Collection M 149:
 Al and Alice Lancaster papers inventory

Years this material was created: circa 1863-1993
Quantity: 10 linear shelf feet (13 document cases and 3 oversize flat boxes)

Links to contents

Introduction/ Scope and contents

This collection contains family papers, photographs, genealogical records, scrapbooks, plaques, awards, honorary certificates, monographs, published and unpublished reports, brochures, periodicals, articles, and other printed materials, posters and maps pertaining to archaeology of the Southwest and related topics, and the burial flag and guest registration books from Mr. Lancaster's funeral service.  It also includes ephemera, such as lapel pins, badges, and medals.  The Center's curatorial section has tools/items used and/or worn by "Al" Lancaster while doing field archaeology.

Administrative information

Acquisition of this collection:  The heirs of Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster donated the collection to the Center of Southwest Studies by deed of gift on June 12, 1996 (accession 1996:06004). The gift (including a library of approximately 350 volumes of books, inventoried separately) was appraised by Gary Matlock, as documented by his letter dated September 29, 1995 to the Director of the Southwest Studies Center.  The family's gift also included a Navajo weaving (SWT112) that was woven of handspun wool in about 1962 in the Wide Ruins (Chambers, Ariz.) area.

About the organization of this collection:  The series and boxes are numbered consecutively.  Because we do not expect to add to this collection, the boxes are numbered in one single numbering scheme starting with 1.  Arrangement within each series is chronological by the date of the creation of the document.

Processing information:  This collection was arranged and described by Linda Baker and other Fort Lewis College student archival workers under the supervision of Fort Lewis College archivist Todd Ellison.  Archival Assistant Meredith Provera finished the arrangement and produced the folder list and series descriptions in the fall of 2007.  Two records boxes of personal family items that either were duplicates or lacked long-term historical research value and a small wooden chest (smaller than a records box) were returned to the family on November 1, 2007 -- the 15th anniversary of the death of Al Lancaster.

Related collections:

• Collection M 214: Robert and Florence Lister papers. 
• Collection P 055: Robert and Florence Lister photographs.  Approximately 300 photoprints pertaining to the archaeology of the Southwest and other areas, many of them taken by Robert Lister.
• Collection U 004, recording #140, oral history interview with Alice Lancaster, July 16, 1990 (30 minutes), transcribed (LancasterAlice.trn.doc, 14 pages).  Listen to this recording online at  http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/MP3/FLCu004140.mp3
• Book at Delaney Southwest Research Library: Archeological excavations in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 1950, by James A. Lancaster [and others].  Washington, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1954.
• Pathfinder #8: Archaeological work in the Four Corners region of the Southwest:  a partial guide to special collections holdings at the Southwest Studies Center. (Click here for a one-page summary list of Southwest archaeological collections at the Delaney Library, in PDF file format.)

Added entry terms:
Archaeology--Colorado
Archaeologists--Colorado
Lancaster, James A.

Series/ box contents overview:

Series 1: Al and Alice Lancaster personal documents, 1863-1992, 48 folders in 5 legal-size document cases, and 2 oversized boxes.  Further arranged in 3 sub-series: awards, correspondence and family records. Oversized documents are located at the end of the series.  Includes plaques.

Series 2: Al Lancaster archaeological documents, 1921-1982, in 72 folders in 4 legal-size boxes.  Arranged by archaeological site names.

Series 3: Al and Alice Lancaster photographs, 1934-1989, 46 folders in 4 letter-size document cases.  Sub-series are: archaeological photographs and family photographs.  Archaeological photos are arranged alphabetically by site name.  Oversize family photographs are in Sub-series 1.5.

Series 4: Al and Alice Lancaster oversize items, circa 1962-1993, 5 items in 1 large flat box.  Includes a poster, a certificate, and artwork and photography.

Biographical note

J. A. "Al" Lancaster was a distinguished archaeologist with a long association with Mesa Verde and the National Park Service. His wife was a noted pioneer of the Southwest region.  The following is a brief biographical description, in the University of Colorado award in 1977 that honored Mr. Lancaster for his contributions in archaeological work.

Folder inventory