Junius Bouton Bird (1907–1982), born in Rye, New York, was an American archaeologist who was appointed curator of South American Archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History in 1934.[1] His contributions to the study of ecology, climate, and pre-Columbian archaeology earned him several awards including: The Viking Fund Medal for Archaeology (1956) and The Order of "El sol de Peru" (1974).[2] With his excavations e.g. at Fell Cave in the late 1930s Bird was one of the pioneers of Patagonian archaeology and contributed to the investigation of the earliest settlement of the Americas. His wife, Margaret McKelvy Bird, accompanied him on a number of expeditions and was a close co-worker throughout their life together.[2][3]
In 1961 he was elected as the president of the Society for American Archaeology.[4] He studied at Columbia College and was in the class of 1930.[5]
Bird has been cited as a possible real-life inspiration for the fictional movie character Indiana Jones.[6]
- ^ "A brief expedition into science at the American Museum of Natural History". 1969.
- ^ a b Bird, Junius (2005). Travels and archaeology in South Chile. Iowa City, IA: Univ. of Iowa Press. pp. XV. ISBN 1-58729-343-9. OCLC 255083620.
- ^ "Margaret McKelvy Bird". Trowelblazers. 2014. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ Chira, Susan (1982-04-04). "Junius Bird, 74, Archeologist; an Expert on South America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Columbia College Today. Columbia University Libraries. New York: Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. Fall 1982. p. 52.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ [1] Indy Spirit Awards, Archaeology Magazine, May/June 2008