MS 10 Watson Smith Papers, 1936-1996

MS 10 Watson Smith Papers, 1936-1996

Collection consists of correspondence, archaeological papers, and manuscripts including lectures. 2000 addition consists of further correspondence and project files for reviews, lectures, and excavation reports.

Materials from MS 10 Watson Smith Papers grouped by cultural affiliation. To access the full collection guide on Arizona Archives Online, click here.

To access archival materials, contact larc@arizona.edu.

Biographical Note

Watson Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 21, 1897. After graduating from Brown University in 1919 and from Harvard Law School in 1924, he practiced law until 1933 at which time Watson decided to pursue an interest in archaeology. Through mutual friends, he became acquainted with Paul S. Martin of the Field Museum of Chicago.

During the summers of 1933 and 1934, Smith worked on the Field Museum Expedition at Lowry Ruin. He spent the summers of 1936 and 1937 on the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition (RBMVE). Smith joined the Harvard Peabody Museum's Awatovi Expedition, under the direction of J.O. Brew, for the 1938 field season. In 1952, Smith's "Kiva Mural Decorations at Awatovi and Kawaika" was published in the Papers of the Peabody Museum series. Through his work on the Awatovi kiva murals, Smith became an authority on the salvaging and recording of mural paintings, resulting in a 1954 invitation to assist in mural recovery at Nestor's Palace in the Western Peloponnesus of Greece.

After World War II, Smith was appointed Curator of Southwestern Archaeology at the Harvard Peabody Museum. He was the field director for the Museum of Northern Arizona excavation at Wupatki and for the Harvard Peabody Museum Upper Gila Expedition in 1949 and 1951. Smith spent the summer of 1952 near Zuni doing field research for his study of Zuni law. In 1954, "Zuni Law: A Field of Values," co-authored with John Milton Roberts, was published in the Papers of the Peabody Museum series.

When Smith moved to Tucson in 1954, he converted the guest house behind his home to an archaeological lab, known as "Peabody Museum West of the Pecos," where he continued research on the Awatovi materials. This research was the basis for his innovative views on the study of ceramics. Most important among the publications that resulted from research at the Peabody Museum West of the Pecos are two Papers of the Peabody Museum, "Painted Ceramics of the Western Mound at Awatovi" and "Prehistoric Kivas of Antelope Mesa."

When he went to the Southwest Museum to lecture on the Awatovi murals, Smith visited Frederick Hodge, who asked him to assume the responsibility for writing a report on Hawikuh. Hodge had directed an excavation at Hawikuh (or Hawikku) from 1917 through 1923 but had not produced a major report. Smith invited Richard and Nathalie Woodbury to collaborate on the project, which resulted in a 1966 publication, "The Excavation of Hawikuh by Frederick Webb Hodge: Report of the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition, 1917-1923."

In 1975, Smith moved from his home of 21 years to a location closer to the University. He continued to write using office space in the Arizona State Museum. In 1983, the American Anthropological Association presented him with the Alfred Vincent Kidder award for his significant contributions to Southwest archaeology. He died at age 95 on July 29, 1993, survived by his wife, Lucy (Cranwell) Smith, and his son, Benjamin W. Smith.

Items in Collection: 
Community
Hopi Tribe, Archives
Category
Activism, Community Life and Family Life, Education
Summary
Materials related to the Hopi from MS10 Smith papers.
Community
Pueblo, Archives
Category
Religion
Summary
Miscellaneous materials related to Puebloan culture from MS10 Smith papers.
Community
Pueblo of Zuni, Pueblo, Archives
Category
Governance, Leadership, and Gatherings
Summary
Materials related to the Zuni from MS10 Smith papers.