William Andrew McDonald | |
|---|---|
 Photographed c. 1990 | |
| Born | April 26, 1913 Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 11, 2000 (aged 86) |
| Awards | Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America |
| Academic background | |
| Education | American School of Classical Studies, Athens |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto, Johns Hopkins University |
| Thesis | The Political Meeting Places of the Greeks (1940) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
| Institutions | Lehigh University, University of Texas, Moravian College, University of Minnesota |
William Andrew "Bill"[1] McDonald (April 26, 1913 – January 11, 2000) was a Canadian archaeologist. Educated at the University of Toronto and at Johns Hopkins University, he took part in the early excavations of Carl Blegen at the Mycenaean site known as the "Palace of Nestor" at Pylos, where he excavated the first Linear B tablets discovered in mainland Greece.
At Blegen's instigation, McDonald began in 1953 to carry out field survey in the region of Messenia around Pylos, aiming to discover further Mycenaean sites which may have formed part of Pylos's territory in the Late Bronze Age. He began working with his long-term collaborator Richard Hope Simpson in 1958, and the two expanded their efforts into the University of Minnesota Messenia Expedition between 1961 and 1975. As part of the UMME, he directed the excavations of Nichoria, an important archaeological site considered a testing-ground for the methods of processual archaeology in Greece.
McDonald spent most of his career at the University of Minnesota, where he worked between 1948 and his retirement in 1980. He received several awards, both for his archaeological research and for his university teaching. His publications include a popular history of Mycenaean archaeology as well as academic works.
- ^ Davis 1986, p. 357.