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Erik Kellerman Reed

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erik Kellerman Reed (August 16, 1914[1] – December 25, 1990),[2] was an American archaeologist in the US National Park Service. He conducted his field work in the U.S. Southwest region, and much of his work focused on skeletal remains.[3][4]

Early life and education

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Reed was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on August 16, 1914, and grew up in Washington, D.C. with his family.[5] He graduated from Washington Central High School. He graduated in 1932 from George Washington University[6] with a B.A. in anthropology.[5] Reed then received an M.A. from Harvard University in 1933 and worked on many excavations for the National Park Service as a seasonal ranger.

Career

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Reed was appointed as Regional Archaeologist for the National Park Service in 1939, and supervised excavations at Mancos Canyons, Colorado, for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.[5]

In 1943 he volunteered as a sergeant in World War II, and served in the European Theater of Operations. During this time he was granted a Ph.D. from Harvard with his report on the Mancos Canyons as his dissertation[5] titled "An Archaeological Study of Mancos Valley, Southwestern Colorado, and Its Position in the Prehistory of the American Southwest.[7] After returning from army service in March 1946, he resumed his work as Regional Archaeologist until his retirement in 1970.[3]

Personal life

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Reed married Dorothy Fisher in 1938, and they had a daughter and a son. They divorced in 1970. Later, he married Evelyn Dahl.[3][5]

Reed died on December 25, 1990, at the St. Vincent hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of complications from pneumonia.[3]

Honors

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He served as President of the Society for American Archeology from 1960 to 1961, and received the Department of the Interior Distinguished Service Award.[5] He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico. The Archaeological Society of New Mexico published a book of collected papers in his honor.[5]

Select publications

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  • Reed, Erik Kellerman. (1938). Archaeology of the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico. Central Texas Archaeologist (4): 9-20.
  • Reed, Erik Kellerman (1952). The Tewa Indians of the Hopi Country. Plateau (25): 11-18.
  • Reed, Erik Kellerman. (1966). Appendix 1: Human Skeletal Material from Tse-Ta'a. In Excavations at Tse-ta'a, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, by C. R. Steen, pp. 123-129. National Park Service, Archaeological Research Series No. 9, Washington, D.C.

References

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  1. ^ The Life and Times of Erik Kellerman Reed
  2. ^ Worldcat Entities: Erik Kellerman Reed
  3. ^ a b c d "Erik K REED Obituary". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1990-12-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  4. ^ "Reed, Erik Kellerman, 1914-1990 - Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Steen, Charlie R. (1981). "The Life and Times of Erik Kellerman Reed". In Schroeder, Albert H. (ed.). Collected Papers in Honor of Erik Kellerman Reed (PDF). Albuquerque, New Mexico: Albuquerque Archaeological Society Press. pp. 1–14.
  6. ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (1932-06-16). "Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, June 16, 1932, Image 24". pp. B. ISSN 2331-9968. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  7. ^ Browman, David L.; Williams, Stephen (2013). Anthropology at Harvard: a biographical history, 1790-1940. Peabody Museum monographs. Cambridge: Peabody Museum press. p. 421. ISBN 978-0-87365-913-0.
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  • Erik Kellerman Reed papers at the Museum of New Mexico Library
  • Reid, Jefferson, and Stephanie Whittlesey. “The View from Santa Fe.” Prehistory, Personality, and Place: Emil W. Haury and the Mogollon Controversy, University of Arizona Press, 2010, pp. 95–103.