Archaeologists of the Past
Book Review: Dead Men Do Tell Tales
While Byron Khun de Prorok's 1933 memoir of Ethiopia called "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" is not for the squeamish--nor is it politically correct in either archaeological or ethical senses of the word--it is a trip back into the mind of a professional archaeologist of the early twentieth century.
Adolph Bandelier: The Book
Adolph Bandelier [1840-1914] was one of those archaeologist-adventurers that we all tsk-tsk over, and yet secretly want to be.
C. G. Abbot
From the National Academy of Science, a biography of the American Renaissance man, Charles Greeley Abbot.
James Henry Breasted
It's not pretty, but it is thorough; a biography of Breasted from an eclip from Chicago Portraits, Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans.
The Breasted Expedition
James Henry Breasted spent 1905-1907 in Nubia to record the ancient monuments there; he took over a thousand photographs, now available on line, courtesy of the Oriental Institute.
Howard Carter: King Tut's Tomb Found!
In November 1922, Howard Carter discovered not just an unknown ancient Egyptian tomb, but one that had lain nearly undisturbed for over 3,000 years. What lay within King Tut's tomb astounded the world; from your About guide to the 20th Century, Jen Rosenberg.
Alfonso Caso
Mexican archaeologist, did extensive work at Monte Alban and contributed much to our understanding of the Mixteca culture
Gertrude Caton-Thompson
English archaeologist, most famed for her survey work with E. W. Gardner at the El Fayum area of Egypt, and for her ground-breaking work at the Great Zimbabwe site, where she proved conclusively was of African origin; a brief article on the Distinguished Women site.
Jean-Francois Champollion
Decipherer of the Rosetta Stone
Bernabe Cobo
Biography of the 17th century Spanish priest, who lived 61 years in Mexico and South America, written by Adolph Bandelier and placed online by the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Raymond Dart
A biography of Australian paleontologist Dart from the terrific Talk Origins site.
Arthur Evans
British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans is best known for his excavations at the Minoan site of Knossos. This biography is from the Dilos site, a commercial travel site.
Galileo Galilei
While Galileo was decidedly not an archaeologist, this NOVA website argues that he was the "father of modern science," and was able to successfully walk the line between religion and science.
John Garstang
British archaeologist, excavated at Jericho, and Sakje-Geuzu and Mersin in Anatolia; founding director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
Hetty Goldman
From Florida Atlantic University's Jewish Heroes and Heroines in America, a biography of this pioneer woman archaeologist.
Edith Hamilton
Edith Hamilton, educator and historian, influenced generations of high school students with her popularizations of Greek mythology. This brief biography is from the "Distinguished Women" site.
Emil Haury
American archaeologist who pioneered archaeological investigations with geoscientists, and championed dendrochronology; and is probably best known for his work in the American southwest with the Mogollon culture. From the National Academy of Science.
William Henry Holmes
From the Smithsonian Institution, a brief biography of the early ethnographer, anthropologist, and archaeologist.
John Gilbert Hurst
British archaeologist John G. Hurst is considered one of the founders of Medieval archaeology. Obituary notice in the Guardian.
Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald
German paleontologist and geologist, spent much of his career studying early prehuman Pithecanthropus in Java. This biographical sketch is from the Research Institute at the University of Senckenberg.
Winifred Lamb
Classicist archaeologist and museum director (1894-1963).
Robert Armstrong Stewart Macalister
British archaeologist R.A.S. Macalister spent much of his career excavating in Syro-Palestine sites such as Tell el-Jazari, the biblical city of Gezer.
Robert King Merton
Sociologist R. K. Merton has been tremendously influential in many social sciences including archaeology; he developed middle range theory. A short biography followed by a lecture by Merton from the American Council of Learned Societies.
William Flinders Petrie
British archaeologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie was one of the pioneers of the science, conducting archaeology primarily in Egypt and Palestine.
Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann, the "Magnificently Obsessed" finder of Troy.
William Duncan Strong's Field Notes
From the Smithsonian Institution, a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day workings of one of American archaeology's foremost researchers.
Ignacio Bernal
Ignacio Bernal was an influential pioneer of the study of Mexico's prehistory
Frederick J. Bliss
British archaeologist Frederick J. Bliss is most known for his work in the Levantine for the Palestine Exploration Fund, with scholars such as Archibald Dickie and R.A.S. Macalister.
Jacques Boucher de Perthes
A French customs officer with a thing for paleolithic axes; from Bob Kobres, a librarian at the University of Georgia.