RANK HAROLD HANNA ROBERTS, last director of the Bureau of

Transcription

1 FRANK H. H. ROBERTS, JR RANK HAROLD HANNA ROBERTS, last director of the Bureau of F American Ethnology, died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on February 23, Born in Centerburg, Ohio, August 11, 1897, and schooled in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Frank chose archeology as a future career while a student at the University of Denver (A.B. 1919; A.M. 1921). Here, during his final year, he was an instructor in archeology; in 1923 and 1924 he served as assistant curator at the Colorado State Museum, likewise a Denver institution. In this latter capacity he participated in archeological field work in the southwestern part of the state and wrote two bulletins reporting results. It was this field work, and especially that in the Piedra district, that led to his employment at Pueblo Bonito and, later, at the Bureau of American Ethnology. Winning a Hemenway fellowship, Frank went to Harvard for graduate study and took a second A.M. degree there in 1926 and his Ph.D. in While a student at Harvard he served as an aide in the department of anthropology throughout the scholastic months of 1925 and 1926, and as a summer- 1226

2 Obituaries 1227 time assistant, both years, on my staff for the National Geographic Society s Pueblo Bonito expeditions in Chaco Canyon, N.M. Because pottery was our major problem in 1925, I offered Frank a job on the strength of his capable analysis of Piedra Valley pottery, vouched for by my long-time Harvard friend, Dr. A. V. Kidder. After four seasons at Pueblo Bonito, I was still puzzled by the intermixture of local rubbish and gladly welcomed an expert and a fresh point of view. Roberts and the late Monroe Amsden, another 1925 assistant, eventually solved our problem when they discovered Pueblo I1 potsherds 12 feet beneath the famous old P. I11 ruin. Normal deposition of household sweepings was partially reversed in Bonitian trashpiles (see The Architecture of Pueblo Bonito, Smithsonian Misc. Coll.. vol. 147, No. 1, 1964). From Chaco Canyon in 1926, while still considering an offer from the American Museum, Roberts was appointed archeologist for the Bureau of American Ethnology by Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, Chief, but interrupted the appointment to return to Harvard for his doctorate and to Denver to marry Linda Buchart. In the early summer of 1927 he returned to the Chaco, where, with Mrs. Roberts active cooperation, he resumed excavation of the Late Basket Maker remains described in his Shabik eschee Village (B.A.E. Bull. 92, 1929). Shabik eschee Village was the first of six significant volumes in which Roberts promptly and efficiently reported the results of as many distinct but culturally related investigations in the southwestern United States. Together these six identified their author as a completely qualified archeologist and contributed largely to his many subsequent successes, in Washington and beyond. The second of these six volumes, Early Pueblo Ruins in the Piedra District, Southwestern Colorado (B.A.E. Bull. 96, 1930), drew upon Roberts observations for the Colorado State Museum, and the four that followed (Bull, 100, 111, 121, 126) all profited from his 1925 and 1926 researches in Chaco Canyon and thereby directly or indirectly enriched all subsequent archeological literature from the Southwest. Frank Roberts was one of those gracious, good-natured individuals that could never say no. He accepted every task thrust his way, and because he was always so quietly efficient and helpful there was no end to the number of those tasks. He was representative of the American Anthropological Association on the National Research Council in , , He served as associate editor of the AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, , and as assistant editor of American Antiquity, He was a member of the Anthropological Society of Washington (pres., 1936), the Washington Academy of Sciences (pres., 1949), the American Anthropological Association (v. pres., 1944), the Society for American Archeology (pres., 1950), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (v. pres., 1952), the American Geographical Society, and others. During this same period, honors came to Frank Roberts from other directions. He was named US. representative to the International Congress of

3 1228 American Anthropologist [68, Archeologists held in Cairo, 1937, and two years later Secretary of State Cordell Hull named him to the International Commission on Historic Monuments. In 1951 he was chosen to receive the Viking Fund Medal and Award for achievement in archeology-acknowledgment that gave him vast personal satisfaction. In 1948 he was elected to membership in the Cosmos Club, a Washington body of scientific and literary men founded in 1879 by Major John Wesley Powell, first director of the Bureau of American Ethnology and therefore a Roberts predecessor. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of New Mexico in 1957; another, by the University of Colorado in 1959; and a third, by the University of Denver, The River Basin Surveys, organized in 1945 by representatives of the Society for American Archeology, the American Anthropological Association, and the American Council of Learned Societies, was closely affiliated with the Bureau of American Ethnology from its inception, and Roberts was unanimously chosen as liaison officer between the Committee and the Smithsonian Institution. A year later, 1946, he was named director of the River Basin Surveys, and capably served as such, despite all his other obligations, until Organized for the salvage of archeological and paleontological remains threatened with inundation through development of government dams for floodwater control, recreation, etc., the Surveys enlisted the aid of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Corps of Army Engineers. As of June 30,1964, over 5,000 sites had been recorded in 269 separate areas in 29 states. As director, Roberts kept account of the various field parties, their personnel, equipment, and costs. Also, he maintained contact with responsible individuals, federal and otherwise, in Washington and far across the continent. Once under way, the Surveys shared their responsibilities with state universities and local archeological and geological societies. As administrator, Roberts rarely showed irritation, no matter what the demands of the moment. There were times when he seemed rather scornful of those less mentally endowed, but he always found as much time for a boy with an arrowhead as for an executive seeking funds or freedom from a disagreeable chore. The National Park Service, being in Washington and thus close at hand, called upon him frequently for advice and cooperation. In 1956 it named him to its advisory committee for the Wetherill Mesa Project, Mesa Verde National Park, and he continued to serve on that committee through 1960, the last year as chairman. During his early connection with the Bureau of American Ethnology, Roberts won recognition as perhaps our foremost authority on the Early Man in America problem. Following field inquiry at the famous Folsom bison quarry in New Mexico, he made further observations in Wyoming, Nebraska, Saskatchewan, and elsewhere. But best known of all were his intensive excavations at the Lindenmeier site in Colorado-excavations that continued several seasons until increasing administrative responsibilities brought them to a premature end.

4 Obituaries 1229 On the subject of Early Man, Roberts wrote many informative articles and lectured widely, before university and other groups. He was called upon repeatedly to attend conferences on the subject, including one held at Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1961, where he represented the Smithsonian Institution. Frank Roberts was listed on the rolls of the Bureau of American Ethnology as an archeologist, , but he was much more than that. On April 1, 1943 he was designated acting chief and took office at the beginning of the next fiscal year. In 1945 he was named associate chief, then associate director, and ultimately, in 1958, director. He was last to hold this title, since he retired on June 5, 1964, and seven weeks later, on July 29, the Bureau of American Ethnology was abolished and its staff merged with that of the Department of Anthropology at the United States National Museum to form the new Smithsonian Office of Anthropology. Throughout his long Government service, much of it in an administrative capacity, Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., was known, and will long be remembered, as one of even temper, always calm, affable, and helpful. As a veteran of World War I he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, beside a younger brother, Henry. Mrs. Roberts, alone, survives. In addition to his annual reports as director, both of the Bureau and of the River Basin Surveys, Roberts left a bibliography of 81 titles. NEIL M. JUDD US. National Museum BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FRANK H. H. ROBERTS, JR. The following list does not include Dr. Roberts reports as director of the River Basin Surveys, , and of the Bureau of American Ethnology, which appear in the Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution. It does include a few summaries of articles or lectures attributed to Roberts but obviously prepared by another Archeological research in the northeastern San Juan basin of Colorado during the summer of By Jean Allard Jeancon. (Roberts, editor). Denver, State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado and the University of Denver. Report on the work of the 1922 season in the Piedra Parada archeological field. Denver, University of Denver Bulletin, vol. 23, No. 9 (Dec.) [With Jean A. Jeancon] Further archeological research in the northeastern San Juan basin of Colorado, during the summer of Colorado Magazine (State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado), vol. 1, No. 1 (Nov. 1923) :11-36; Nos. 2-7(Jan.-Nov. 1924) :65-70,10b118, , , , Report on archeological reconnaissance in southwestern Colorado in the summer of Colorado Magazine (State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado), vol. 2, No. 2 (Apr.) : The ceramic sequence in the Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and its relation to the cultures of the San Juan basin. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University. (Published abstract, Cambridge, Mass., 1931.) 1928 A Late Basket Maker village of the Southwest. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1927, pp Certain early Pueblo villages in southwestern Colorado. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1928, pp Recent archeological developments in the vicinity of El Paso, Texas. Smithsonian Institution Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 81, No pp.

5 1230 American Anthropologist [68, Shabik eshchee village, a Late Basket Maker site in the Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 92. viii, 164 pp Early Pueblo ruins in the Piedra district, southwestern Colorado. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 96. ix, 190 pp. Two ancient Indian cultures in eastern Arizona. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1929, pp [With John R. Swanton] Jesse Walter Fewkes ( ). Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1930, pp A prehistoric village on the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1930, pp The ruins at Kiatuthlanna, eastern Arizona. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 100. viii, 195 pp Archeological investigations bring to light dwelling built in 797 A.D. The Ohio Alumnus, vol. 10, No. 2 (Nov.):4-5. An important archeological site in eastern Arizona. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1931, pp The village of the Great Kivas on the Zufli Reservation, New Mexico. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 111. ix, 197 pp Some early Pueblo remains in eastern Arizona. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1932, pp Archaeologenesis. The Biologist, vol. 16, No. 1 (Dec.): An Arizona village of a thousand years ago. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1933, pp A Folsom camp site and workshop. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1934, pp A Folsom complex: preliminary report on investigations at the Lindenmeier site in northern Colorado. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 94, No pp. Summarized in Nature, vol. 136, No (Oct. 5) : Indian mounds on Shiloh Battlefield. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1934, pp A survey of Southwestern archeology. American Anthropologist 37: Reprinted with some revision, omissions, and the addition of illustrations in Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1935, pp Additional information on the Folsom complex: report on the second season s investigations at the Lindenmeier site in northern Colorado. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 95, No. 10. iii, 38 pp. Early man in America. In Indians at Work, vol. 4, No. 9: U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Further investigations at a Folsom campsite in northern Colorado. Explorations and Fieldwork of the Smithsonian Institution in 1935, pp Problems in American archeology. Southwestern Lore (Colorado Archeological Society), vol. 1, No. 4 (Mar.):8-11. Recent discoveries of the material culture of Folsom man. In Early man in America, with particular reference to the southwestern United States [symposium]. American Naturalist, VO~. 70, NO. 729 (July-AUg) : References for an address by Dr. John C. Merriam, Present status of knowledge relating to antiquity of man in America. Report of XVI International Geological Congress, Washington, D.C., 1933, vol. 2: Washington, D.C. The significance of Folsom points easl of the Mississippi. Archeological Society of Delaware Bulletin, vol. 2, No. 4 (Oct.): Archeology in the Southwest. American Antiquity, vol. 3, No. 1:3-33. The Folsom problem in American archeology. Zn Early man, International Symposium, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, March, 1937, pp Reprinted with

6 Obituaries 1231 some revision, the addition of new information, illustrations, and references In Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1938, pp In the empire of the Aztecs. National Geographic Magazine, vol. 71, No. 6 (June): The material culture of Folsom man as revealed at the Lindenmeier site. Southwestern Lore (Colorado Archeological Society), vol. 2, No. 4 (Mar.) : New developments in the problem of the Folsom complex. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1936, pp New World man. American Antiquity, vol. 2, No. 3 (Jan.): Chaco Canyon masonry: a correction. American Antiquity, vol. 4, No. 1 (July) : The Lindenmeier site in northern Colorado contributes additional data on the Folsom complex. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1937, pp Archeological remains in the Whitewater district, eastern Arizona. Part I: House types. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin pp. The Aztecs. Southwestern Lore (Colorado Archeological Society), vol. 5, No. 1 (June): 1-6. The development of a unit-type dwelling. In So live the works of men: seventieth anniversary volume honoring Edgar Lee Hewett. Donald D. Brand and Fred E. Harvey, eds. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, pp On the trail of ancient hunters in the western United States and Canada. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1938, pp Archeological remains in the Whitewater district, eastern Arizona. Part 11: Artifacts and hurials. With appendix by T. D. Stewart. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 126. xi, 170 pp. Developments in the problem of the North American paleo-indian. In Essays in historical anthropology of North -4nierica (Swanton Volume). Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 100, pp (Pertidy repriraled in the California Indians. R. F. Heizer and M. A. Whipple, eds. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1951, pp ). Excavations at the Lindenmeier site contribute new information on the Folsom complex. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1939, pp Pre-pottery horizon of the Anasazi and Mexico. In The Maya and their neighbors. New York, D. Appleton-Century, 1940, pp Latest excavations at Lindenmeier site add to information on the Folsom complex. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1940, pp Archeological and geological investigations in the San Jon district, eastern New Mexico. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 103, No pp. Recent evidence relating to an early Indian occupation in North America. In Proceedings 8th American Scientific Congress, May 10-18, 1940, Washginton, vol. 2, pp Washington, D.C Edgar Billings Howard ( ). American i\nthropologist 45: Egypt and the Suez Canal. Smithsonian Institution War Background Studies, No. 11. iv, 68 PP. Evidence for a paleo-indian in the New World. In Acta Americana (Inter-American Society of Anthropology and Geography), vol. 1, No. 2 (Apr.-June): Mexico, D.F. Reprinted in revised jorm as The New World paleo-indian. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1944, pp Antiquity of man in Australia. Scientific Monthly, vol. 58, No. 2 (Feb.): Charles R. Scoggin ( ). American Antiquity, vol. 10, No. 2 (Oct):19&201. Etna Cave, Nevada. Scientific Monthly, vol. 59, No. 2 (Aug).: A deep burial on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Texas Archeological and Paleontological Society, Bulletin, vol. 16:9-30. An Early Texan. Scientific Monthly, vol. a, No. 5 (May): [George F.] Carter s thesis in the light of archeology: the Southwest. American Antiquity, vol. 11, No. 4: One hundred years of Smithsonian anthropology. Science, vol. 104, No (Aug. 9) :

7 1232 American Anthropologist [68, Prehistoric peoples of Colorado. Colorado Magazine (State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado), vol. 23, No. 4 (July): ; No. 5 (Sept): Reprinted in Colorado and its people. Leroy R. Hafen, ed. 4 vols. New York, Lewis Historical Publications Co., Vol. 2, pp The Head office in the Smithsonian Institution and cooperation with state and local institutions. In Symposium on river valley archaeology. American Antiquity, vol. 12, No. 4 (Apr.): A crisis in U. S. archeology: the damming of rivers will shortly flood the valleys where lived the aboriginal Americans. Scientific American, vol. 179, No. 6 (Dec.) : The paleo-indian in the Central Plains. In Proceedings Fifth Plains Conference for Archeology [1947]. University of Nebraska, Laboratory of Anthropology, Notebook No. 1, pp The American Indian. In Exploring our prehistoric Indian ruins. Devereux Butcher, ed. Washington D.C., National Parks Association, pp Radiocarbon dates and early man. In Radiocarbon dating, edited by Frederick Johnson, American Antiquity, vol. 17, No. 1, part 2 (Society for American Archeology Memoir No. 8), pp ; July, Salt Lake City. The early Americans. Scientific American, vol. 184, No. 2, pp (Feb.) Carbon-14 dates and archeology. Transactions, American Geophysical Union, vol. 33, No. 2: The carbon-14 method of age determination. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1951, pp Inter-agency archeological salvage program: results of research in various river basins of the United States. American Antiquity, vol. 17, No. 4 (Apr.): River Basin Surveys: the first five years of the inter-agency archeological and paleontological salvage program. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1951, pp Recent developments in the early man problem in the New World. Fastern States Archeological Federation Bulletin, No. 12, pp Earliest men in America: their arrival and spread in late Pleistocene and post-pleistocene times. Cahiers d histoire mondiale: Journal of World History, vol. 1, No. 2 (Oct.): UNESCO, Commission Internationale pour une Histoire du DCveloppement Scientifique et Cultural de 1 HumanitC. Paris. The inter-agency archeological and paleontological salvage program. Missouri Archeological Society Newsletter, No. 96 (Nov.): The inter-agency archological and paleontological salvage program in the United States. In Pro Natura (International Union for the Protection of Nature), vol. 2: Brussels The Agate Basin complex. In Homenaje a Pablo Martlnez del RIo en el XXV aniversario de la edicidn de Los Orlgenes Americanos, Mexico, D.F., pp Antiquity and origin of man in North America. In Origens do Homem Americano. Sob o patrocinio da UNESCO. Instituto de prc-hist6ria da Universidade de S&o Paulo Excavations at Agate Basin, Wyoming. Plains Anthropologist, vol. 7, No. 16 (June): The river basin salvage program: after 15 years. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1960, pp Status of the salvage program in the Missouri Basin. In Symposium on Salvage Archeology (Society for American Archeology and Committee for the Recovery of Archeological Remains), Bloomington, Indiana, May 5-7, John M. Corbett, ed. US. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, pp Further observations on our knowledge of Southwest Indian civilization. Comment in The New World looks at its history: Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Historians of the United States and Mexico, Austin, Texas, Archibald R. Lewis and Thomas F. McGann, eds. Austin, University of Texas Press for the Institute of Latin American StUdieS, pp