Often most effective for books, especially when used in conjunction with Library of Congress Subject Headings (see below)
This is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records. Updates: Continuous up-to-the-minute as new records are added.
A curated list of books (and articles) selected by scholars on many aspects of Latin American history and culture (art, history, anthropology)
The Oxford Bibliographies help researchers find reliable sources of information selected by experts in the subject. The Latin America module contains recommended sources from a vast range of disciplinary perspectives, including history, literature, sociology, economics, anthropology, and political science. Sources are linked to the library collections.
Sponsored by the libraries of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the University of California, and other partners, HathiTrust is a repository of digitized materials in all disciplines. Its content--primarily scanned books and journals-- may be searched via authors, titles, subjects, and other data elements.
Materials not at Penn State
If Penn State does not have what you need, you can request materials directly from other libraries and have them delivered to Penn State using these databases.
The Center acquires rare items on behalf of member institutions. Items held by CRL are available on loan to Penn State.
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research libraries. The consortium acquires and preserves newspapers, journals, documents, archives, and other traditional and digital resources for research and teaching and makes them available to member institutions through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery.
Subject Headings for Latin American Ethnohistory
For best results in library catalogs such as the CAT and WorldCAT, become familiar with Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Ethnohistory
Ethnoarchaeology
Antiquities
can combine with a country, e.g. Mexico Antiquities
can combine with a cultrual group, e.g. Incas Antiquities
Indians of South America
Indians of Central America
Indians of North America
Ethnology
Specific countries and history, e.g. Mexico History