John Otis Brew

John Otis Brew, born March 28, 1906, was an American Southwest archaeologist that not only conducted extensive archaeological research, but was also a director at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Many of his publications are still used today by archaeologists that conduct their work in the American Southwest. J.O. Brew was a titan in the world of archaeology for his attempts to "preserve our archaeological heritage". On March 19, 1988, John Otis Brew died from congestive heart failure in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

From his early beginnings, Brew had an interest in history, but his true love was classical archaeology. Brew received his education at Dartmouth College where he earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1928. He then went on to Harvard University for his graduate studies where he earned a Thaw Fellowship. In 1931 "Jo", as he was known by his friends and colleagues, finished his residence requirements at Harvard and gained an invitation to join the Peabody Museum's Claflin-Emerson Expedition for archaeological reconnaissance which was located in northeastern Utah.

In 1931, Brew was made director of the Peabody Museum’s Southeastern Utah Expedition to Alkali Ridge. His work in this location is what he is most known for. His report, The Archaeology of Alkali Ridge, Southeastern Utah, With a Review of the Prehistory of the Mesa Verde Division of the San Juan and Some Observations on Archaeological Systematics, was published in 1946 and "immediately became a landmark in southwestern archaeological literature". In this particular report Brew recorded such outstanding detail and interpretations of the site that the first three chapters are still used as a fundamental reference today.

Brew was introduced to Old World archaeology by Hugh Hencken and Hallam Movius in 1934. He accompanied them on the Harvard Irish Mission in which they excavated a hill fort in County Clare and a lake dwelling in County Meath.

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