North American Ethnology

Dr. Peter Whiteley is Curator of North American Ethnology in the Division of Anthropology here at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Whiteley studies cultures, languages, social systems, and histories, principally in Native North America. He holds a M.A. in Archaeology and Anthropology from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Whiteley's research combines field ethnography and archives: he has conducted three years' fieldwork with the Hopi in northern Arizona, beginning in 1980, and archival research across North America and Europe. Other research focuses on Haudenosaunee in New York and Canada, Hupa in northwestern California, the New Mexico Pueblos, and Coast Salish in Washington State. He has published several volumes and numerous articles, especially on the Hopi. He works directly on behalf of Native American communities also, notably regarding land and other resource rights. His research also includes cross-cultural analysis, in particular with colleague Dr. Ward Wheeler (Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, AMNH), focusing on historical relationships and evolution of languages, cultures, and human populations (to date, Uto-Aztecan and Bantu).

Research Bantu Research Phylogenetic methods offer a promising advance for the historical study of language and cultural relationships. Applications to date,... Research Hopi Research In 1980, Peter Whiteley began fieldwork with the Hopi of northern Arizona. After having spent time as an undergraduate traveling... Research Crow-Omaha Kinship Systems Out of Dr. Whiteley’s research on the relationship between matrilineal kinship, Hopi ritual sodalities, and the Orayvi Split... Research Uto-Aztecan Research In collaboration with the Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Dr. Ward Wheeler, Dr. Whiteley has been studying historical relationships... Research Diary of Francisco Garcés The 1775-1776 diary of Spanish explorer Fray Francisco Garcés traveling from San Xavier del Bac to Hopi, via southern Arizona,... Research Six Nations Research The Cayuga Diaspora: this research is designed to disclose as much as possible about the social and historical processes at work,...   Peter Whiteley's Publications