James Deetz was an archaeological historian, known for revitalizing his field by focusing on the analysis of the artifacts found at dig sites themselves as opposed to interpreting them from archaeological reports of the sites.(SOURCE) His work is synthesized, quite cohesively, into his book In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life, which was published in 1977 and relates even the most unseeming artifacts to those who would have used them in their day to day lives. In doing so, he was able to create a more colorful image of the Pilgrims and the other colonists of early America. In this paper, I, in turn, will attempt to create a more colorful image of James Deetz though what he has left behind, from his papers to his influence on his colleagues and students.
WHAT HOW WHY James Deetz was born in 1930 in…show more content… He and his younger sister Barbara spent their childhood there. He attended high school at Fort Hill High, and graduated in 1948 at age 18. In the fall of that year he attended Harvard. (Chronology) Initially, he was enrolled in the pre-med program, but after a particularly boring introductory course and a low grade in chemistry he switched his concentration to anthropology (Brown). Soon after the switch he met who was to become his main mentor, J. O. Brew, an archaeologist and director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology who specialized in the American Southwest. To quote his obituary, “No student of Dr. Brew's was allowed to be pedantic or petty. He wanted his students to be careful but not meticulous, imaginative but not fanciful, enthusiastic but not extremists. He wanted his students to be well-rounded anthropologists, and a reflection of his archaeological standards are the numerous publications produced under his aegis that are of significant importance.” He
