Anthropology and Archaeology
James B. Griffin (with pipe), Albert Spaulding, John McGregor, Kenneth Orr, and Hale Smith on a dig at Starved Rock, Illinois, ca. 1948. James B. Griffin Papers, Box 216, Photographs - Sites
Griffin, James Bennett, 1905-
- 1922-1997
- 215 linear ft. and 1 outsize notebook
James "Jimmy" Bennett Griffin (1905-1997) was one of the major forces in the development of North American archaeology. He served as the director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1975. Known for his piercing intellect, encyclopedic memory and vast knowledge of the prehistory of North America, he contributed greatly to the development of a unified theory of North American archaeology, and published widely on a variety of subjects. Griffin was most identified with his work with ceramics, and led the Ceramic Repository for the Eastern United States, a centralized source for information about pottery that was based at the University of Michigan. Griffin was also a pioneer in the development and promotion of tools for the scientific analysis of archaeological specimens. He co-founded the university's Radiocarbon Laboratory (in operation from 1949 to 1970) with H.R. Crane of the Department of Physics, and collaborated with chemist Adon Gordus in the use of neutron activation analysis for sourcing obsidian.
Griffin's papers contain extensive research and photograph files on North American archaeological sites, cultures and artifacts (including the files of the Ceramic Repository for the Eastern United States), and information on Griffin's writing, professional activities, and teaching within the Department of Anthropology and the Museum of Anthropology. Griffin's correspondence is a veritable "Who's Who" of North American archaeology from the 1930s to 1990s, featuring Griffin's discussions with figures such as Fay-Cooper Cole, James A. Ford, Philip Phillips, Gordon Willey, Eli Lilly, Betty Meggers, and Stephen Williams.
Related Images
Documentation from the Central Mississippi Valley Archaeological Survey (C.M.V.A.S.), Shawnee Village site, Arkansas, 1940' James B. Griffin Papers, Box 122, Shawnee Village
