Theodore E. White and the development of zooarchaeology in North America /
R. Lee Lyman.
- Lincoln ; London : University of Nebraska Press, [2016]
- xvi, 260 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
- Critical studies in the history of anthropology .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-255) and index.
"Theodore E. White and the Development of Zooarchaeology in North America illuminates the researcher and his lasting contribution to a field that has largely ignored him in its history. The few brief histories of North American zooarchaeology suggest that Paul W. Parmalee, John E. Guilday, Elizabeth S. Wing, and Stanley J. Olsen laid the foundation of the field. Only occasionally is Theodore White (1905-77) included, yet his research is instrumental for understanding the development of zooarchaeology in North America. R. Lee Lyman works to fill these gaps in the historical record and revisits some of White's analytical innovations from a modern perspective. A comparison of publications shows that not only were White's zooarchaeological articles first in print in archaeological venues but that he was also, at least initially, more prolific than his contemporaries. While the other "founders" of the field were anthropologists, White was a paleontologist by training who studied long-extinct animals and their evolutionary histories. "An exploration into the origins of zooarchaeology in North America and Theodore E. White's role as a founding father"--