This series can be broken down into five major subseries. The first subseries, AA 689/3/1/1 to AA 689/3/1/59, comprises of correspondence from NB Tindale (see AA 338) to JB Birdsell. The date range for this group is from 21 August 1940 to 24 December 1989.

The second subseries, AA 689/3/2/1 to AA 689/3/2/17, comprises of correspondence from JB Birdsell to NB Tindale. The date range for this group is from 5 August 1976 to 5 April 1983.

The third subseries, AA 689/3/3/1 to AA 689/3/3/10, comprises of correspondence from JB Birdsell to various individuals. The date range for this group is from 7 November 1952 to 28 April 1993.

The fourth subseries, AA 689/3/4/1 to AA 689/3/4/25, comprises of correspondence from various individuals to JB Birdsell. The date range for this group is from 23 February 1953 to 11 June 1992.

The fifth subseries, AA 689/3/5/1 to AA 689/3/5/54, comprises of correspondence from RT Simmons and JJ Graydon to JB Birdsell which is primarily concerned with the testing and results of blood samples collected during the University of California Los Angeles expedition of 1952-1954 and several joint research papers. The date range for this group is from 28 January 1947 to 14 January 1974.

Australian Aboriginal groups have been cross referenced with the 'Tindale tribe' index which links to the Catalogue in Tindale's 1974 publication Aboriginal tribes of Australia, their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits and proper names.