John Howland Rowe (June 10, 1918 – May 1, 2004) 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

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

known for his extensive research on

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 ...

, especially on the

Inca civilization 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 Inca civilisation rose fro ...

. Rowe studied classical archaeology at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

(1935–1939) and anthropology at

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 ...

(1939–1941). After graduating he traveled to Peru where he undertook archaeological research and taught until 1943. Between 1944 and 1946 he served as sergeant in the U.S. Combat Engineers in Europe. From 1946 to 1948 he studied the Guambía people in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

for the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, returning briefly to Harvard in 1946 to complete his doctorate in Latin American history and anthropology in 1947. In 1948 he started teaching at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

where he remained active until 1988. A prolific writer, Rowe authored more than 300 publications in English and Spanish between 1940 and 2005. He became a lifelong friend of the Andean explorers Vince Lee and his wife Nancy. He mentored Lee, inviting him into his Institute of Andean Studies while offering continuous encouragement for both to continue with their explorations in Vilcabamba and elsewhere in Peru.

References

* Hastorf, Christine, Suzanne Calpestri and E. A. Hammel
''In Memoriam. John Howland Rowe.''
* Pfeiffer, Robert

External links

John Rowe interview
Oral History Collection — University of Florida {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, John Howland 1918 births 2004 deaths Scholars of the Incan civilization Brown University alumni Harvard University alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American anthropologists Historians from California