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 Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainlan ...

, 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 ...

's adopted daughter Nellie Custis 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). Mason worked closely with

George Brown Goode George Brown Goode (February 13, 1851 – September 6, 1896), was an American ichthyologist and museum administrator. He graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University. Early life and family George Brown Goode was born Februa ...

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 to the newly created

Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

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 The Midway Plaisance, known locally as the Midway, is a public park on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its west end and Jackson Park ...

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 in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

. As part of his curation work at the Smithsonian, Mason developed the culture area concept. Mason was anthropological editor of the ''

American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance t ...

'' and of the ''Standard Dictionary''. He believed in

Gustav Klemm Gustav Friedrich Klemm (12 November 1802, in Chemnitz – 26 August 1867, in Dresden) was a German anthropologist and librarian. He spent much of his career as the Director of the Royal Library in Dresden. The British Museum The British ...

'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