George Hubbard Pepper (February 2, 1873 – May 13, 1924) was an American ethnologist and archaeologist. He worked on projects in New York, the Southwest and, most notably, the

Nacoochee Mound The Nacoochee Mound (Smithsonian trinomial 9WH3) is an archaeological site on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in White County, in the northeast part of the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia State Route 17 and Georgia State Route 75 have a ju ...

in northeastern Georgia. His work with

Frederick W. Hodge Frederick Webb Hodge (October 28, 1864 – September 28, 1956) was an American editor, anthropologist, archaeologist, and historian. Born in England, he immigrated at the age of seven with his family to Washington, DC. He was educated at America ...

was sponsored by the Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian, and the Bureau of American Ethnology (now part of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Biography

He was born in

Tottenville, Staten Island Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...

, New York. Pepper conducted fieldwork starting in 1893, including archaeological digs at

Burial Ridge Ward's Point is the southernmost point in the U.S. state of New York and lies within Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the mouth of Arthur Kill, across from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, at the head of Raritan Bay. The sit ...

, the largest pre-European burial ground in New York City. In 1895, he was contracted by the American Museum of Natural History in New York to continue his work at the site located in the Tottenville section of Staten Island. From 1896 to 1900, Pepper led the excavation of the

Pueblo Bonito Pueblo Bonito (Spanish for ''beautiful town'') is the largest and best-known great house in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, northern New Mexico. It was built by the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied the structure between AD 828 and 1126 ...

great house in

Chaco Canyon Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a concentration of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote c ...

, New Mexico. His work there was supported by brothers B. Talbot Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. of New York City and the American Museum of Natural History, New York. In 1915, Pepper he traveled to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to explore the

in the state's historic

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

region, on an excavation sponsored by the Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian and Bureau of American Ethnology. He conducted it with

, in what is considered the first scientific archeological excavation in the state. They found an assortment of graves, including stone box graves; artifacts, and evidence of two villages associated with the platform mound, built in the Mississippian culture period. In 1918, George Gustave Heye, Hodge, and Pepper published their findings as ''The Nacoochee Mound Report'' (scanned copy available at the Internet Archive). Pepper later returned to New York. He died at

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The f ...

on May 13, 1924.

References

George Hubbard Pepper Photograph Collection, 1895–1918
at siris-archives.si.edu
Chaco Research ArchiveGeorge Hubbard Pepper Collection
at Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology American archaeologists 1873 births 1924 deaths People associated with the American Museum of Natural History People from Tottenville, Staten Island {{US-archaeologist-stub