Part I: Physical Anthropology, Shields and armour

See here for introduction to Pitt-Rivers series.

In the 1877 catalogue of the Pitt-Rivers' displays at Bethnal Green Museum are listed a number of series of objects on display. As visitors were expected to use the catalogue as a display aide it can be assumed that the order of objects must match the objects position within the series. See the catalogue for the full catalogue description of the object and the Databases section of this website to find out what information is now available about the same object (search using the accession number).

It is interesting to note that the items do not appear always in the plates illustrating the catalogue in the same order that they appear textually. This may have been for practical reasons or may reflect some changes in relative position temporally?

The items that say 'Not in founding collection' indicate items that have not been accessioned yet into the founding collection. Between 1998 when the first Leverhulme Trust funded Pitt Rivers project ended and March 2011 a number of objects which had previously been unmatchable from the catalogue have now been found unentered in the Museum or its stores and details can now be matched. It is to be supposed that most of the other items marked 'not in founding collection' will also eventually be found and accessioned into the Pitt Rivers Museum as part of the founding collection.

Typical human skulls and hair of different races

Case 1 East Wall

1. Skull of human foetus 1884.86.6
2. Cast of Negritic skull Not in founding collection
3. Cast of Tartar skull Not in founding collection
4. Cast of Neanderthal (Elberfeld) skull Not in founding collection
5. Cast of Engis skull Not in founding collection
6. Skull [Australian] Not in founding collection
7. Skull [Australian] Not in founding collection
8. Skull [Ethiopian] Not in founding collection
9. Skull [Ethiopian] Not in founding collection
10. Skull [North American Indian] Not in founding collection
11. Skull [Californian Indian] Not in founding collection
12. Skull [Patagonian Indian] Not in founding collection
13. Skull [New Zealander] Not in founding collection
14. Skull [Chinese] Not in founding collection
15. Skull [Romano-British] 1884.140.36
16. Skull [Anglo-Saxon] Not in founding collection
17. Skull [Highdown Hill, Sussex] 1884.140.149
18. Skull [Irish] ?1884.140.237
19. Skull [Modern Irish] Not in founding collection
20. Skull [Holyhead] 1884.140.150
21. Skull [English] Not in founding collection, probably the skull which is held by Oxford University Museum OUM 17718
22. Skull [English] Not in founding collection
23. Skull [Vancouver Island] 1884.86.4
24. Skull [Vancouver Island] 1884.86.2
25. Skull [Peruvian] 1884.86.7
26. Skull [Peruvian] 1884.86.9
27. Cast of head [Lap/ Swede] Not in founding collection
28. Cast of head [Lap / Fin] Not in founding collection
29. Head [Xebaroe [Shuar]] 1884.115.2
30. Head [Sloth] 1884.115.1
31. Specimens of Africa Negro hair Not in founding collection
32. Specimens of Papuan hair 1884.106.24-29
33. Specimens of hair [Papuan, New Guinea, Australian] 1884.106.24-29
34. Hair [New Caledonia] 1884.106.30 and 31
35. Hair [New Zealander] Not in founding collection
36. Hair [W. coast S. America] 1884.106.36, 37, 39
37. Hair [NW coast N. America] 1884.106.38
38. Hair [Malay] 1884.106.32
39. Hair [Mummy Palmyra] 1884.106.40
40. Specimens of hair [English family] Not in founding collection
41. Skeleton monkey foot Not in founding collection
42 Skeleton human foot Not in founding collection
43 Hand of chimpanzee. Not in founding collection

See here for more information about some of the above objects.

Defensive Armour, shields

Screen 2 East Wall Australian heileman or shield

44. Parrying shield 1884.30.3. 
44a. Parrying shield 1884.30.53
45. Parrying shield 1884.30.4
46. Parrying shield 1884.30.5
47. Parrying shield 1884.30.6 Figure 3 in illustration
48. Parrying shield 1884.30.7
49. Shield 1884.30.8
50. Shield 1884.30.9
51. Shield 1884.30.10
52. Shield 1884.30.11
53. Shield 1884.30.12
54. Shield 1884.63.1
55. Shield 1884.30.13
56. Shield 1884.30.14
57. Shield 1884.30.16
58. Shield 1884.30.17
59. Shield 1884.30.18
60. Shield 1884.30.20

Screen 2 East Wall
Parrying sticks and shields, Africa

61. Parrying shield, Dinka 1884.30.21
62. Facsimile Parrying shield, East Africa 1884.30.22
63. Facsimile Parrying shield, Mundo 1884.30.23. Figure 2 in illustration
64. Facsimile Parrying shield, Ancient Egyptian 1884.30.24 Figure 4 in illustration
65. Parrying shield, South Africa 1884.30.35
66. Shield, Gabon 1884.30.34
67. Shield, Gabon 1884.30.32 Figure 5 in illustration
68. Shield, Azande 1884.30.33

Screen 2 East Wall
Parrying shields of double antelopes' horns, India

69. Parrying shield, India 1884.30.25
70. Parrying shield, India 1884.30.26
71. Parrying shield, India 1884.30.27
72. Crutch, India 1884.58.56

Screen 2 East Wall
Long narrow shields from the Asiatic Isles

73. Parrying shield, Molucca Islands 1884.30.28
74. Parrying shield, Molucca Islands 1884.30.29
75. Parrying shield, Molucca Islands 1884.30.30
76. Parrying shield, Molucca Islands 1884.30.31
77. Shield, Dayak, Borneo 1884.30.36
78. Shield, Dayak, Borneo 1884.30.37
79. Shield, Ysabel 1884.140.8
79a. Shield, Ysabel  1884.140.9

Note: With regard to the objects on Screen 2 please note that a previous research project identified all these shields, provided the full catalogue descriptions and modern descriptions, photographed, measured and discussed all these shields. Please see here and follow the link to 'Shields and weapons' on the left hand side to start. This website was created by Alison Petch and Sandra Dudley in 1998-9.

Screen 3 East Wall
European Shields

80. Shield umbo Anglo Saxon 1884.30.52
81. Shield umbo Anglo Saxon 1884.30.53
82. Shield boss Early English 1884.30.54
83. Shield buckler Not in founding collection
84. Italian Buckler Not in founding collection
85. Buckler Not in founding collection
86. Archer's shield Not in founding collection
87. Buckler Not in founding collection
88. Brass shield 1884.30.50

East Wall
Circular Shields from various localities

89. Shield Conibo 1884.30.63
90. Shield N. America 1884.30.64
91. Shield India 1884.30.49
92. Chinese Shield 1884.30.46
93. India Shield 1884.30.48
94. ?Ethiopian Shield 1884.30.61
95. Nubian Shield 1884.30.57
96. Somali Shield 1884.30.62
97. Zanzibar Shield 1884.30.58
98. Zanzibar Shield 1884.30.59

Body Armour

Screen 4 East Wall Body Armour

99 Egyptian breastplate 1884.31.1
100 Kings Mill Armour 1884.32.31, 1884.31.37
101 Beringt Armour 1884.31.24
102 Brass Armour 1884.31.25
103 Japanese Armour 1884.31.40
104 Japanese Armour 1884.31.30
105 Japanese Armour 1884.31.31
106 Japanese Armour 1884.31.32
107 Chinese Armour 1884.31.27-29
108 English Armour 1884.31.43
109 English Armour 1884.31.44
110 Italian Armour 1884.31.42
111 Austrian Armour 1884.31.22
112 Moghul Armour 1884.31.20
113 Polygar Armour 1884.32.19 1-4
114 Jannissary Armour 1884.32.31.17-18 ?1884.31.16
115 Japanese Armour 1884.32.1
116 Chain Armour 1884.31.41.1
117 Pikeman Armour 1884.31.9-11
118 17th century Armour 1884.31.5-6
119 17th century Armour 1884.31.8
120 Burgonet skull cap Not in founding collection
121 Helmet 1884.32.2
122 German morion 1884.32.6
123 Gorgets 1884.31.13
124 Waistcoat 1884.31.12
125 Modern English Armour 1884.31.21

North Arch
Head-dresses and Helmets from different localities

126 Giraffe head helmet 1884.32.22
127 Helmet Gabon 1884.32.23
128 Helmet Gabon 1884.32.28
129 Helmet Nuer 1884.32.3
130 Helmet India 1884.32.5
131 Helmet Moghul 1884.32.4
132 Helmet Sandwich Islands 1884.32.21
133 Helmet Assam 1884.32.32
134 Helmet Assam 1884.32.33
135 Palm leaf hat 1884.91.7
136 Helmet Etruscan 1884.32.15
137 Helmet Bronze 1884.32.16
138 Etruscan girdle 1884.119.629

See here for Part II

The illustration is Plate I of the catalogue. In addition to the objects marked above it shows:

Figure 1a: A club then in Salisbury Museum, presented by M.H. Marsh. The sketch was taken with the permission of E.J. Stevens (see here for more information about Salisbury Museum)
Figure 1b: was in Exeter Museum, no further details
Figure 6: illustration from Meyrick's Ancient Armour vol ii pl cxlvi figs 8 & 9
Figure 7: Boutell's Arms and Armour fig 61 page 269 

AP, First Leverhulme Trust funded Pitt-Rivers project 1995-8 and March 2011