenneth Spencer Library (Kansas Collection), Call Number: RH D6677, Watson Library, Call Number: E78.M82 H66.

Kansas City Hopewell activities at the Deister Site, University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology Research Series #1, Susanna Katz, University of Kansas, Watson Library, Call Number: E78.M8 K37.

Kansas City Hopewell activities: a trail formation. Thesis (Ph.D.) – University of Kansas, Anthropology, 1972. Susanna Katz, University of Kansas, Anschutz and Watson Libraries, Call Numbers: Anschutz Thesis 1972 K158, Watson Thesis 1972 K158.

Missouri Archaeological Society research series #2, #5, #9, Missouri Archaeological Society, University of Kansas, Watson Library, Call Number: E77.8.M5.

Subject Terms Plains Archaic Period / Nebo Hill Phase / Nebraska Phase / / Steed-Kisker Phase / Burial sites / villages

Geographic Locations Buchanan County, MO / Platte County, MO / Holt County, MO / Morgan County, MO /Leary Site, NE /

Personal Names Feagins, Jim / Johnson, Alfred

Acquisition Information Donated in 1988 by R.B. Aker.

Custodial History Personal papers and original documents created and maintained by R.B. Aker.

Inventory

Series 1: Artifacts

Please see artifact inventory

Series 2: Documents

Maps, field notes, correspondence, site lists, and manuscripts.

Box 1

Folder 1 - Map, original and photocopy

Folder 2 - Map, original and photocopy

Folder 3 – Map, original and photocopy

Folder 4 – Map, original and photocopy

Folder 5 – Map, original and photocopy

Folder 6 – Map and field notes, original

Folder 7 – Manuscript

Folder 8 – Bound fieldnote transcriptions

Folder 9 – Bound fieldnote transcriptions

Folder 10 – Field notes, original

Folder 11– Bound field notes, photocopy

Folder 12 – Bound field notes, original of folder 9

Folder 13 – Field notes, originals

Folder 14 – field notes, originals

Folder 15 – Maps, originals

Folder 16 – Site lists, originals

Folder 17 – Site lists and descriptions, originals

Folder 18 – Original photo log

Folder 19 – Correspondence, photocopies

Folder 20 – Correspondence, originals

Folder 21 – Temporary inventory, photocopies

Folder 22 – Correspondence, originals and photocopies

Folder 23 – Manuscript, interview with R.B. Aker by Jim Feagins, originals