I have been working at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia on a collection
of Native American crania which we have declared (in accordance with
NAGPRA regulations) as culturally unidentifiable.  There are about 60
individuals represented in this collection.  Of these, many have written
on them the initials "F.C.A.R." and a number underneath.  This is not a
part of the Mutter cataloging system, but represents some older, unknown
collection.  Although we have only 60 skulls, these FCAR numbers reach
into three digits--obviously the skulls were part of a larger collection
at one time.
        Does anyone know what these initials may represent?  The donors
were George J. Engelmann and Adolphus Wislizenus who recovered most of the
crania from cysts near French Village, Illinois around the middle of the
19th century.  AW was involved with the Missouri Historical Society and it
is my guess that these were originally part of some Midwestern collection
before being presented to the Mutter (especially since no one in Philly
has recognized these initials so far).
        If I can tie these remains to another collection with more
detailed records, it may be possible to update our information to
positively identify them and notify the appropriate tribe(s).
        Anyone with info/ideas/suggestionss