International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences

Correspondence and official documentation concerned with International Congresses of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences and the association of the Royal Asiatic Society with the Congresses.

The first International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences was held in London in 1934, though a preliminary conference had been held the previous year in Basel at the invitation of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It had first been muted in 1912 after the London Session of the International Congress of Americanists. The Congress was held every four years in different locations but merged officially with the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences in 1968 which still holds Congresses every five years.

The material was arranged into series according to the year of the conferences for which we hold material.

Open. Please contact the archivist using the email address given here. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

The material is part of the institutional records of the Society from its dealings with other organisations.

This material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2019.

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

These papers were sent and received by the Royal Asiatic Society in the course of its business.

Our Library Collection has a small number of publications related to the Congresses. Details can be found here.