Waldo Rudolph Wedel
| Waldo Wedel | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1908 Newton, Kansas |
| Died | August 27, 1996 Boulder, Colorado |
| Fields | Archaeology |
| Institutions | Smithsonian Institution |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Doctoral advisor | Carl Sauer |
| Known for | Direct historical approach to archaeology |
| Influences |
William Duncan Strong, A. T. Hill |
| Spouse | Mildred Mott Wedel |
Waldo Rudolph Wedel (September 10, 1908 – August 27, 1996) was an American archaeologist and a central figure in the study of the prehistory of the Great Plains. He was born in Newton, Kansas to a family of Mennonites. In 1939 he married Mildred Mott, a fellow archaeologist and ethnohistorian. Wedel died in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado, about one year after Mildred’s death.
Wedel began studying at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas. In 1928, he transferred to the University of Arizona to study under archaeologist Byron Cummings and visiting professor William Morris Davis. In 1930 he received his BA from the University of Arizona. He then transferred to the University of Nebraska for a M.A. degree and studied under William Duncan Strong. In 1931 Wedel received his M.A. degree. His thesis utilized Strong’s direct historical approach to studying Pawnee archaeological materials. During the next four field seasons he was involved with excavations under the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska State Historical Society. In 1934, he published his first report on the Medicine Creek site, under Nebraska State Historical Society archaeologist A. T. Hill.
In 1932 Wedel went to the University of California, Berkeley for his Ph.D. He studied under Strong’s mentor Alfred L. Kroeber. While at Berkeley, Kroeber steered Wedel into conducting ethnographic research with the Comanche. Wedel’s interest at the time, however, was leaning toward studying the effects that climate had on prehistoric populations. He was influenced by the fact that the dust bowl was occurring in the Midwest. In particular, he was interested in studying the effects of similar droughts on prehistoric people. Kroeber discouraged this subject, so Wedel pursued his interests under geographer Carl Sauer. In 1936 Wedel was the first person to receive a Ph.D. in anthropology with a specialization in archaeology from Berkeley.
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