Robert H. Dyson, Jr. (August 2, 1927 – February 14, 2020) 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, ...

who served as director of the

Penn Museum The Penn Museum is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City, Philadelphia, University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, at the intersection of 33rd and Sout ...

(1982–1994). He was best known for directing excavations at Teppe Hasanlu between 1956 and 1977.

Education and career

Dyson was born in

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

, in 1927, and received his PhD from

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 ...

in 1966. He joined the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

as an associate professor of anthropology and associate curator of the Near East section of the

. He served as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1982 and was the director of the Penn Museum from 1982 to 1994. He retired from Pennsylvania as a professor emeritus in 1995. Dyson was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1971, served as the president of the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

, and was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1984. After his retirement from Pennsylvania, a Robert H. Dyson chair was endowed at the Department of Anthropology and Near East section of the Penn Museum in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, Robert H. 1927 births 2020 deaths People from York, Pennsylvania American archaeologists Archaeologists of the Near East Harvard University alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Presidents of the Archaeological Institute of America

Education and career

See also

References