HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (August 6, 1840March 18, 1914) was a Swiss and American
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
who particularly explored the indigenous cultures of the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
, Mexico, and South America. He immigrated to the United States with his family as a youth and made his life there, abandoning the family business to study in the new fields of archeology and ethnology. Bandelier National Monument in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
was named for him, as his studies established the significance of this area in the
Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains (, Tewa: ''Tsąmpiye'ip'įn'', Navajo: ''Dził Łizhinii'') are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Moun ...
for archeological and historic preservation of sites of
Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...
dating to two eras from 1150 to 1600 CE.


Life

Bandelier was born in
Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. As a youth, he emigrated to the United States with his family, which settled in Highland, Illinois, a community established by other Swiss immigrants. He labored unhappily in the family business as a young man. He became acquainted with the pioneering anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan of New York, who served as a mentor as Bandelier turned to scholarship. In particular, he undertook
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
and
ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...
work among the Native Americans of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and South America. Beginning his studies in
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
(Mexico),
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, and New Mexico, Bandelier developed as the leading authority on the history of this region. With F. H. Cushing and his successors, he became one of the leading authorities on its
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
civilization, at a time when archeology and ethnology were new fields of study. In 1892, Bandelier left the Southwest to travel and conduct research in
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, and
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, where he continued ethnological, archaeological, and historical investigations. In the first field he was in a part of his work connected with the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition. In the second, he worked in NYC for Henry Villard and for the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
. Bandelier had shown the falsity of various historical
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
s, notably in his conclusions respecting the
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
civilization of Peru. While working at the Pueblo of Isleta (in New Mexico), Bandelier made some long-term friends. They included French-born missionary Father Anton Docher, who had served the Tiwa people since 1891 and was known as the Padre of Isleta. Another was American journalist and writer Charles Fletcher Lummis, who also wrote on ethnology. Lummis traveled with Bandelier for a time in South America, before returning to his base in Los Angeles.


Legacy and honors

* Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico was named for him, as his studies established the significance of this area for understanding ancient indigenous cultures of the Tuyongi canyon. * Bandelier Elementary School in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
was named after him. * Bandelier was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1881.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
Accessed February 26, 2024.


Publications

*
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Annual Reports, 1877, 1878, 1879: ** ''On the Art of War and Mode of Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans'' ** ''On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands and the Customs with respect to Inheritance among the Ancient Mexicans'' ** ''On the Social Organization and Mode of Government of the Ancient Mexicans'' * From the ''Papers'' of the
Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...
, American Series, constituting vols. i.-v.: ** ''Historical Introduction to Studies among the Sedentary Indians of New Mexico, and Report on the Ruins of the Pueblo of Pecos'' (1881) ** ''Report of an Archaeological Tour in Mexico in 1881'' (1884) ** ''Final Report of Investigations among the Indians of the South-Western United States'' (1890–1892, 2 vols.) ** ''Contributions to the History of the South-western Portion of the United States carried on mainly in the years from 1880 to 1885'' (1890) * "The Romantic School of American Archaeologists" (New York Historical Society, 1885) * ''The Gilded Man (El Dorado) and other Pictures of the Spanish Occupancy of America'' (1893) * ''On the Relative Antiquity of Ancient Peruvian Burials'' (American Museum of Natural History, Bulletin, v. 30, 1904) * ''Aboriginal Myths and Traditions concerning the Island of Titicaca, Bolivia.'' (1904) * ''The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca ... from Florida to the Pacific, 1528-1536'' (editor, translated into English by his wife; 1905). * ''The Islands of Titicaca and Koati''(1910)
''The Delight Makers'' (1890)
a novel of Pueblo Indian life - scanned text in full at Internet Archive


Notes


References

* * *


External links

* * *
Biography at BookRags
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandelier, Adolph 1840 births 1914 deaths People from Bern American archaeologists Swiss archaeologists Scholars of Andean civilizations Mesoamerican archaeologists American Mesoamericanists 19th-century Mesoamericanists American people of Swiss-French descent Swiss emigrants to the United States People associated with the American Museum of Natural History Naturalized citizens of the United States