He was a survivor of a violently disrupted Native California.

The Recordings Captured A Voice That Could Otherwise Have Disappeared

The most extraordinary archive connected with Ishi does not show his face.

It preserves his voice.

Between 1911 and 1914, anthropologists recorded Ishi on 148 wax cylinders.

He sang songs, told stories, and spoke in Yahi.

The surviving recordings total more than five hours.

More than a century later, the Library of Congress added the Ishi recordings to the National Recording Registry.

The significance is difficult to overstate.

Photographs can preserve appearance.