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Origin of Primitive Man in America exhibit label, Vernal, UT, circa 1948

Subject
Native American Life
Card type
Other
Date
c. 1948 (Chrome)
Front of Origin of Primitive Man in America exhibit label, Vernal, UT, circa 1948, Utah Field House of Natural History, UT, USA, c. 1948 other postcard
Front
Back of Origin of Primitive Man in America exhibit label, Vernal, UT, circa 1948, Utah Field House of Natural History, UT, USA, c. 1948 other postcard
Back

About this postcard

An exhibit label titled "Origin of Primitive Man in America" from the Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah, presents a mid-20th-century account of how people first reached the Americas. It states that primitive man came from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and that repeated invasions of Asiatic stock produced the variation seen among American Indians, with "long-heads" followed by Mongoloid "broadhead" types. The label reflects the racial typologies then common in museum interpretation, now outdated, and shows how natural history museums of the period framed human migration and American Indian origins.

Postcard Details

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PublisherUtah Field House of Natural History
ORIGIN OF PRIMITIVE MAN IN AMERICA IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT PRIMITIVE MAN CAME TO AMERICA FROM ASIA MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO BY WAY OF THE BERING STRAIT. EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT AMERICA'S EARLY INHABI- TANTS ORIGINATED FROM REPEATED INVASIONS OF ASIATIC STOCK. FIRST, CAME THE "LONG-HEADS," WHO POSSESSED SOME AUSTRALOID, NEGROID AND MEDITER- RANEAN ELEMENTS. LATER, FOLLOWED MONGOLOID "BROADHEAD" TYPES. INTERMIXTURE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER MIGRATION PRODUCED THE VARIATION WHICH WE OBSERVE IN OUR AMERICAN INDIAN.
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Postcard record

PublisherUtah Field House of Natural History
SeriesX-1664
ConditionVery good
Place mentionedUtah Field House of Natural History, Vernal, UT
NotesWhite border; plain printed text card with a ruled border and 'SOUVENIR' designation; small artist signature 'Osborn' with stock number '9X-1664' at lower right. No postmark. Unused divided-back photo post card with Kodak paper stamp box ('Kodak / PLACE STAMP HERE / Paper'); no address or message written, only a dealer pencil mark '#59 / 1-' in the lower right corner. Light surface soiling.

Cite this card

Origin of Primitive Man in America exhibit label, Vernal, UT, circa 1948, postcard, c. 1948. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/origin-of-primitive-man-in-america-exhibit-label-vernal-ut-c. Accessed November 2, 2026.