Otis Tufton Mason, Ph.D., LL.D. (April 10, 1838 – November 5, 1908) was an American

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

and

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

curator. Mason was born at Eastport, Maine, the son of John and Rachel Mason. In 1850, the Masons purchased Woodlawn Plantation, the former home of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's adopted daughter

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and her descendants. Otis Mason gave a portion of the property in 1872 to establish the Woodlawn Baptist Church, and preached there for the first four years, until a minister was appointed. He graduated from

Columbian University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presid ...

in 1861, then worked there for 23 years, as principal of the college's preparatory school (1861–84). He first became affiliated with the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1872, working as a collaborator in ethnology. This in 1884 turned into a full-time position as curator. The Smithsonian had recently built its first purpose-built museum building, the U.S. National Museum building (or

Arts and Industries Building The Arts and Industries Building is the second oldest (after The Castle) of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Initially named the National Museum, it was built to provide the Smithsonian with its first proper facil ...

). Mason worked closely with George Brown Goode in the installation and reorganization of the museum collections that came with the move into that new building. In 1879 he was one of the founders of the Anthropological Society of Washington, and authored its constitution. In 1890 Mason was appointed by

President Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pre ...

to the newly created Board on Geographic Names in Executive Order No. 28, representing the

. In 1893 he with

Frederic Ward Putnam Frederic Ward Putnam (April 16, 1839 – August 14, 1915) was an American anthropologist and biologist. Biography Putnam was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of Ebenezer (1797–1876) and Elizabeth (Appleton) Putnam. After leavin ...

, head of Harvard’s Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, and

Sol Bloom Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...

oversaw the cultural and anthropological display of the Midway Plaisance at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

. As part of his curation work at the Smithsonian, Mason developed the culture area concept. Mason was anthropological editor of the '' American Naturalist'' and of the ''Standard Dictionary''. He believed in Gustav Klemm's step-wise evolution of cultures and that technology was a marker of a culture's stage of development.

Selected publications

*Otis Tufton Mason, "Aboriginal American basketry: studies in a textile art without machinery," ''Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1902, Report of the U.S. National Museum'', Part II (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), pp. 171–548. *Otis Tufton Mason, ''The Origins of Invention: A Study of Industry Among Primitives Peoples'' (London: W. Scott, Ltd., 1895). *Otis Tufton Mason, '' Summaries of Progress in Anthropology; Woman's Share in Primitive Culture'' (New York, D. Appleton and company 1894).

References

External links

*
Register to the Papers of Otis Tufton Mason
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Otis Tufton People from Eastport, Maine 1838 births 1908 deaths American non-fiction writers American curators American anthropologists American ethnologists Smithsonian Institution people Presidents of the American Folklore Society Historians of weapons