Gordon Willey
| Gordon Randolph Willey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 7, 1913 Chariton, Iowa |
| Died | April 28, 2002 (aged 89) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Archaeologist |
| Known for |
Processual archaeology Settlement pattern theories |
| Awards | Viking Fund Medal (1953) |
Gordon Randolph Willey (7 March 1913 – 28 April 2002) was an American archaeologist who was described by colleagues as the "dean" of New World archaeology. Willey performed fieldwork at excavations in South America, Central America and the Southeastern United States; and pioneered the development and methodology for settlement patterns theories. He worked as an anthropologist for the Smithsonian Institution and as a professor at Harvard University.
Gordon Randolph Willey was born in Chariton, Iowa. His family moved to California when he was twelve-years-old, and he completed his secondary education at Long Beach. Willey attended the University of Arizona where he earned Bachelors (1935) and Masters (1936) degrees in anthropology. He earned a PhD from Columbia University.
After completing his studies at Arizona, Willey moved to Macon, Georgia to perform field work for Arthur R. Kelly. Along with James A. Ford, Willey helped implement and refine ceramic stratigraphy, a concept new to Georgian archaeological sites. Willey also worked at the historic site of Kasita, on the Georgia Piedmont near Fort Benning. In 1938, Willey published an article entitled "Time Studies: Pottery and Trees in Georgia." In the early part of 1939, Willey worked at the Lamar Mounds and Village Site (inhabited from c. 1350 to 1600 CE) near Macon and identified relationships between Lamar and the Swift Creek (around 100-800 CE) and Late Woodland period Napier Phase (900–1000 CE) sites.
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