Preston Holder (September 10, 1907,

Wabash, Indiana Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is situated along the Wabash River in the cou ...

– June 3, 1980,

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

) 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

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

. In 1930 he entered 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 ...

, to study

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. While there he met photographer

Willard Van Dyke Willard Ames Van Dyke (December 5, 1906 – January 23, 1986) was an American filmmaker, photographer, arts administrator, teacher, and former director of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art. Early life Van Dyke went to the University ...

after writing an assignment about his photographs. Van Dyke introduced him to

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course ...

Imogen Cunningham Imogen Cunningham (; April 12, 1883 – June 23, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nude photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its ...

and other photographers around the San Francisco area, and he soon was photographing in a style similar to theirs. In 1932 Holder was present at a gathering at Van Dyke's house in Berkeley in which this group discussed their intention to unite in promotion of their artistic vision, They were searching for a name for their small group, and Holder suggested "US 256", which was then the commonly used '' Uniform System'' designation for a very small aperture stop on a camera lens. Adams thought the name would be confusing to the public, and he suggested "f/64", which was a corresponding aperture setting for the '' focal system'' that was gaining popularity. From this discussion they formed the now famous

Group f/64 Group or f.64 was a group founded by seven American 20th-century San Francisco Bay Area List of photographers, photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharply focused and carefully framed images seen through a part ...

. Later that year Holder participated in their first Group f/64 show at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, showing four prints. While photographing part-time, Holder continued his education at Berkeley and received his B.A. in 1935. There is almost nothing written about his photographic career after he graduated. By 1940 he seemed to have drifted away from his photography interests and dedicated himself to becoming a full-time archeologist. In 1951, he earned his Ph.D. from

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 ...

. With the help of fellow archaeologist Antonio J. Waring, Jr., Preston Holder began excavations at the Irene Mound site in September 1937. Elusive Women of Irene: The WPA Excavation of Irene Mound
by Gail Whalen. Retrieved April 26, 2007 Located on the outskirts of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, the mound took nearly two years to excavate. Another excavation Holder conducted at the Saint Simon's airport on

Saint Simons Island, Georgia St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the ...

revealed a large Late Archaic and Woodland period settlement. The excavation was mentioned briefly in Antonio Waring's, The Waring Papers. In 1938, Holder also wrote ''Excavations on Saint Simons Island and Vicinity''. He left Georgia in January 1938. His work in this area was additionally published as a journal article, and discussed in later publications,Blasing, R. "The History of Archeological Research at Medicine Creek Reservoir" ''Cultural Resource Management'' v.23 no.1 (2000) from th

ational Park Service (. Retrieved April 26, 2007) In 1951, he earned his Ph.D. from

. He died of cancer on June 3, 1980, at the age of 72 in

References

External links section

https://archives.nebraska.edu/repositories/8/resources/3307 {{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, Preston 1907 births 1980 deaths University of California, Berkeley alumni Columbia University alumni Deaths from cancer in Nebraska 20th-century American archaeologists