Centennial Exhibit

The School of Anthropology was founded in 1915 as the Department of Archaeology. It was only the sixth anthropology department in North America.

From the start, Byron Cummings, the first department head, envisioned a comprehensive program in anthropology, and by 1932 courses were taught in all four fields (archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology), as well as applied anthropology. The department has been a central building block of the University of Arizona since its inception and has been continuously recognized nationally and internationally.

Throughout its history, department heads and faculty realized that the specialized knowledge, methods, and tools of anthropology could also fruitfully inform research in other fields, and they were instrumental in creating many new units at the university. Graduates of the department and of our unique field schools have embarked on illustrious careers and taken their knowledge of and passion for anthropology throughout the United States and across the globe. 

Today, faculty and students of the School of Anthropology continue to engage in cutting‐edge research, maintaining the School as one of the highest ranked anthropology programs in the nation. In these times of increasing globalization, anthropology is ever more relevant to foster an understanding of human diversity and promote dialogue among people of different cultures. Thanks to our talented faculty, students, and staff, we are poised to remain leaders in the field as we go forward into the future.

Read more about the history of the School of Anthropology here.

Background Photos from left to right: 

ASM Pix-1643-x-1, Byron Cummings on a field trip at Ben Wetherhill’s place near Navajo Mountain, 1930. Byron Cummings (in hat) standing with a group of his students. Ben Shaw, Walter Olmsby. Seated left to right: Morris Burford, Mayme Burford, Clara Lee Tanner, Henrietta Marie Gunst, Muriel Hann. Courtesy of Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona.

 

ASM 3237, Point of Pines 1948. Photographer: E.B Sayles. Courtesy of Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona. 

 

ASM27028, Raymond H. Thompson, head of the Department of Anthropology in the main office in 1970 with staff. Back of room from left to right: Dorothy Caranchini, Martha Morrow, Alice Lehet and Hazel Gillie; front of room, left to right: Priscilla Travers, Harriet Martin, Vearl Galbraith. Photographer: Helga Teiwes. Courtesy of Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona. 

 

ASM 50512, Emil Haury’s 85th birthday in the Arizona State Museum Library in 1989. Photographer: Helga Teiwes. Courtesy of Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona. 

 

Students, staff, and faculty of the School of Anthropology, 2013. Photographer: Christine Scheer, Courtesy of School of Anthropology, University of Arizona.