Claude Nelson Warren (March 18, 1932 – November 4, 2021) was a California Desert anthropologist and specialist in early humans in the Far West and was instrumental in defining the San Dieguito and

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

cultural complexes. His Ph.D. dissertation proved that Native Americans lived in the San Diego coastal area 10,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. He also had an interest in the

history of anthropology History of anthropology in this article refers primarily to the 18th- and 19th-century precursors of modern anthropology. The term anthropology itself, innovated as a New Latin scientific word during the Renaissance, has always meant "the study ...

. He was a distinguished professor emeritus in Anthropology from the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. He was married to

Elizabeth von Till Warren Elizabeth von Till Warren (April 16, 1934 – April 21, 2021) was an American historian and preservationist. She had expertise in the history of water development in the Mojave Desert and the Las Vegas Valley in particular. She also had expe ...

until her death. They had four children Claude Jr., Susan,

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, and

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

. His papers are available at Special Collections, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Early life

Born in

Goldendale, Washington Goldendale is a city and county seat of Klickitat County, Washington, United States, near the Columbia River Gorge. The population within city limits was 3,760 at the 2000 census and 3,407 at the 2010 census, a 9.4% decrease. It is situated i ...

, on March 18, 1932, to Hubert Samuel Warren and Dorthy Hope Rodgers Warren, he was the youngest of four children who included historian

James Ronald Warren James Ronald Warren (May 25, 1925 – September 13, 2012) was a Seattle historian instrumental in rediscovering the source of the Seattle fire of 1889. He also fought as a member of the 242nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Di ...

. He attended Kitsap Jr. High School in

Poulsbo, Washington Poulsbo ( ) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The area was historically ...

. In 1947 he moved with his mother and sister to Tenino where he attended high school, graduating in 1950. While at Tenino he played football and basketball. During his junior year he reported on

Tenino High School Tenino may refer to * Tenino, Washington, a city in the U.S. state of Washington * Tenino people, a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest, also known as the Warm Springs bands * ''The Tenino'', a Columbia River sternwheeler in the U ...

sports for the ''Thurston County Independent''. He was editor of the school paper and yearbook and was named to all-conference football and basketball teams his senior year. He graduated 3rd in his class of 21 students. From 1950 to 1952 Warren attended

Centralia Junior College Centralia may refer to: Places Australia *Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia" Canada * Centralia, Ontario ** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base ** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome United States ...

. While the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

was under way, he wrote an editorial entitled "Weapons Against War" which was reprinted by the

Centralia Daily Centralia may refer to: Places Australia *Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia" Canada * Centralia, Ontario ** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base ** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome United States ...

newspaper, despite the fact that he took a position that young men should not interrupt their college careers to enlist in military service.

Early archeology

In 1953 Warren attended an archaeological summer field school near Vantage, Washington, where he met Earl H. Swanson Jr. and Robert H. Crabtree, both of whom became lifelong friends. This field school introduced Warren to archaeological field work and the archaeology of the Columbia Plateau. Warren received his Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Washington in 1954 and in the fall of that year began graduate work in anthropology at Northwestern University,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

, as a Carnegie Follow in the African Studies Program. While at Northwestern he studied under

Melville J. Herskovits Melville Jean Herskovits (September 10, 1895 – February 25, 1963) was an American anthropologist who helped to first establish African and African Diaspora studies in American academia. He is known for exploring the cultural continuity from A ...

. Warren's later work would be influenced by Herskovits' concept of

cultural relativism Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture. Proponents of cultural relativism also tend to argue that the norms and values of one culture should not be evaluated ...

. While at Northwestern Warren met and, in December, 1955, married Elizabeth von Till who was also attending Northwestern as Carnegie Follow in the

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

Program. In the summer of 1955 Warren conducted a brief archaeological survey on the lower Columbia River, under the direction of Doug Osborne, for

Washington State Museum Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. In the winter of 1955 Warren returned to Washington, where he continued his studies at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

, Seattle, and earned his Master of Arts in 1959. In the summer of 1956 Warren supervised excavations at the Goldendale site in Washington and the Wenas Creek site on the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam ...

. This work, as well as the 1955 survey, provided the material for Warren's first professional papers. Of these, ''The View from Wenas: A Study in Plateau Prehistory'' has proven to be the most important, as it described a series of deep, stratified deposits that are part of the Plateau cultural sequence and contributed to the synthesis of the region's prehistory. In 1957 Warren served as an assistant field director at the Fort Okanogon excavations under the supervision of Earl H. Swanson.

Professional career

In 1958, while completing his Master's thesis at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, Warren took a position as the junior Research Archaeologist with the University of California Archaeological Survey in Los Angeles. He remained with the survey for three years. During his tenure at the survey, Warren taught a summer field school in archaeology at Cedar City, Utah. Warren also conducted field work on sites in Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties as well as on San Clemente Island. Warren Canyon on

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

was named in honor of his findings there. The San Diego archaeology has proven instrumental in defining the San Dieguito and La Jolla cultural complexes. Warren and

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

's (1961) ''The San Dieguito Complex and Its Place in California Prehistory'' has been cited in many syntheses of early man in the Far West. Warren et al.'s (1961) ''Early Gathering Cultures on the San Diego Coast: Results and Interpretations of an Archaeological Survey'' contains the first descriptive typology for the La Jolla artifact assemblage and has been instrumental in the chronological placement of the La Jolla assemblage. In 1962 Warren was appointed the State of Idaho's first highway archaeologist. This half time appointment was held concurrently with a half time teaching position at Idaho State University in Pocatello. During this time Warren's report on CA-SDi-603 on

Batiquitos Lagoon The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland and estuary located between southern Carlsbad and Encinitas, in the North County region of San Diego County, California. The lagoon itself consists of 610 acres with a drainage basin of about 55,000 ...

(Warren and Pavesic 1963) evidences his growing interest in

environmental archaeology Environmental archaeology is a sub-field of archaeology which emerged in 1970s and is the science of reconstructing the relationships between past societies and the environments they lived in. The field represents an archaeological-palaeoecologica ...

. Warren's Doctoral dissertation (1964), ''Cultural Change and Continuity on the San Diego Coast'', has been important in establishing the chronology of culture on the San Diego coast, and reflects the influence of Herskovits on Warren's model of culture change. Upon completion of his Ph.D. In 1964, he accepted an appointment as a full-time Assistant Professor at Idaho State. While at Idaho State University, Warren conducted research at sites in Idaho and California, including work in

Hell's Canyon Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, located along the border of eastern Oregon, a small section of eastern Washington and western Idaho. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in par ...

(Warren, Sims and Pavesic 1968) and sites excavated as part of the “highway salvage” program in Idaho (Warren et al. 1971). In 1967 the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the ...

(UCSB) offered Warren an assistant professorship in anthropology. While At UCSB Warren conducted research in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily i ...

and taught archaeological field schools on the Santa Barbara coast. Warren had been awarded grants from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, Faculty Research Grants at

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idah ...

and Faculty Research Grants at UCSB, to study further the San Dieguito and Lake Mojave complexes, and for excavations at

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

Lake Mojave. Research conducted with John Decosta and H. T. Ore at Lake Mojave, along with excavations at the C. W. Harris site in the mid-1960s defined Warren's career as a California Desert archaeologist (Warren and True, 1961; Warren and Decosta 1964; Warren 1966, 1967; Decosta and Warren 1967; Ore and Warren 1971; Warren and Ore 1978). Warren moved to the

(UNLV) in 1969 as an associate professor. He was elected chair of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology (1970–1972) during his first academic year there. During this time he was instrumental in developing the M.A. program in anthropology and establishing the

Ethnic Studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

Program. From 1991 to 1994, Warren again served as chair of the Department of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies. It was during his latter tenure as chair that he initiated the Ph.D. program in anthropology, which was approved in the spring of 1998. Between 1969 and 1981, Warren taught the UNLV Lost City Field School (1970, 1972–1980). In 1971 he taught the joint UNLV-UCLA field school at Santa Barbara. It was during the 1969 and 1971 field schools that Warren developed an interest in the analysis of California Mission records. Other obligations kept him from delving deeply into this area of study, but he did publish two papers (Warren, 1976; Warren and Hodge 1980) that proved the potential for this type of research and laid out some methodological guidelines. In the summer of 1970, after teaching at Lost City, Warren was hired to direct a program to teach archaeological field methods to Shoshoni-Bannock Indian youths at Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. In 1972 Warren volunteered to begin archaeological survey and excavation of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort, which later became the

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park is a state park of Nevada, containing the Old Mormon Fort, the first structure built by people of European heritage in what would become Las Vegas fifty years later. In present-day Las Vegas, the site ...

. His work was performed at the request of the "Hold the Fort" campaign to preserve the original building, the oldest in Las Vegas, by an organization founded by

Anna Dean Kepper Anna Dean Kepper (May 12, 1938 – December 21, 1983) was a historian and a curator of Nevada history and the history of Las Vegas who helped save historic structures in that city. Early life and education Born in Seattle, Washington, Kepper recei ...

and

, called Friends of the Fort (which later became the Preservation Association of Clark County). Claude Warren's initial excavation established the parameters for an archaeology contract later granted to others to excavate the remainder of the site. Warren followed up the excavation of the Old Las Vegas Fort with the excavation in 1973 of the Stewart Family Plot nearby. This excavation of the graves of a pioneer Las Vegas family came about when a local mortuary purchased their old family plot and moved the graves of Helen J. Stewart and her family. Also In 1972, Warren performed an archaeological survey at the

Las Vegas Springs The Las Vegas Springs or Big Springs is the site of a natural oasis, known traditionally as a cienega. For more than 15,000 years, springs broke through the desert floor, creating grassy meadows (called ''las vegas'' by Spanish New-Mexican explor ...

, also known as Big Springs. His discoveries of long-term human occupation there helped re-route the Oran K. Cragson Expressway (US 95) through the heart of Las Vegas, so that it went around the site instead of through it. During these discussions the freeway's new route became known as "The Warren Curve," or sometimes "Claude's Curve". Warren's wife

and her colleagues created Friends of Big Springs, a group of concerned citizens which used Warren's findings to add the Las Vegas Springs to the National Register of Historic Places. On the 50th anniversary of Warren's findings at the Las Vegas Springs, his records from that archaeological reconnaissance were published by the Springs Preserve, under the direction of Archaeologist Dr. Nathan Harper. In July 1988 the City of Las Vegas sought to develop a water

retention basin A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater ...

on the archaeological site at Las Vegas Springs. Warren's wife

testified against the proposal, but was rebuffed and the retention basin was preliminarily approved. This led to a heated exchange of Warren and City of Las Vegas Mayor

Ron Lurie Ronald Philip Lurie (January 23, 1941 – December 22, 2020) was an American businessman and politician. He was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1987 to 1991. Lurie was a member of the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: ...

, who challenged Warren to prove to him that there was any archaeological site worth saving at Las Vegas Springs. According to Warren, the two men agreed to a face-off at the Springs the following morning. Many onlookers including members of the press, Warren's sons and UNLV students were present. Mayor Lurie toured the site and immediately agreed with Warren. The Mayor then moved and re-configured the water retention basin to preserve the Site. The Las Vegas Springs site later became the

Las Vegas Springs Preserve Las Vegas Springs Preserve consists of dedicated to nature walks and displays and is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Valley Water District. The Preserve is located approximately three miles west of downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Preserve is ...

. From 1981 to 1984, Warren directed the Fort Irwin Archaeological Project under contract from Dames and Moore. During the 1980s, Warren was joined by his wife on visits to their son Louis, who was educated extensively abroad. Claude Warren developed an interest in the history of Archaeology as a science, as well as visiting various ruins in England, France and later at Great Zimbabwe. In addition to summer field schools, Warren taught Saturday field classes nearly every year of the 28 years he was a faculty member at UNLV. He retired from UNLV in 1996 to a tremendous surprise party hosted by generations of family and friends, at the San Diego Museum of Man at Balboa Park, San Diego. During his active teaching in the late 1980s and after retiring from UNLV, Warren became the principal archaeologist under contract at

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Original ...

, where he continued to teach archaeological field schools, as well as publish decades of findings. Warren purchased a second home on Park Blvd., 2.5 miles from the West Entrance Station of Joshua Tree National Park, in the mid 1990s. The rough house and its rocky outcropping overlooking the valley hosted field school students well into the 2000s. It has come to be known as "Pinto Point", a nod to the body of Warren's archaeological work. Warren's travels abroad during the 1990s took him to archaeological sites in Cyprus, Egypt and Israel, often visiting former students or colleagues.

History of archaeology

Warren published his first paper on the

history of archaeology Archaeology is the study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts (also known as eco-fac ...

in 1970. His ''Time and Topography, Elizabeth Crozer Campbell's Approach to The Prehistory of California Deserts'' was followed by his authoring the chapter ''California'' in Fitting's (1973) ''The Development of North American Archaeology''. Warren has written histories of the archaeology of the San Diego coast and the Mojave Desert. In 1989 Warren began archival research on the works of

William Pengelly William Pengelly, FRS FGS (12 January 1812 – 16 March 1894) was a British geologist and amateur archaeologist who was one of the first to contribute proof that the Biblical chronology of the earth calculated by Archbishop James Ussher was i ...

which resulted in a small monograph on Pengelly's excavation methods and techniques (Warren and Rose 1994). As an outgrowth of the research, Warren presented a paper entitled ''The Empirical Evidence for the Antiquity of Mankind at Brixham Cave'' at the 1998 meetings of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2012 Warren completed "Purple Hummingbird: A Biography of

Elizabeth Warder Crozer Campbell Elizabeth Campbell (1893–1971) was an American archeologist, notable for proposing a much earlier date for the presence of man in the desert Southwest than was generally accepted. She worked with her husband William (Bill) Campbell and first pr ...

." Elizabeth Campbell was an early desert archaeologist at Joshua Tree, California.

Awards and recognition

* Warren was named the Barrick Distinguished Scholar by UNLV in 1988 * In 1994 the Southwestern Anthropological Association named him a distinguished lecturer. * He was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for California Archaeology in 1996. * He was the Regents' Outstanding Teacher in 1998. * In April 2012, he was awarded the Nevada Archaeological Association's Silver Trowel Lifetime Achievement Award * In May 2021 he received the Excellence in Preservation award from the Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission. During the award ceremony, the City Council dubbed to Claude N. Warren and Elizabeth von Till Warren not only award winners, but "Protectors of History." Unable to receive the award himself, his son Jonathan received the awards for Claude N. Warren and Elizabeth von Till Warren in person. * Warren received the Great Basin Anthropological Association Founders Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2021 conference in Las Vegas. He was unable to attend and his sons, Claude Jr, and Jonathan, received the award in his name.

Publications

Warren has published over 80 titles and presented over 67 papers at professional meetings. The publications listed below are referenced above. A more complete bibliography has been published by the

Society for California Archaeology A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Claude Nelson American archaeologists Archaeologists of California 1932 births 2021 deaths People from Goldendale, Washington People from Thurston County, Washington