Florence M. Hawley

Florence Hawley (September 17, 1906-1991) was one of the first anthropologists to work extensively on dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating. She conducted archaeological and ethnographic research in the Southwestern United States; and undertook some of the first dendrochronological research in eastern North America in the mid 20th century, examining samples from a number of archaeological sites. She was also highly regarded as a passionate teacher who pushed her students toward greatness by encouraging them to think for themselves and work hard for what they wanted to achieve. Although faced with many challenges in her career, and discriminated against for being a woman, she persevered in her research and became a great influence both for her students and for other women in her field.

Florence Hawley was born in Cananea Sonora, Mexico where her father was chief chemist for a copper mine. In 1913, after the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, her family moved to Miami, Arizona. She was introduced to archaeology at a young age from her father during his excavating of ruins around their home in southern Arizona. In 1936 Florence married archaeologist Donovan Senter; together they had a daughter named Andrea. In 1950, after a divorce from Senter, she married Bruce Ellis who was a historian. Their marriage lasted until the time of his death in 1985. She began teaching at the University of Arizona in 1929, where she was introduced to dendrochronology in a class taught by A. E. Douglass. She began teaching at the University of New Mexico fall of 1934 until she retired in 1971. It is possible that more professional anthropologists in the United States were taught by Hawley than by any other member of the profession. Even after her retirement she remained active in field research up until her death in 1991. She continued to write and excavate. She was passionate about her work and even after a broken hip returned to the field during her recuperation to supervise. She broke new ground in her research by developing and applying innovative techniques of chemical analysis, dendrochronology, ethnohistory, and Ethnoarchaeology.

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