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Dr.
Fred Wendorf
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Fred Wendorf, Henderson-Morrison
Professor of Prehistory Emeritus, Southern Methodist University
(SMU), grew up in Terrell, Texas, was wounded as a lieutenant
serving in Italy during World War II, received his Ph.D.
from Harvard University in 1953, and spent more than sixty
years as a field archaeologist in this country and in
Africa. In 1987 he was elected to the National Academy
of Sciences.
After spending the early years of
his career as a museum archaeologist, during which time
he founded the Fort Burgwin Research Center (now SMU-IN-TAOS)
in Taos, New Mexico, Dr. Wendorf joined the faculty at
SMU in 1964 and shortly thereafter founded the Department
of Anthropology there. His interests include the archaeology
of the American Southwest, northeastern Africa, the Paleolithic,
and the origins of agriculture. From 1962 to 1999, Dr.
Wendorf led the Combined Prehistoric Expedition in the
Sahara Desert, mostly in Egypt. This assemblage of archaeologists,
geologists, botanists, zoologists and other earth scientists
has published over thirty books and more than a hundred
journal articles.
His enormous contributions to our
understanding of early human life in the New World as
well as the prehistory of northeastern Africa were recognized
in 1996 by the University of Pennsylvania with the Lucy
Wharton Drexel Medal for Archaeological Achievement, one
of the highest honors that can be given to an archaeologist.
He has been a constant advocate for the preservation of
the archaeological record for the benefit of humanity.
For a lifetime of scientific achievements in the field
of archaeology, SMU in 2003 awarded Dr. Wendorf the degree
of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
Dr. Wendorf has contributed to and
written numerous publications, including Archaeological
Studies in the Petrified Forest National Monument (1953);
The Midland Discovery: A Report on the Pleistocene
Human Remains from Midland, Texas (1955); Contributions
to the Prehistory of Nubia (1965); The Prehistory
of the Nile Valley (1976); The Prehistory of
Wadi Kubbaniya (1989); Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian
Sahara, Volume I: The Archaeology of Nabta Playa
(2001); and now Desert Days; My Life as a
Field Archaeologist (2008).
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