This collection of memorabilia includes clippings, postcards (one from Marion H. Dickson), a brochure, and an arrow-head (a gift from the site to Murphy D. Smith, who deposited these materials at the APS).

Antonio Leon y Gama, an astronomer sometimes considered the first Mexican archaeologist, provided the first European account of Aztec archaeology. His description of the discovery of the "two stones", Descripcion Histórica y Cronológica de las dos Piedras (Mexico, 1791) -- the Coatlicue and Sun Stone (a massive sacrificial stone and calendar) emphasized the sophistication and high scientific and artistic achievements of the Aztecs, responding to and quickening the stirring of Mexican nationalism. Leon y Gama died in Mexico City on September 12, 1802 William E. Hulings' translation of Leon y Gama's Descripcion Histórica y Cronológica de las dos Piedras reflects the intense early American interest in the archaeological marvels of Aztec Mexico. Made in 1818, the manuscript also includes ethnographic notes on the Aztecs, particularly on Aztec religion, and is divided into three sections with separate pagination: "An historical and chronological description of two stones found under ground, in the great square of the City of Mexico, in the years 1790" (84p.), "Notes to Antonio de Leon y Gama's Work" (19p.), and "Translated from the Diary of Mexico, for Augt. 5th 1806" (3p.).

Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosophical Society was the first learned society in the United States. For over 250 years, the Society has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Society fulfilled the role of a national academy of science, national library and museum, and even patent office. Early members of the Society included Thomas Jefferson, David Rittenhouse, Benjamin Rush, Stephen Peter Du Ponceau, George Washington, and many other figures prominent in American history. The Archives of the American Philosophical Society consists of 192.25 linear feet of material, organized into thirteen record groups dating back to 1743. The Society's archives extensively documents not only the organization's historical development but also its role in American history and the history of science and technology.