Beatrice Laura Goff (December 4, 1903–March 26, 1998) was an 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, ...

and biblical scholar. Her research focused on the analysis and interpretation of ceramic patterns of the ancient

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

and the relationship of those symbols to the literature and mythology of the time period.

Early life and education

Beatrice Laura Goff was born December 4, 1903, in

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She studied biblical and religious studies at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, graduating with a BA and MA in 1928. She went on to pursue her doctorate at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. In 1931 Goff spent a semester doing research in Palestine. She was granted a PhD in 1933.

Career

Unable to find a teaching position at a major university after graduation, Goff worked as an assistant to various professors of religious studies. In 1936, she was hired as a researcher at Yale University under Professor Erwin Goodenough. Goff went on to study

library sciences Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

after being unable to find a permanent position at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. She eventually was hired as an adjunct professor of religion at Randolph Macon- Woman's College in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. She later accepted a position as assistant professor at Mount Holyoke Women's College in

. She resigned before finishing her contract because of her discouragement over the lack of biblical scholarship opportunities available to her. In 1946, Goff was hired as executive director of the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

in Springfield,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. She later returned to

as Erwin Goodenough's research assistant and worked at

for the next twenty years. During her time at Yale, Goff furthered her studies in Akkadian, Sumerian and Egyptian languages, and participated in research trips to Iraq in 1958 and Egypt in 1965–1966. She published her findings from her research trips in two books: ''Symbols of Prehistoric Mesopotamia'' in 1963 and ''Symbols of Ancient Egypt in the Late Period'' in 1979. In the early 1980s, Goff developed eye problems and could no longer do research. Goff died March 26, 1998, in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Beatrice 1903 births 1998 deaths American women archaeologists Wellesley College alumni Boston University alumni 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American women People from Andover, Massachusetts