Max Uhle Papers

German-born archaeologist Max Uhle (25 March 1856 – 11 May 1944) received his Ph.D. in medieval Chinese philology from the University of Leipzig in 1880, but in his lifetime, he would come to be known as the "Father of Andean Archaeology." Uhle's most lasting work in the field of Andean archeology was his development of a chronological sequence of the different strata of pre-Columbian and American archaeology. His work in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile established the framework for the chronological periods now recognized and widely-accepted in Andean pre-history studies. From 1881-1888, Uhle worked as a curator at the Königliches Zoologisches und Anthropologisch-Ethnographisches Museum in Dresden. In 1888 Uhle left the Dresden Museum and began working for the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. In 1892, the Berlin Museum sent Uhle to conduct ethnographic, linguistic and archaeological research projects throughout South America, which marked his first experience with field research on the continent.

Beginning in 1895 the Penn Museum took over sponsorship of Uhle's work in Peru from the Berlin Museum. Penn primarily contracted Uhle to continue the work that he had done for the Berlin Museum, particularly his investigation of the prehistory of the Andean highlands and adjacent coast. He was also authorized to conduct ethnographic (especially linguistic) studies and collections of the region. Uhle remained in South America for two years, working mostly in the Lake Titicaca area of Bolivia, around the large site of Tiahuanaco, and then on the coast of Peru, at Ancon and Pachacamac. Uhle's work at Pachacamac is where he made his most substantive and significant contributions to the archaeology of the Andean region. In addition, his excavations yielded some of the Penn Museum's largest collections of ceramics, lithics and organic remains (textiles, wood, basketry, shell, feathers, etc.).

Pachacamac itself is located about 25 miles southeast of Lima, Peru in the Lurin River valley. Chronologically, it spans a period from about 600 A.D. up until the Spanish Conquest. Some of Uhle's most significant findings came from his excavations of the cemeteries surrounding the temple of the Sun at Pachacamac, where he discovered a series of graves containing a wide variety of goods. Through his understanding of the stratigraphy at Pachacamac and his analysis of regional ceramic styles, Uhle was able to establish his chronology of Andean cultures. His observation that the artifacts he found had gradual changes (in design, style, materials) in differing strata signaled that cultural changes were occurring over time.

Uhle fulfilled the remainder of his contract with the Museum in Philadelphia by cataloguing his collections and writing his report on the Pachacamac excavations. He worked closely with his translator, and later wife, Charlotte Dorothee Grosse. In 1900, Uhle transferred to the University of California, Berkley. In 1903, Uhle worked with the museum to publish his volume on the Pachacamac excavations through the University's press. He again worked for the Museum in 1917, when he excavated at Tacna and Arica in Chile, sending both collections and a preliminary report back to the Museum. However, a published report was never produced.

Uhle spent most of his later career either working with the University of California or at the Berlin Museum. Additionally, he took on a number of positions in South America, including general director of the Museo de Historia Nacional in Peru, president of the the Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía in Chile, and chair of Ecuadorian Archaeology at the Universidad Central in Quito, Ecuador. Uhle returned to Germany in 1933 and returned to South America in 1939 with a commission from the German government. In 1942, the Peruvian government forced Uhle from the country and he returned to Germany, where he continued to publish until his death at the age of eighty-eight in 1944.

The material from the two periods of Uhle's Museum work is collected together. Uhle was meticulous about documenting his explorations. He took numerous photographs and wrote back reports/letters regularly to the Museum and kept careful records of the collections he secured, often in duplicate (German and English both), or even triplicate (letter press copies). The English version of the correspondence and lists was frequently then also transcribed into typescript when received at the Museum. The result is a wealth of documentation in the Archives, consisting of the original reports/letters and objects and photo catalogues, as well as their copies. Also present is an extensive photographic collection.

Included in this collection are four boxes of written material, including correspondence, financial records, reports, and catalogues. Correspondence includes both correspondence between Uhle and his contacts at the Museum, as well as correspondence about Uhle. These letters are catalogued chronologically. Following are the copies of the Pachacamac excavation report. These reports are also organized chronologically. Following the reports, there is a single folder of financial records. Catalogues are also organizing chronologically. The catalogues included in this collection include catalogues from Uhle's trips to both Bolivia and Peru, as well as a catalogue of the photographic collection. The final folder in this collection is a series of notes on the collection, written by Uhle himself. The collection continues with a series of photographs, housed with the South American photography collection.

Other Museum archives records related to this collection can be found in the Special Collections Biography Collection. It should be noted that further records exist at the Hearst Museum at the University of California Berkley. Uhle's field notes are housed at the Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv in Berlin.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions:

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Correspondence
• Photographs

Geographic Name(s)

• Andean region
• Pachacamac (Peru)

Personal Name(s)

• Stevenson, Sara Yorke
• Uhle, Max
• W.H. Hutt
• Culin, Stewart

Subject(s)

• University of Pennsylvania. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
• Archaeological expeditions
• Excavations (Archaeology)