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Watson Smith Papers, 1936-1996

MS 10

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.

Scope and Content Note

Subgroup 1 is correspondence. Series 1, general correspondence, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or topic. Series 2, correspondence with J.O. Brew, is arranged chronologically and covers the years 1961-79. Series 3, correspondence with the Peabody Museum, is arranged chronologically and covers the years 1963-77.

Subgroup 2 contains papers concerning the Awatovi Expedition and the Peabody Museum. Series 1 includes annual reports of the expedition and correspondence on Awatovi bones and plants. Series 2 includes files relating to Watson's Tucson laboratory, known as the "Peabody Museum West of the Pecos." Series 3 includes applications for grants related to Peabody Museum collections.

Subgroup 3 contains manuscripts and Watson's autobiography. Series 1 includes manuscripts and talks by Watson Smith. Series 2 is his autobiography and information on his Kidder award. Series 3 includes reminiscences about people associated with the School of American Research and the Museum of New Mexico by Marjorie Lambert, who worked at the Museum of New Mexico with Bertha Dutton and Edgar Hewett. Also included is Charles Towne's biography of George Peabody. Smith's biographical note about Towne accompanies the manuscript.

Subgroup 4 is an addition to the collection received in 2000, containing further correspondence and project files for reviews, informal talks given or written by Smith, and archaeological reports. Series 1 is general correspondence, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with correspondence to University of Arizona entities grouped at the end of the series. Series 2 includes reviews written by Smith and related project files; many files contain drafts, published copies, and correspondence with editors and authors of the works reviewed. Series 3 includes project files for informal talks and presentations prepared by Smith, with drafts, correspondence, and programs. Series 4 includes project files for excavataion reports, with drafts, published copies, and correspondence. Series 2, 3, and 4 were not reorganized during processing.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Conditions Governing Use

The Arizona State Museum may not own copyright to all parts of this collection. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, Arizona State Museum, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Provenance

The bulk of the original collection was received prior to 1990. A smaller accrual was added in 1994, following Watson Smith's death. Benjamin W. Smith donated additional materials in 2000, now constituting more than half of the total collection.

Preferred Citation

Watson Smith Papers, 1936-1996. Arizona State Museum Archives.

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