KIDDER, ALFRED

v.

born Oct. 29, 1885, Marquette, Mich., U.S.

died June 11, 1963, Cambridge, Mass.

U.S. archaeologist.

Kidder received his Ph.D. from Harvard University (1914) for developing the first effective pottery typology relating to the prehistory of the southwestern U.S. He later extended these interests to a classic study (1924) of the development of the Pueblo cultures and to the creation (1927) of a widely used archaeological classification system (the Pecos system) for the Southwest. In 1929 he also organized an interdisciplinary program that resulted in a far-reaching survey of cultural history in the Old and New Maya empires of Mexico and Central America. He taught at Phillips (Andover) Academy (1915–35) and at Harvard University (1939–50) and oversaw various programs at the Carnegie Institution (1927–50). He was considered the foremost archaeologist of the American Southwest and Mesoamerica of his generation.