• Nebuchadrezzar - excavated and restored more ancient parts of Ur.
• Nabonidus - last king of Babylon. With daughter En-nigaldi-Nanna, dug at temple of Agade in 6th century BC.
• Herodotus - Greek traveler and historian who described Egyptian pyramids and foreign peoples in 5th century BC.
• Julius Caesar - described battles with Celts, Gauls, Germans, and other primitive peoples of Europe in first century BC.

• Glastonbury Abbey - church in England where excavations by monks in 1191 turned up a lead cross and a skeleton they identified as King Arthur.

• Hernan Cortés - begins conquest of Aztecs in Mexico in 1519.
• Francisco Pizarro - begins conquest of Incas in Peru in 1532.
• Hernando de Soto - encounters Mississippian culture during explorations of southeastern North America in 1540.
• William Camden - compiled descriptive list of all archaeological sites and artifacts known in England in 1587.
• Pompeii and Herculaneum - Roman cities destroyed by eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 and rediscovered in 1594.

• Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) - calculated date of Creation to be in 4004 BC. Dr. John Lightfoot, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, refined estimate as 9 a.m. on Oct. 23.
• "Dilettanti" - Name given to Italian gentlemen who began collecting art objects from the classical period.
• Ole Worm (1588-1654) - collected bizarre assortment of objects, including antiquities. Collection published by son in 1655 as Museum Wormanium.
• Edward Lhwyd (1660-1708) - one of the first people to investigate and write about British antiquities. Visited tombs in Ireland.
• John Aubrey (1626-1697) - wrote Monumenta Britannica, a study of ancient sites in Great Britain. First descriptions of Stonehenge.
• John Greaves - explored Great Pyramid in 1638. Published first accurate maps and measurements.
• Isaac de la Peyrere - wrote in 1655 that "thunderstones" were man-made artifacts. Book was burned in Paris.
• William Dugdale (1605-1686) - recognized similarities between "thunderstones" and American Indian projectile points.

Study of Classical Civilizations of Greece and Rome

• Herculaneum - Roman city destroyed with Pompeii. Large-scale excavations began here in 1709.
• Society of Dilettanti - founded in England in 1732 for the study of ancient remains (including those of the British Isles).
• Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) - German scholar and first to study ancient Classical art historically. Called "the father of archaeology".

Early Explorations in the Near East

• Richard Pococke - described pyramids at Sakkara and Dashur in 1755.
• Carsten Niebuhr - Danish scholar who visited Persepolis and made copies of cuneiform inscriptions in 1765.
• Napoleon Bonaparte - went to Egypt in 1790's. Took "savants" to study geology and ancient ruins.
• Giovanni Belzoni (1778-1823) - onetime circus strongman who looted Egyptian pyramids and tombs for museums.

Arguments over Moundbuilders of North America

• Ezra Stiles - President of Yale who in 1783 argued that ancient mounds in the U.S. were built by Caananites.
• General Rufus Putmam - mapped mound groups in Marietta, Ohio in 1780's
• Thomas Jefferson - wrote about excavation of Indian burial mound in Notes on the State of Virginia (1784)

Arguments over the Antiquity of Humans in Europe

• William Stukeley (1687-1765) - meticulous investigator who studied ruins in Great Britain. Wrote description of Stonehenge in 1740.
• Antoine Yves Goguet (1716-1758) - French writer who argued for the authenticity of stone tools found in Europe, and suggested primitive peoples of New World provided good models for ancient societies.
• John Frere (1740-1807) - found stone tools in England together with bones of extinct animals. Argued for antiquity of humans.

Explorations and Decipherments in the Near East

• Claudius James Rich (1786-1821) - Surveyed Babylon in 1811.
• Jean Francois Champollion - discovered that Egyptian hieroglyphs were a mixture of ideographic and phonetics signs and deciphered Rosetta Stone from 1808-1822.
• Henry Creswicke Rawlinson (1810-1895) - deciphered cuneiform writing, including text of Darius from cliff face at Behistun.
• Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894) - excavated at Nimrud (1845) and Nineveh (1849). Unearthed palaces of Assyrian kings and sent huge sculptures back to England.

Classical Archaeology

• Lord Elgin - removed beautiful sculptures (the Elgin Marbles) from the Parthenon in Athens in 1803. They were later bought by the British Museum in 1816.
• Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) - conducted successful search for ancient Troy, now known to be at the site of Hissarlik in Turkey. Discovered graves of Mycenaean civilization.
• Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941) - began research at Knossos on Crete in 1894. Discoverer of Minoan civilization.

Continuing Discussions over the Moundbuilders and American Indians

• Caleb Atwater - in 1820 proposed that the mounds were built by "Hindoos"
• Smithsonian Institution - founded in 1846. First major sponsor of archaeological research in the U.S.
• E.G. Squier and E.H. Davis - published survey of mounds in southern Ohio in 1848. Were certain they could not have been built by Indians.
• Peabody Museum, Harvard - founded in 1866. Played key role in sponsoring some of the first archaeological excavations in U.S. and Central America.
• Frederick Ward Putnam - second curator of the Peabody Museum. Helped save Great Serpent Mound from destruction.
• Samuel Haven - asserted in 1856 that the mounds had been built by Indians and and that they had arrived in America from Asia via a land bridge.
• Cyrus Thomas - confirmed Haven's conclusions and helped demolish Moundbuilder myth in 1880's and 1890's.
• Adolf Bandelier - described ancient Pueblo sites in 1880's and 1890's.
• Erland von Nordenskjold - described Mesa Verde cliff dwellings in 1893.

19th Century Advances in Archaeological and Anthropological Theory

• Christian Thompsen (1788-1865) - organized Danish museum collections according to the Three Age System of Stone, Bronze, and Iron.
• J.J.A. Worsaae (1821-1885) - confirmed Thompsen's ordering through excavation. Called "the first professional archaeologist".
• Charles Lyell - Principles of Geology (1830-1833). Used uniformitarian theory and stratigraphy to show that the world was extremely old.
• Charles Darwin - introduced notion of natural selection, and suggested evolutionary model explaining the development of all life on the planet over a vast period of time.
• Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) - coined terms "Paleolithic" and "Neolithic" in Prehistoric Times (1865). Suggested that we could study the stages of man's evolution by observing primitive peoples.
• Sir Edward B. Tylor - one of first theorists in anthropology. Provided definition of "culture" and suggested stages of "Savagery," "Barbarism," and "Civilization" in Primitive Culture (1871).
• Lewis Henry Morgan - New York lawyer who suggested unilinear evolution of human society in Ancient Society (1877). Outlined seven technological stages from Savagery to Civilization Influenced thinking of Marx and Engels as well as later anthropologists.
• Karl Marx (1818-1883) - believed that the way goods are produced and distributed affected all aspects of human society. Saw history of society as the development of antagonisms between social classes and "communism" as the most highly evolved form of civilization. Some of his ideas were influenced by Morgan.
• Franz Boas (1858-1942) - cultural anthropologist at Columbia University. Argued against evolutionary models in favor of "historical particularism". Strong proponent of comparative method.

Refinement of Archaeological Methodology

• Oscar Montelius - Swedish archaeologist writing in late 1800's and early 1900's. Refined the concept of seriation.
• General Pitt-Rivers - believed that material culture could be arranged in typological sequences reflecting evolutionary development. Conducted meticulous excavations on private estate in England in 1880's and 1890's.

Exploration in Mexico and Central America

• Lord Kingsborough - fervent believer in Lost Tribes theory of American Indians. Went broke publishing lavish volumes on Mexican antiquities from 1831-1848.
• Jean Frederick Waldeck - French artist who visited Central American ruins in 1830's. Fanciful interpretations linked Maya ruins to Egypt and the "lost continent" of Atlantis.
• John Lloyd Stephens - American who toured Mexico and Central America with artist Frederick Catherwood in 1840's. Published first descriptions and illustrations of Maya ruins. Books were extremely popular.
• Augustus Le Plongeon - misguided archaeologist who conducted first excavations at Chichén Itzá in 1860's and made first photographs of Maya ruins. Also linked Maya with Atlantis.
• Desiré Charnay - explored and photographed Maya ruins in 1880's.
• Alfred P. Maudslay - Englishman who explored and photographed Palenque and other Maya ruins in 1880's and 1890's.
• Edward H. Thompson - dredged Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá in 1890's.

Continuing Debate on the Antiquity of Stone Age Man

• Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868) - described Neolithic stone tools found in France as "antediluvian" in 5-volume work. Ar first was regarded as a crank.
• William Pengelly - found sheet of stalagmite sealing stone tools together with remains of extinct animals at Kent's Cavern, England in 1858. First indisputable proof of the antiquity of man.
• Neanderthal Man - first remains found in Germany in 1857. Believed to be the remains of a congenital idiot.
• Edouard Lartet (1801-1871) - excavated at cave sites in central France. Associated with the discovery of Upper Paleolithic culture.
• Gabriel de Mortillet - accepted antiquity of cave art in 1877. Published "epochs" of prehistory (Chellean, Acheulean, Solutrean, etc.) in 1897.
• Eugene Dubois - discovered "Pithecanthropus", the first Homo erectus fossils, in Java in 1891-1892

Diffusionist Theories

• Grafton Eliot Smith - wrote in 1920's and 1930's. Believed that all world civilizations ultimately derived from Egypt.
• Gustav Kossina - wrote in early 1900's. Used archaeological data to "prove" that civilization had begun in Germany. His work influenced theories of a "master race" and the thinking of Adolf Hitler.

Research on Paleolithic Europe

• Abbé Henri Breuil - French priest who became a world-famous authority on Paleolithic art. Publications date from 1901 through the 1950's.
• Francois Bordes - French archaeologist who devised current typology for Paleolithic stone tools in 1950' and 1960's.

Research in the Near East

• Sir Flinders Petrie - British archaeologist who excavated Predynastic sites in Egypt in late 1800's and first quarter of 1900's. Perfected methods for excavation and documentation on a grand scale. Introduced "sequence dating" method using vessels from over 2000 Egyptian graves.
• R. Pumpelly - excavated at Anau in Russian Turkestan in 1902. Refined method for sifting deposits and recording every vertical and horizontal position of remains.
• Howard Carter - British archaeologist who, sponsored by Lord Carnarvon, discovered tomb of Tutankhamen in 1923.
• Leonard Woolley - British archaeologist who excavated at Ur in Mesopotamia (1922-1934 )and discovered the rich Royal Tombs there.
• Dorothy Garrod - British archaeologist who studied Paleolithic cultures at Mt. Carmel caves in Palestine in 1920's.
• Robert Braidwood - archaeologist from the University of Chicago who initiated search for sites with early agriculture in Turkey and Iraq in 1950's. Excavated at Jarmo and Cayonu.
• Kathleen Kenyon - British archaeologist who directed extensive excavations at Jericho in 1950's.
• James Mellaart - British archaeologist who directed excavations at Catal Huyuk in Turkey in 1950's.

Asian Archaeology

• Li Chi - Chinese archaeologist trained at Harvard. Investigated "oracle bones" and excavated at Anyang, the principal Shang dynasty city in 1920's and 1930's.
• Sir Mortimer Wheeler - conducted careful excavations in England in 1920's. Brought scientific archaeology to India and Pakistan, and excavated ancient Indus civilization cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in 1940's.
• Kwang-Chih Chang - major synthesizer of Chinese archaeology from 1950's to present. Emphasized study of households and social groups.

North American Archaeology

• James B. Griffin - major figure in archaeology of Midwestern and Southeast. Published important area-wide syntheses in 1930's. Still active.
• Emil Haury - conducted excavations at Snaketown in southern Arizona in 1930's.
• C.C. DiPeso - important investigator of Mesoamerica-Southwest contacts at Casas Grandes in northern Mexico.

Mexican and Central American Archaeology

• Herbert Spinden - in 1917, formulated hypothesis for the origin of maize cultivation in Mexico and its spread through the Americas.
• Sylvanus Morley - American pioneer on the discovery and decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs (first major book published in 1915). Assisted in work at Uaxactun, Guatemala and Chichén Itza, Yucatan in the 1920's and 1930's.
• Carnegie Institution of Washington - sponsored major excavations of Maya sites in Mexico and Guatemala until early 1950's.
• George C. Vaillant - published detailed studies of Mexican culture sequences in 1930's.
• Matthew W. Stirling - National Geographic archaeologist who brought attention to Olmec sites through work in 1920's through 1950's.
• J.E.S. Thompson - Expert on Maya civilization (1930's-1950's).
• Ignacio Bernal - Important Mexican archaeologist. Worked at sites such as Teotihuacán and Monte Albán.
• Jorge Acosta - Mexican archaeologist and excavator of Monte Albán.
• Alberto Ruz - Mexican archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Pacal inside a pyramid at the site of Palenque in 1952.
• Richard "Scotty" MacNeish - conducted search for origin of maize in dry caves in Tehuacan Valley of Mexico in 1940's and 1950's.

South American Archaeology

• Hiram Bingham - explorer who "discovered" Machu Picchu in 1911.
• Julio C. Tello - one of the fathers of Peruvian archaeology. Expert on Chavín culture.
• Junius Bird - worked at Preceramic sites on the north coast of Peru in 1930's to 1950's. Pioneered study of ancient Peruvian textiles.
• Wendell C. Bennett - conducted important excavations in Peru and Bolivia in 1940's, laying much of the groundwork for Andean archaeology.

Early Man and African Paleolithic

• Raymond Dart - responsible for discovery of Australopithecus in 1924.
• Louis Leakey - pioneer in the search for fossils of early humans and human ancestors in 1960's. With wife Mary Leakey, discovered Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis. Son Richard Leakey has since made further finds, including very early Homo erectus.

20th Century Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

• 1900-1920
• William Henry Holmes - studied Precolumbian ceramics in Mexico and U.S. and produced first typology of American Indian pottery in 1903.
• Max Uhle - German archaeologist and father of Peruvian archaeology. Introduced the concept of "horizon style" in early 1900's.
• Manuel Gamio - Mexican and student of Boas. Conducted first stratigraphic excavations in Mexico at Azcapotzalco in 1911.
• Alfred Kroeber - cultural anthropologist and student of Boas. Archaeological contributions included procedure for placing sites in chronological order on the basis of stylistic changes in surface artifacts.
• Nels Nelson - student of Kroeber. Conducted earliest stratigraphic excavations in Southwestern U.S. in 1913.
• 1920-1940
• A.V. Kidder - formulated chronological sequence for Southwestern U.S. based on excavations at Pecos Pueblo in 1920's. Later became director of Carnegie Institution and supervised major excavations of Maya sites in Mexico and Guatemala.
• O.G.S. Crawford - World War I pilot who pioneered the application of aerial photography in archaeology in the 1920's. Founded Antiquity, the major British journal for archaeology.
• V. Gordon Childe - archaeologist at the University of Edinburgh with encyclopedic knowledge of published reports and museum collections. Refined notion of "archaeological culture". Wrote first major syntheses of Central European prehistory: The Dawn of European Civilization (1925) and The Danube in Prehistory (1929). Coined the terms "Neolithic Revolution" and "Urban Revolution" to describe important developments in the emergence of civilization. A diffusionist, he traced all European civilization back to origins in the Near East. An avowed Marxist, he emphasized the importance of technology and production in cultural development.
• A.E. Douglass - astronomer who developed the methodology of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) in 1929.
• Harold S. Gladwin - introduced taxonomic system for classifying prehistoric pottery. Helped define archaeological "phase".
• Waldo Wedel - formalized the "direct historical approach" in American Indian archaeology. Pioneer in Plains archaeology.
• William Duncan Strong - Advocate of direct-historical approach in Nebraska archaeology. Also worked on sites in Peru and Bolivia.
• 1940-1960
• Walter W. Taylor - author of A Study of Archaeology (1948), a work which laid the theoretical foundations for the "new archaeology" promoted by Lewis Binford in the 1960's.
• James Ford - specialist in the archaeology of the southeastern U.S. Made major contributions to pottery classification and seriation. Argued that "types" were imposed by archaeologists.
• Albert C. Spaulding - argued against Ford and supported view that archaeologists could in fact "discover" artifact types which had existed in the minds of prehistoric peoples.
• Willard Libby - revolutionized archaeology and won the Nobel Prize for the development of radiocarbon dating in 1949.
• Julian Steward - Cultural anthropologist who studied the Shoshone of the Great Basin in California. Responsible for modern concepts of cultural ecology and multilinear evolution.
• Leslie White - Provided definition of culture as "extrasomatic adaptation". Influential in the understanding of culture as a system and an emphasis on discovering processes of social change.
• Gordon R. Willey - Conducted first systematic study of settlement patterns in Virú Valley of northern Peru in 1940's. Co-author (with Phillip Phillips) of landmark book: Method and Theory in American Archaeology (1958). Leading authority on the archaeology of Central America and Maya civilization.
• Betty J. Meggers - Smithsonian archaeologist and student of Julian Steward who, together with husband Clifford Evans, interpreted direct causal relationships between environment and culture.
• 1960-Present (there are many more than these!)
• Lewis Binford - student of Leslie White and chief proponent of "New Archaeology" (hypothetico-deductive, regional approach with emphasis on cultural processes and "middle-range theory").
• Kent V. Flannery - worked in Iran and (mostly) Mexico. Advocates "systems theory" approach to models for prehistoric cultures.
• William Sanders - student of Gordon Willey. Studies cultural ecology in Teotihuacán and Copán valleys.
• Ian Hodder - British archaeologist who argues for a "structural archaeology" to study the unwritten "rules" which conditioned prehistoric cultures. One of leading theorists of the 80s and 90s.