HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard Benjamin Woodbury (May 17, 1917-October 11, 2009) was a prominent American archaeologist, specializing in studies of
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
and
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
archaeology.


Career

Woodbury began his specialty in Southwestern archaeology during his undergraduate degree at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, participating in the 1938 Peabody Awatovi expedition under the archaeologist
J. O. Brew John Otis Brew (March 28, 1906 – March 19, 1988), was an American archaeologist of the American Southwest and director at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Many of his publications are still ...
. His doctoral dissertation based on this project explores the stone tool technology used by ancient
Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
Native Americans. After serving in World War II in the Air Force, Woodbury participated in several notable archaeological excavations concerning
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
peoples, including at the Point of Pines sites in Arizona, the Adena mounds, and the
Zaculeu Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerica ...
dig. He also critiqued prior digs such as the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition at
Hawikuh Hawikuh (also spelled ''Hawikku'', meaning "gum leaves" in ZuniLanmon, Dwight P. and Harlow, Francis, "A brief history of the Ashiwi (Zuni) pueblos", in ''The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo'', 2008, Museum of New Mexico Press. ), was one of the largest o ...
, along with his fellow archaeologists Nathalie F. S. Woodbury and
Watson Smith Samuel Watson Smith (August 21, 1897, Cincinnati, Ohio – July 29, 1993, Tucson, Arizona) was an American archaeologist and researcher on the indigenous cultures and artifacts of the western Anasazi area. Life and career Watson Smith matriculated ...
. His publications focus on the ancient Zuni,
Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
,
Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
, Papago, and
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
native cultures and peoples. Woodbury worked as a Professor at Columbia and 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 ...
from the 1950s to 1960s. At the University of Arizona, he taught in the Arid Lands Program and Anthropology Department.Gumerman, George J. 2010. "In Memoriam: Richard B. Woodbury." ''SAA Archaeological Record'', 10 (2). http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/article/In+Memoriam%3A+Richard+B.+Woodbury/356061/34758/article.html. During this time, Woodbury served as an editor for the
Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Daniel S ...
. Woodbury began a position of Curator of Archaeology and Anthropology at 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 ...
in 1963. In 1965, Woodbury was also serving on the executive board of the
American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ...
. The Smithsonian reorganized a new Department of Anthropology with Woodbury as acting chair. After leaving the Smithsonian, Woodbury worked at
UMass Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the Ma ...
for the end of his professorial career, but continued to take positions for academic journals. Woodbury was the editor of
American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 m ...
from 1975 to 1978."1988 SAA Distinguished Service Award." ''American Antiquity'' 53, no. 4 (1988): 675-677. http://www.jstor.org/stable/281111. Nathalie F. S. Woodbury and Dick Woodbury were founding members of the
Archaeological Conservancy The Archaeological Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that acquires and preserves archaeological sites in the United States of America, United States. Whereas nearly every other nation protects all archaeological sites within its b ...
in the early 1980s along with Mark Michel, Helene Beck, and Jay Last.Neely, Paula. 2020. "Forty Years of Preservation," ''American Archaeology'', 24 (2): 31-37. https://www.thearchcons.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/40_Years_of_Preservation_Vol24No2.pdf. Dick and Nathalie were both awarded the 1988 SAA Distinguished Service Award.


Selected works

* Woodbury, Richard B. 1941. "Early Man in South America : A Geological and Archeological Problem." . * Woodbury, Richard (October 1948). "Progress at Zaculeu, Guatemala". ''American Antiquity''. 14 (2). Menasha, Wisconsin, USA.:
Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Daniel S ...
. . * Woodbury, Richard B., Harvard University Department of Anthropology, and Awatovi Expedition (1935–1939). 1949. "Prehistoric Stone Implements of Northeastern Arizona; a Study of the Origin, Distribution and Function of the Stone Tools, Ornaments and Weapons of the Jeddito District." Dissertation. . https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435021440177 * Woodbury, Richard B., Aubrey S. Trik, and Jay I. Kislak Reference Collection (Library of Congress). 1954. ''The Ruins of Zaculeu, Guatemala''. New York: United Fruit Co. * Woodbury, Richard B. 1959. ''Abstracts of New World Archaeology''. Washington: Society for American Archaeology. . * Woodbury, Richard B. 1961. ''Prehistoric Agriculture at Point of Pines, Arizona''. Salt Lake City: Soc. of American Archaeology. . * Woodbury, Richard B., Nathalie F. S. Woodbury, and University of Arizona Bureau of Ethnic Research. 1962. ''A Study of Land Use on the Papago Indian Reservation, Arizona''. Tucson, Arizona. . * Woodbury, Nathalie F. S., Richard B. Woodbury, Watson Smith, Frederick Webb Hodge, and Hendricks-Hodge Expedition (1917–1923). 1966. ''The Excavation of Hawikuh by Frederick Webb Hodge: Report of the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition, 1917-1923''. New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5479/sil.473242.39088016102782 Internet Archive link: https://archive.org/details/excavationofhawi00hodg * Woodbury, Richard B. 1973. ''Alfred V. Kidder.'' New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231034849. * Woodbury, Richard B. 1993. ''60 Sixty Years of Southwestern Archaeology: A History of the Pecos Conference''. 1st ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0826314112. .


See also

*
Awatovi Ruins The Awatovi Ruins, spelled Awat'ovi in recent literature, are an archaeological site on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. The site contains the ruins of a pueblo estimated to be 500 years old, as well as those of a 1 ...
*
Zaculeu Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerica ...
* Point of Pines Sites *
Hawikuh Ruins Hawikuh (also spelled ''Hawikku'', meaning "gum leaves" in ZuniLanmon, Dwight P. and Harlow, Francis, "A brief history of the Ashiwi (Zuni) pueblos", in ''The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo'', 2008, Museum of New Mexico Press. ), was one of the largest o ...
*
Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
*
Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...
*
Zuni people The Zuni (; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni people today are federally recognized as the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and most live in the Pueblo o ...
*
National Anthropological Archives The National Anthropological Archives is the third largest archive in the Smithsonian Institution and a sister archive to the Human Studies Film Archive. The collection documents the history of anthropology and the world's peoples and cultures, ...
*
The Archaeological Conservancy The Archaeological Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that acquires and preserves archaeological sites in the United States. Whereas nearly every other nation protects all archaeological sites within its borders as part of its nati ...
*
American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 m ...
*
Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Daniel S ...
*
American Antiquity ''American Antiquity'' is a professional journal published by Cambridge University Press for the Society for American Archaeology, an organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas. The journal is considered to be the flagship jour ...
*
Prehistoric archaeology Prehistoric archaeology is a subfield of archaeology, which deals specifically with artefacts, civilisations and other materials from societies that existed before any form of writing system or historical record. Often the field focuses on ages ...


External links

Related archival collections * Woodbury, Richard B. and Woodbury, Nathalie F. S. Manuscript 20, Richard and Nathalie Woodbury Papers, 1890s-2010. Arizona State Museum Library and Archives. http://azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asm/ASMMS20.xml * Woodbury, Richard B. Photo lot 5, Richard B. Woodbury collection of drawings of human and animal figures, ca. 1950s. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. https://sova.si.edu/record/naa.photolot.5 * National Museum of Natural History Department of Anthropology. Photo lot 83-15, photographs of Processing Lab and staff, ca. 1965. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. https://sova.si.edu/record/naa.photolot.83-15 * Woodbury, Richard B, Carl Chapman, and Paul Jones. Manuscript 4934 Emergency Archaeological Research in Southeastern Missouri, May 8, 1965-September 28, 1965. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. https://sova.si.edu/record/naa.ms4934


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbury, Richard 1917 births 2009 deaths American archaeologists Harvard College alumni Columbia University faculty University of Arizona faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty