Jesse Walter Fewkes

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Jesse Walter Fewkes (ca.1919)
J. Walter Fewkes in the rock dwellings in Mesa Verde (ca.1910)

Jesse Walter Fewkes (born November 14, 1850 in Newton, Massachusetts , † May 31, 1930 ) was an American natural historian , zoologist ,  ethnologist and archaeologist .

biography

Fewkes was born in Newton, Massachusetts  to Susan Emeline Fewkes and Jesse Fewkes. After finishing school, he studied natural history and zoology at Harvard University , where he graduated in natural history in 1875 and graduated in zoology in 1887. He then studied from 1878 to 1880 zoology at the University of Leipzig with Rudolph Leuckart .

From 1880 to 1889, Fewkes worked as a zoologist for the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. From this period he wrote a total of 69 publications on marine zoological topics.

Although he was recognized and successful as a zoologist and natural historian, from the late 1880s he turned to ethnological and archaeological studies of the Indian tribes of the southwestern United States  , which became his second profession and passion. In 1889, after the ethnologist Frank Hamilton Cushing  left office, Fewkes became head of the Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition, named after its sponsor Mary Hemenway. During this project documented Fewkes the lifestyle, music, religion and rituals of Zuni - and Hopi - Indians .

Fewkes was the first to use a phonograph to record the language and music of indigenous people for study purposes. He first tested the use of the phonograph with the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine before traveling to the southwest to make recordings of the Zuni (1890) and Hopi (1891). These recordings were transcribed by Benjamin Ives Gilman and published under the title " Zuni Melodies " and " Hopi Songs " in the A Journal of American Ethnology and Archeology edited by Fewkes . In addition to the phonographic recordings, Fewkes worked out valuable descriptions of the music and musical practice of the two Indian tribes.

Fewkes examined the ruins of a number of Native American cultures in the American Southwest and wrote numerous articles and books about it, as evidenced by his extensive bibliography. He oversaw the excavation of the Casa Grande ruins in southern  Arizona , a site of the Hohokam culture , and the excavation of the Mesa Verde ruins in southern Colorado , an ancient site of the Anasazi culture. He concentrated particularly on the variants and styles of prehistoric Indian pottery in the American Southwest and wrote several books on this with carefully drawn illustrations.

While studying the religious rituals and festivities of the Hopi Indians, Fewkes compiled descriptions and drawings of the kachina . This Codex Hopi , a manuscript of all known Hopi- Katsinam , was the first permanent documentation of the ceremonies and preserved their existence.

Fewkes was one of the first to speak out for the preservation of ancient Native American sites in the American Southwest. Vandalism was widespread in these sites by the mid-1890s . In the August 1896 American Anthropologist magazine , Fewkes described a large Native American rock dwelling called "Palatki" or "Red House" located in the "Red Rock Country" southwest of Flagstaff, Arizona . In this article he advocated adequate protective legislation:

“If this destruction of the cliff-houses of New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona goes on at the same rate in the next fifty years that it has in the past, these unique dwellings will be practically destroyed, and unless laws are enacted, either by states or by the general government, for their protection, at the close of the twentieth century many of the most interesting monuments of the prehistoric peoples of our Southwest will be little more than mounds of debris at the bases of the cliffs. A commercial spirit is leading to careless excavations for objects to sell, and walls are ruthlessly overthrown, buildings torn down in hope of a few dollars' gain. The proper designation of the way our antiquities are treated is vandalism. Students who follow us, when these cliff-houses have all disappeared and their instructive objects scattered by greed of traders, will wonder at our indifference and designate our negligence by its proper name. It would be wise legislation to prevent this vandalism as much as possible and good science to put all excavation of ruins in trained hands. "

“If the demolition of rock dwellings in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona continues at the same pace as it has in the past over the next fifty years, these unique homes will be virtually destroyed. And even if laws are enacted by the state or the federal government for their protection, by the end of the twentieth century many of the most interesting monuments to the prehistoric peoples of the southwest will be little more than mounds of rubble at the foot of the rocks. A commercial spirit led to careless digs to sell objects. Walls were ruthlessly overturned in the hope of a few dollars in profit. The correct term for how we deal with our ancient sites is vandalism. Students who follow us will be amazed at our indifference and will call our negligence by its name when these rock dwellings are all gone and their educational objects have been scattered by the greed of the traders. It would be wise legislation to prevent this vandalism as much as possible, and it would be good science to put all excavation of the ruins in trained hands. "

- Jesse Walter Fewkes

He published Fewke's research on the pre-Columbian sites of Puerto Rico, Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and the Lesser Antilles in his book Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands in 1907 . 

Fewkes joined the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology in 1895 and became its director in 1918. In 1887 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1914 to the National Academy of Sciences .

Publications (selection)

  • The Group of Tusayan Ceremonials Called Katcinas . The Smithsonian Institution, BAE Annual Report 1897.
  • A Theatrical Performance at Walpi. In: Proceedings of the Washington academy of sciences Vol. 2, 1900, pp. 605-629.
  • Hopi Katcina's Drawn by Native Artists. The Smithsonian Institution, BAE Annual Report 1903.
  • The Mimbres. Art and Archeology. Avanyu Publishing, Albuquerque, New Mexico, republished 1993. ISBN 0-936755-10-5 .
  • Hopi Snake Ceremonies. Avanyu Publishing Inc. Albuquerque, New Mexico 1986.

literature

  • Walter Hough: Jesse Walter Fewkes. In: American Anthropologist . NS 33, 1931, pp. 92-97.
  • Walter Hough: Biographical Memoir of Jesse Walter Fewkes . In: National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoirs Volume 15, 1932 ( digitized version ).
  • Francis S. Nicoles: Biography and Bibliography of Jesse Walter Fewkes . ( Digitized version ).
  • Sue Carol Detail: Jesse Walter Fewkes . In: Deane L. Root (Ed.): Grove Music Online . Oxford University Press,
  • Ron Pecina, Bob Pecina: Neil David's Hopi World . Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2011, ISBN 978-0-7643-3808-3 .
  • Ron Pecina, Bob Pecina: Hopi Kachinas: History, Legends, and Art . Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2013, ISBN 978-0-7643-4429-9 .

Web links

Commons : Jesse Walter Fewkes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jesse Walter Fewkes at findagrave.com. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Biographical Memoir of Jesse Walter Fewkes 1850–1930 with Walter Hough. (PDF) Retrieved on August 12, 2017 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Biography and Bibliography of Jesse Walter Fewkes by Francis S. Nicoles. (PDF) Retrieved on August 12, 2017 (English).
  4. ^ Sue Carol Detail: Jesse Walter Fewkes . In: Deane L. Root (Ed.): Grove Music Online . Oxford University Press.
  5. ↑ Ron Pecina and Bob Pecina: Hopi Kachinas: History, Legends, and Art . Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2013, ISBN 978-0-7643-4429-9 , pp. 26th ff .
  6. ^ J. Walter Fewkes: Two ruins recently discovered in the Red Rock Country, Arizona. In: American Anthropologist. 1896, accessed August 15, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter F. (PDF; 815 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved August 15, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Fewkes, Jesse Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American natural historian, zoologist, ethnologist, and archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1850
PLACE OF BIRTH Newton , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1930