Edwin Ferdon (June 14, 1913 – November 13, 2002) was an American ethnologist noted for his studies of the people of the Americas and Polynesia. Ferdon attained his bachelor's degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and his master's degree from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. During his lifetime, Ferdon participated in field work in

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 ...

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 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 ...

, and

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

. While he was not in the field, he worked in museums, including the Museum of New Mexico as a curator and the Museum of International Folk Art as the director. Ferdon died on November 13, 2002, at the age of 89.

Early life

Edwin Nelson Ferdon Jr. was born on June 14, 1913, in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. He had two sisters and a brother. Ferdon's family moved to

Coshocton, Ohio Coshocton () is a city in Coshocton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 11,050 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately east-northeast of Columbus. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet ...

, where he attended high school. While in Ohio, he also participated in

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

and became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. He attended the

and graduated in 1937. While in school, he went to do field work in

and

in 1935, and later went to

in 1936 and again in 1937. Ferdon's brother, John, was killed at the age of 17 due to a radio that fell into the bath water in 1936 while Ferdon was away in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Career

After graduation, he worked for the Museum of New Mexico in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

as a curator until 1938. He left that job in order to do fieldwork in

for three years where he conducted archaeological surveys. He went on to attend the

to obtain a master's degree. In 1955,

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

asked Ferdon to go on an expedition to

as an archaeologist. Ferdon was one of four archaeologists who went on the expedition. While in Eastern Polynesia, Ferdon studied the walking rituals and the details of modern life in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. Ferdon also took many photographs to document the expedition. He published many books and articles on his studies. Ferdon worked for the Arizona State Museum at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and retired in 1983, after serving as associate director. During his career as an anthropologist and archaeologist, he was also the director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Ferdon died on November 13, 2002, due to cancer. He is buried at the East Lawn Cemetery in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Publications

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References

External links

Edwin Ferdon slides and negatives of Mesoamerica and Southern Mexico, MSS 536
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdon, Edwin 1913 births 2002 deaths Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota American ethnologists University of Minnesota alumni University of California alumni University of Arizona staff