Walter Fairservis
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Walter Ashlin Fairservis Jr. (1921 – 1994) 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 excavated in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Hierakonpolis Nekhen (, ), also known as Hierakonpolis (; , meaning City of Hawks or City of Falcons, a reference to Horus; ) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt ( 3200–3100 BC) and probably also during th ...
, and in the
Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...
of Pakistan. He worked in the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
for over thirty years and was director of the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle. He was a professor of archeology and Asian studies at
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
until his retirement just before his death in 1994. The son of actress Edith Yeager, Fairservis played roles in Shakespeare plays, wrote scripts for television, and founded his own nonprofit theatre, the East-West Fusion Theatre, in New York City in 1983.


Early life and education

He was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, United States, on February 17, 1921. He was the only child of parents Walter Fairservis Sr. and actress Edith Yeager. He graduated from A.B. Davis High School in Mount Vernon, NY in 1939 where he excelled in track and field. He was a member of the Ends of the Earth Club of New York. He received an Associate of Arts degree from
Chicago University The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, then graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology 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 ...
and a second M.A. and a Ph.D. 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 the 1940s Fairservis "served as a lieutenant in Army Intelligence" and as a "member of
General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of ...
's occupation staff" in Japan. In 1992, his theatre the East-West Fusion Theatre staged one of Fairservis's plays ''"Yamashita! Yamashita!"'' about the trial and execution of General
Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. His conquest of Malaya and Singapore in 70 days earned him the sobriquet "The Tig ...
for "atrocities committed by soldiers under his command". Fairservis said "I was a Japanese language officer under Gen MacArthur and I knew about the trial in Tokyo where evidence was falsified to convict Yamashita".


Career

Fairservis "led an American archaeological expedition to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
" after graduating with his PhD from Harvard. In 1948 he began a thirty-year relationship with the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
and became the director of the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle. Using his theatre experience, Fairservis designed the sets at the Burke Memorial Museum to "look like stage sets, where visitors might immerse themselves as participants in the cultures being displayed." Using live animals, he argued that "museums shouldn’t resemble mausoleums, and that 'living exhibitions' would serve the public better than collections of stuffed animals." He resigned in 1968 when met with disapproval by the museum that his exhibits didn't attract the funds needed to cover the expensive costs they incurred. In 1969 he became faculty at
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
as a professor of archeology and Asian studies, where he remained until he retired shortly before his death in 1994. He had been directing "archaeological excavations at
Hierakonpolis Nekhen (, ), also known as Hierakonpolis (; , meaning City of Hawks or City of Falcons, a reference to Horus; ) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt ( 3200–3100 BC) and probably also during th ...
in Egypt and in the
Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...
of Pakistan. In 1969 Fairservis and his partner Michael Hoffman felt that it was time to begin excavations in Egypt again. Excavations there had been paused since the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, but political tensions kept Fairservis and Hoffman away from the Hierakonpolis site until 1978, funded with grants from Vassar College, 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 ...
and the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...
.


Theatre

The son of actress Edith Yeager, Fairservis toured with his mother and had played in twenty-three Shakespearean plays by the time he was twenty one years old. In the 1970's Fairservis wrote scripts for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
's "Odyssey" and "Adventure" series. He worked with The Sharon Playhouse and
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
' Mercury Theater. In 1983 Fairservis "founded the nonprofit East-West Fusion Theatre and established the Center for East-West Studies at his home." Over 100 productions were produced by this theatre. In 1992 the East-West Fusion Theatre came under the leadership of Fairservis's daughter Tevoit Fairservis who taught "Western Asian theater and dance at CW Post University".


Personal life

His wife was Jan Bell "Jano" Southerland, an artist and illustrator. They were married in the summer of 1950. Fairservis died in Sharon, Connecticut in 1994.


Works

Some of his notable books are: * ''Before the Buddha Came'' * ''The Roots of Ancient India'' * ''Cave Paintings of the Great Hunters'' * ''The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile and the Doomed Monuments of Nubia'' * ''The Archeology of the Southern Gobi-Mongolia'' * ''The Harappan Civilization and Its Writing: A Model for the Decipherment of the Indus Script'' * ''The Threshold of Civilization: An Experiment in Prehistory'' * ''The Origins of Oriental Civilization'' * ''Asia: Traditions and Treasures''


Professional organizations and associations

* Ends of the Earth Club of New York. * Associate at the
Peabody Museum of Natural History The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University (also known as the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History or the Yale Peabody Museum) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It ...
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 ...
*
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 ...
at 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 ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairservis, Walter 1921 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American archaeologists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard University alumni Historians from Brooklyn Vassar College faculty