LibGuides: Anthropology: Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

What is a Primary Source?
After completing this interactive tutorial, you will know what a primary source is and be able to identify primary sources based on your research topic.

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CSUN Special Collections and Archives

Special Collections & Archives is home to CSUN's rare book and periodical collections, as well as its archival and manuscript collections. Archival and manuscript collections can consist of many different kinds of materials, including correspondence, diaries, maps, university records, organizational records, photographs, and audio or video recordings. See Special Collections and Archives for more information about starting your research in Special Collections and Archives.

Find Data

Library databases:

Data Planet A statistical data repository contains more than 35 billion data points from 70+ source organizations. Census results, business data, health metrics, political science data and more are included in over 4.9 billion datasets presented in charts, maps, graphs, and table form, via multiple points of entry.

Around the web:

Explore Census Data (Population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the U.S. Census.)
Archaeology Data Service (ADS)
Open access repository for archaeological research and data.
Journal of Open Archaeology Data
Open access repository of data papers, "which do not contain research results but rather a concise description of a dataset, and where to find it."

Find Archival Materials

ArchiveGrid
Includes "over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more."
CALISPHERE
Calisphere provides free access to unique and historically important California related artifacts for research, teaching, and curious exploration. Discover over one million photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more.
CSUN Special Collections & Archives
Special Collections & Archives is the home of CSUN's rare book and periodical collections, as well as its archival and manuscript collections. Archival and manuscript collections can consist of many different kinds of materials, including correspondence, diaries, maps, university records, organizational records, photographs, and audio or video recordings.
Directory of Anthropological Archives Ordered by Institution
From the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR), includes lists of archives, websites about anthropologists, and resources for anthropologists.
Guide to Anthropological Fieldnotes and Manuscripts in Archival Repositories
Also from CoPAR, "this continually revised guide provides the location of more than 850 collections of ethnographic fieldnotes and manuscripts in non-Smithsonian archives."
Map Collection at the CSUN University Library
The University Library Map Collection at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) holds a research-level collection of approximately 400,000 historical and government maps, aerial photographs, atlases, and geospatial data that support research on campus.
National Anthropological Archives (Smithsonian)
"Collect[s] and preserve[s] historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world's cultures and the history of anthropology."
Online Archive of California (OAC)
Provides descriptions of primary source collections (artwork, manuscripts, papers, historic photographs, etc.) maintained by more than 200 libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies and museums throughout California.