Juliet Clutton-Brock, FSA, FZS (6 September 1933 – 21 September 2015) was an English zooarchaeologist and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, specialising in domesticated mammals. From 1969 to 1993, she worked at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

. Between 1999 and 2006, she was the

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edi ...

of the ''

Journal of Zoology The ''Journal of Zoology'' is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted ...

''.

Early life

Clutton-Brock was born on 6 September 1933 in London. She was the daughter of Alan Clutton-Brock (1904-1976), an art critic of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and his first wife, Sheelah Mabel Stoney Archer. In 1936, she and her brother were sent to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

) to live with an aunt after the death of their mother in a car-accident. There, her brother died from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. Juliet enjoyed the wildlife in her aunt's garden, but was terrified of snakes. Having returned to England after the end of the war in 1945, she was educated at Runton Hill School, an all-girls private

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

described as "icy" by Caroline Grigson. There she developed an interest in

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

and studied the fossils in the nearby sea-cliffs. In 1953, she took a course on Archaeological Techniques at the Institute of Archaeology, then an independent Institute and part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Professor Frederick Zeuner, then Professor of Environmental Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology and one of the founders of zoo-archaeology recommended that she take a degree in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

before undertaking further study in zooarchaeology. She therefore studied zoology at the

Chelsea College of Science and Technology Chelsea College of Science and Technology was established as a College of Advanced Technology (United Kingdom), College of Advanced Technology on a single site on the corner of Manresa Road and King's Road, Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London SW ...

and graduated with a first class

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) degree. She returned to the Institute of Archaeology to undertake post-graduate study in zooarchaeology under Zeuner. She completed her

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree in 1962 with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on "mammalian faunas from sites in India and western Asia". She also attended lectures by

Gordon Childe Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 189219 October 1957) was an Australian archaeologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. He spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, working as an academic for the University of Edinburgh and ...

, Kathleen Kenyon and Max Mallowan, which gave her a solid background in the archaeology of Central Europe and the Middle East. Her father had inherited Chastleton House in the Cotswolds (built in 1603) in 1955, and Clutton-Brock would spend her vacations there.

Career

Clutton-Brock obtained part-time employment at the Natural History Museum and was a full-time senior research worker in the

Mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

Section at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

from 1969 until her retirement in 1993, subsequently maintaining a position there as a research associate. She acted as an editor of the ''

'' from 1994, and its managing editor between 1999 and 2006. In 1976, Clutton-Brock became a member of the executive committee of the International Council for Archaeozoology during a meeting of the UISPP in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million She published more than 90 scientific reports, papers, books and popular articles on zooarchaeology and the history of domesticated mammals. Her most popular books include ''A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

) and the ''Cat'', ''Dog'', and ''Horse'' volumes of the '' Eyewitness Books'' series (

DK Publishing Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

). Other works include ''Horse Power: A History of the Horse and the Donkey in Human Societies'' (Harvard University Press) and ''Cats: Ancient and Modern'' (also Harvard University Press). Her "Natural History of Domesticated Mammals" became the standard text-book for most zoo-archaeology courses in the UK and abroad.

Personal life

Clutton-Brock married Peter Jewell (1925-1998), also a biologist and interested in zoo-archaeology, in 1958. Together, they had three daughters; Sarah, Rebecca and Topsy. In 1966, when Jewell was made Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Nigeria, the family moved to Nsukka. They had to flee across the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

in 1967 during the

Biafran war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from N ...

. Jewell died in 1998.

Honours

Clutton-Brock was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA) on 3 May 1979. She was also an elected Fellow of the Zoological Society of London (FZS). Anneke Clason, Sebastian Payne and Hans-Peter Uerpmann published a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in her honour in 1993, entitled ''Skeletons in Her Cupboard''.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clutton-Brock, Juliet British mammalogists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London 1933 births 2015 deaths Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British women archaeologists Zooarchaeologists 20th-century British archaeologists 20th-century British women writers British women historians British academic journal editors