395:. By adopting, creating or championing methods that made archaeological results more generalizable and amenable to hypothesis testing MacNeish was attempting to learn, and teach, about the broader patterns of social change that can inform our choices in the future; he wished to use archaeology to improve the human condition. "... laws of cultural change may be of use not only in explaining the past, but more important, in predicting the future or at least indicating the steps in cultural change we might take in the future". His ultimate legacy, the sum total of all of his individual accomplishments in methodology and theory, was his commitment to archaeology as a science that could produce laws and theories to aid humanity in the future. In his autobiographical discussion of American archaeology (1978), MacNeish writes, "We are still fumbling along, perfecting techniques as well as improving methodology, and our field – as well as I – have a long way to go".
170:
domestication evidence also brought home to him the importance of interdisciplinary studies as he struggled to get dating and identification information on his samples. He realized that in getting an education archaeologists, "... spend much of their time learning phonemics, personality and culture,
206:
in
Northern and Western Canada and his winters searching for evidence of the origins of agriculture across Central America. "MacNeish enjoyed saying 'I have as much sense as a duck – I fly south in the winter'". Realizing that a random search for sites over these huge swathes of territory would be
142:
Shortly before his transfer to
Chicago, during continued fieldwork in Arizona, MacNeish set out his future goals. "First I would learn to dig well and skillfully, then I would become able to analyze archaeological findings, and finally I would become a theoretician". It was during his fieldwork as
398:
MacNeish was constantly calling for others to question his conclusions and improve his methods to further advance the science of archeology and its ability to speak to society's needs. As a result, his greatest legacy is probably his influence on and encouragement of students, other archaeologists
133:
and society that would take him throughout
Central and South America, eventually to China and, nearly, to Turkey. This last trip was put on hold when doctors ordered him to rest after a mild heart attack. After a long, varied and influential career, Richard MacNeish at age 83 died on January 16,
299:
It is due to his extensive study that much of the historical and cultural record there was established, especially from the
Archaic period when the cave was most active. The cave produced domesticated plants dated between 5,000 and 3,400 BC, including maize. At that time, the people and animals
74:
skills that he would later modify to create his own excavation techniques. Of this time, MacNeish writes: "My energy was boundless: I dug, I hiked, I climbed cliffs, I learned, I went to dances, I mixed cement by hand, I caught rattlesnakes, I packed mules. Most important, I did and talked
34:
of several regions of Canada, the United States and
Central and South America. He pioneered new methods in fieldwork and materials analysis and brought attention to the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. His legacy has influenced generations of archaeologists.
143:
an undergraduate and graduate student that he worked on his first goal. At field schools across the United States, MacNeish absorbed the knowledge and techniques of anyone he worked with. Synthesis of this knowledge came to fruition during fieldwork in the state of
403:, recalls how "MacNeish encouraged and invested his time in students like me because he loved to share the excitement of archaeology" and "led by example and he used his considerable influence more to help others than for his own personal gain".
241:, disputing the idea that they had developed elsewhere and then migrated into their historic territory. His method of analysis demonstrated continuity between historic period groups and prehistoric complexes in the same areas.
187:– all disciplines they will have to use". In order to rectify this, MacNeish began to involve experts outside of archaeology in many of his field studies. This policy was very well demonstrated in his excavations in the
1033:
232:
MacNeish added to the understanding and analysis of archaeological materials through the championing of the interdisciplinary approach. In addition, his work on the standardization and computerization of
102:
championship. He did so in New York in 1938, wearing a kilt in the final bout as a tribute to his
Scottish ancestry. This skill continued to provide him with spending money during his student years.
207:
difficult and inefficient, he pioneered a five-step process that was based on making and then testing hypotheses about ancient environments and human behavior in them. These steps were:
98:. Before doing so, however, he had an unrelated feat to achieve. As a child, his mother enrolled him in boxing lessons and he had become quite accomplished. Now, he wanted to win a
323:
The cave, and its significance, occupied the rest of his career. There was considerable controversy in regard to the very early dates of human presence there that he reported.
237:-attribute terminology enabled more sophisticated statistical analysis and generalization of the results. His ceramic analysis helped to reevaluate the prehistory of the
950:
229:
Using this process, he discovered hundreds of new sites and gained a reputation for "lucky" finds, while actually advancing the scientific foundation of archaeology.
367:, and the Fiftieth Anniversary Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Archaeology from the Society for American Archaeology. In 1977 he was awarded the
155:
caves that involved the stripping the strata off alternate squares from a vertical profile. This allowed for greater detail and more meaningful divisions of an
1038:
221:
Field analysis of artifacts from sites to establish preliminary chronology ... and to determine potential stratified sites or sites with special features.
866:
839:
714:
665:
114:, William Haag, Jesse D. Jennings, John Cotter, Glen Black, Tom Lewis, and Madeline Kneberg. In addition, he was heavily influenced by Julian Steward's
151:. Here MacNeish made one of his important contributions to the field methods of archaeologists, fulfilling his first goal. He pioneered a method of
269:
1028:
411:
By his own accounting, Richard MacNeish "spent 8,071 days in the field and wrote more than 9 million words". His many publications include:
348:
1018:
360:
634:
195:, Peru which resulted in multi-volume publications which analyzed the sites "utilizing the skills of all appropriate scientific fields".
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in context with human habitations dating back several thousand years. This achievement spurred his lifelong interest in the origins of
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692:
478:
855:
273:
356:
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332:
930:
431:
320:, MacNeish discovered the remains of a prehistoric horse, which were found above several other cultural layers in the cave.
917:
340:
473:
118:(1938). He earned his B.A. in 1940, his M.A. in 1944 and his Ph.D. in 1949. That same year, while working in the
171:
esoteric kinship systems, strange customs of primitive peoples, and so forth and do not have time for fields like
63:. Although his request was gently refused, Kidder encouraged MacNeish to study hard and become an archaeologist.
891:
265:
199:
163:
technique after the cave in which it was first developed — dug each distinct strata, or floor, separately.
925:
Rolett, Barry V. (2003). "Forward: A Tribute to R.S. MacNeish". In
Richard S. MacNeish and Jane G. Libby (ed.).
344:
959:
847:
388:
203:
156:
152:
71:
70:) and participated in several archaeological field schools in New York and Arizona where he learned important
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364:
336:
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archaeology morning, noon, and night – and loved every moment of it". He continued to be influenced by Dr.
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261:
448:
On the
Iroquois: Iroquois pottery types: A technique for the study of Iroquois prehistory, 1952 (in the
352:
249:
107:
91:
276:(AFAR), named himself Director of Research and continued his work in the American Southwest and China.
159:. Where many previous methods involved digging by arbitrary levels, the new method — dubbed the
1008:
1003:
457:
Origins of Rice
Agriculture: The Preliminary Report of the Sino-American Jiangxi (PRC) Project: SAJOR
301:
272:
in
Andover, Massachusetts. When he left the museum in 1983, instead of retiring, he established the
188:
119:
80:
730:(April 1980). "Frederick Starr, Jesse Cornplanter and the Cornplanter Medal for Iroquois Research".
215:
Preliminary hypothesis ... based on background materials and cultural sequential generalizations ...
257:
400:
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Testing hypothesis in the field, modifying and setting up new hypotheses, testing them, and so on.
47:. His interest in archaeology started at a young age, sparked by a hastily created report on the
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research. In addition he has been honored by institutions for his work in Mexico and China.
253:
90:
At the urging of several Southwestern archaeologists, MacNeish prepared to transfer to the
26:. His fieldwork revolutionized the understanding of the development of agriculture in the
638:
304:
Valley divided their time between small hunting encampments and large temporary villages.
180:
95:
285:
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for an art history class when he was twelve. A year later he wrote to prominent Maya
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910:
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Long, Austin, Bruce F. Benz, Douglas J. Donahue, AJ T. Jull, and Lawrence J. Toolin.
111:
99:
52:
44:
23:
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110:, he participated in field schools that exposed him to the methods and theories of
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832:
682:
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56:
22:(April 29, 1918 – January 16, 2001), known to many as "Scotty", was an American
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MacNeish's ultimate goal was to make archaeology more of a science. He was a
317:
234:
144:
31:
985:
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27:
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2001, in a car accident while touring Pre-Columbian Maya sites in Belize.
888:
The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley, Vol.1: Environment and Subsistence
372:
238:
192:
126:
123:
886:
MacNeish, Richard S. (1967). "Introduction". In Douglas S. Byers (ed.).
743:
252:, where he helped to found their Department of Archaeology. He was the
66:
In 1936, MacNeish started his university career at Colgate College (now
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244:
In addition to the field and lab work MacNeish has been a professor at
184:
176:
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and has received numerous awards, including the Kidder Medal from the
968:
293:
289:
202:. With this he began a system of spending his summers surveying and
172:
148:
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296:. This was a very important site of early maize domestication.
653:
First direct AMS dates on early maize from Tehuacán, Mexico.
422:
For his theories on agriculture and civilization worldwide:
867:"Richard MacNeish, Agricultural Archaeologist, Dies at 82"
399:
and professionals he worked with. One of these students,
1034:
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
83:, eventually forming his personal excavation technique
43:
Richard Stockton MacNeish was born April 29, 1918, in
738:(2). New York State Historical Association: 186–199.
212:
Initial background preparation on area to be surveyed
339:
in British Columbia, Canada. He was elected to the
391:and hypothesis testing in the exploration of human
909:
224:Resurvey for contextual data and special problems.
79:, and refined his field archaeology methods under
417:American archaeology: The Science of Archaeology?
331:MacNeish was awarded honorary degrees from the
274:Andover Foundation for Archaeological Research
116:Basin-Plateau Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups
363:, the Spinden Medal for Archaeology from the
8:
912:The Origins of Agriculture and Settled Life
810:As recounted by Flannery and Marcus (2001).
424:The Origins of Agriculture and Settled Life
166:His discovery in these caves of very early
445:, Peru Vol. 1-4, 1980-83 (Ed. by MacNeish)
967:
450:Bulletin of the National Museum of Canada
656:Radiocarbon 31, no. 3 (1989): 1035-1040.
333:Universidad de San Cristobal de Huamanga
122:, Mexico, MacNeish discovered primitive
951:Journal de la Société des américanistes
943:"Richard Stockton MacNeish (1918-2001)"
489:
437:For reports on his big field projects:
270:Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology
198:In 1949, MacNeish went to work for the
833:"Richard Stockton MacNeish, 1918-2001"
284:In the 1960s, MacNeish discovered the
439:The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley
349:American Academy of Arts and Sciences
7:
1039:20th-century American archaeologists
361:American Anthropological Association
415:For information on his life and on
479:Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica
14:
717:washingtonpost.com April 18, 1993
668:washingtonpost.com April 18, 1993
355:. He served as president of the
903:. North Scituate: Duxbury Press.
550:Quote from MacNeish (1978, p.7).
443:Prehistory of the Ayacucho Basin
387:who championed the necessity of
357:Society for American Archaeology
844:Biographical Memoirs, Volume 80
783:Quote from MacNeish (1978, xi).
59:asking for a job at his dig at
931:University of New Mexico Press
268:, and was the director of the
1:
1029:20th-century Mesoamericanists
908:MacNeish, Richard S. (1992).
899:MacNeish, Richard S. (1978).
595:Quoted in Rolett (2003, xiv).
918:University of Oklahoma Press
840:National Academy of Sciences
687:. University of New Mexico.
681:; Libby, Jane, eds. (2004).
461:Publications in Anthropology
459:, 1995 (with J.G. Libby, in
341:National Academy of Sciences
1019:Mesoamerican archaeologists
901:The Science of Archaeology?
1055:
865:McCoubrey, Carmel (2001).
756:Flannery and Marcus (2001)
604:See MacNeish (1978, p.15).
532:Flannery and Marcus (2001)
505:Flannery and Marcus (2001)
474:Agriculture in Mesoamerica
345:British Academy of Science
312:In 1990, while digging at
1024:American Mesoamericanists
960:Société des Américanistes
892:University of Texas Press
622:MacNeish (1978, pp.35–36)
266:National Museum of Canada
200:National Museum of Canada
20:Richard Stockton MacNeish
848:National Academies Press
455:On Chinese agriculture:
441:Vol. 1-5, 1967–1972, or
389:experimental archaeology
385:processual archaeologist
39:Early life and education
632:Coxcatlan Cave (Mexico)
523:Rolett (2003, xiii–xiv)
496:MacNeish (1978, pp.2–3)
365:Smithsonian Institution
337:Simon Fraser University
1014:Pre-Columbian scholars
774:MacNeish (1978, p.233)
335:in Ayacucho, Peru and
227:
16:American archaeologist
792:MacNeish (1978, p.45)
765:MacNeish (1978, p.44)
641:archaeology.about.com
613:MacNeish (1978, p.39)
577:MacNeish (1978, p.22)
559:MacNeish (1978, p.10)
353:Guggenheim Fellowship
250:University of Calgary
209:
108:University of Chicago
92:University of Chicago
850:. pp. 200–225.
715:THE CAVE BEAR SCOTTY
666:THE CAVE BEAR SCOTTY
586:MacNeish (1967, p.6)
568:MacNeish (1967, p.3)
514:MacNeish (1978, p.6)
262:Senior Archaeologist
120:Sierra de Tamaulipas
846:. Washington D.C.:
801:Rolett (2003, xiii)
541:Rolett (2003, xiii)
258:McMaster University
939:Zeitlin, Robert N.
872:The New York Times
728:Fenton, William N.
637:2015-04-04 at the
351:and was awarded a
68:Colgate University
825:Flannery, Kent V.
679:MacNeish, Richard
369:Cornplanter Medal
327:Awards and honors
246:Boston University
1046:
989:
971:
969:10.4000/jsa.2217
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946:(online version)
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254:Whidden Lecturer
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53:archaeologist
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45:New York City
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24:archaeologist
21:
955:
949:
927:Pendejo Cave
926:
911:
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887:
876:. Retrieved
870:
843:
829:Joyce Marcus
806:
797:
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761:
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735:
731:
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710:
698:. Retrieved
684:Pendejo Cave
683:
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401:Barry Rolett
397:
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316:in southern
314:Pendejo Cave
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308:Pendejo Cave
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61:Chichen Itza
42:
19:
18:
1009:2001 deaths
1004:1918 births
962:: 393–395.
191:Valley and
131:agriculture
57:A.V. Kidder
998:Categories
916:. Norman:
890:. Austin:
878:2007-12-07
817:References
432:0806123648
318:New Mexico
300:living in
204:excavating
157:excavation
153:excavating
145:Tamaulipas
72:excavation
32:prehistory
986:449324802
978:0037-9174
485:Footnotes
463:, No. 13)
28:New World
941:(2001).
831:(2001).
744:23169465
635:Archived
468:See also
426:, 1992 (
373:Iroquois
347:and the
302:Tehuacan
248:and the
239:Iroquois
193:Ayacucho
189:Tehuacan
161:La Perre
127:corncobs
124:teosinte
85:La Perre
30:and the
842:(ed.).
264:at the
185:geology
177:zoology
106:At the
984:
976:
854:
742:
700:21 May
691:
430:
419:, 1978
379:Legacy
294:Mexico
290:Puebla
235:lithic
173:botany
149:Mexico
77:Kidder
838:. In
836:(PDF)
740:JSTOR
168:maize
982:OCLC
974:ISSN
852:ISBN
702:2019
689:ISBN
428:ISBN
55:Dr.
49:Maya
964:doi
288:in
256:at
147:in
1000::
980:.
972:.
954:.
948:.
869:.
827:;
736:26
734:.
343:,
292:,
260:,
179:,
175:,
87:.
988:.
966::
956:7
933:.
920:.
894:.
881:.
860:.
746:.
704:.
452:)
434:)
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