ABOUT THIS BOOK

In this landmark book, experienced scholars take a retrospective look at the developing routes that have brought American archaeologists into the 21st century.

In 1996, the Society for American Archaeology's Committee on the History of Archaeology established a biennial symposium
named after Gordon R. Willey, one of the fathers of American archaeology, to focus on the history of the discipline. This volume grew out of the
second symposium, presented at the 1998 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Interest in the intellectual history of the field is certainly nothing new—the first such volume appeared in 1856—but previously, focus has been on individuals and their theories and methods, or on various government agencies that supported, developed, or mandated
excavations in North America. This volume, however, focuses on the roots of Americanist archaeology, including its pre-1915 European connections, and on some of the earliest work by women archaeologists, which has been largely overlooked.

Full of valuable insights for archaeologists and anthropologists—both professional and amateur—into the history and
development of Americanist archaeology, New Perspectives will also inspire and serve as a model for future research.

David Browman is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Interdisciplinary Program in Archaeology at Washington University. Stephen Williams is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Harvard University.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

David Browman is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Interdisciplinary Program in Archaeology at Washington University. Stephen Williams is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Harvard University.

REVIEWS

"This is a unique collection of original, in-deptharchival/manuscript research that is chock-full of new insights and information about the origins of American archaeology. More than providing substance, this inspirational volume sets the standard and provides the model for archaeologists interested in pursuing similar studies into the poorly lit corners of our discipline's past."

—James Stoltman, University of Wisconsin

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"The volume as a whole also carries an important and broadly relevant message. Human history . . . tends to be more complex and multilinear than we often first suspect."

—American Anthropologist

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Introduction / David L. Browman and Stephen Williams

1. The Strait of Anian: A Pathway to the New World / Stephen Williams

2. “From Whence Came Those Aboriginal Inhabitants of America?” A.D. 1500–1800 / Stephen Williams

3. Roots of the Walam Olum: Constantine Samuel Rafinesque and the Intellectual Heritage of the Early Nineteenth Century / David M. Oestreicher

4. Toward a Science of Man: European Influences on the Archaeology of Ephraim George Squier / Terry A. Barnhart

5. Charles Rau: Developments in the Career of a Nineteenth-Century German-American Archaeologist / John E. Kelly

6. Europe’s Prehistoric Dawn Reproduced: Daniel Wilson’s Magisterial Archaeology / Alice B. Kehoe

7. Maine Shell Midden Archaeology (1860–1910) and the Influence of Adolphe von Morlot / Bruce J. Bourque

8. Frances Eliza Babbitt and the Growth of Professionalism of Women in Archaeology / Hilary Lynn Chester

9. Henry Chapman Mercer: Archaeologist and Cultural Historian / David L. Browman

10. Frederic Ward Putnam: Contributions to the Development of Archaeological Institutions and Encouragement of Women Practitioners / David L. Browman

11. Origins of Stratigraphic Excavation in North America: The Peabody Museum Method and the Chicago Method / David L. Browman

12. George Grant MacCurdy: An American Pioneer of Palaeoanthropology / Harvey M. Bricker

Notes

References

Contributors

Index