page_title: Glenn Albert Black
section_title: Indiana archaeologist
hierarchical_section_title: Glenn Albert Black / Career / Indiana archaeologist
caption_attribution_description: English: Glenn Black with Eli Lilly
context_page_description: Glenn Albert Black was an American archaeologist, author, and part-time university lecturer who was among the first professional archaeologists to study prehistoric sites in Indiana continuously. Black, a pioneer and innovator in developing archaeology field research techniques, is best known for his excavation of Angel Mounds, a Mississippian community near present-day Evansville, Indiana, that he brought to national attention. Angel Mounds was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Black was largely self-taught and began serious work on archaeological sites in Indiana in the 1930s, before there were many training opportunities in archaeology in the United States. He is considered to have been the first full-time professional archaeologist focusing on Indiana's ancient history, and the only professional archaeologist in the state until the 1960s. During his thirty-five-year career as an archaeologist in Indiana, Black also worked as a part-time lecturer at Indiana University Bloomington from 1944 to 1960 and conducted a field school at the Angel site during the summer months.
context_section_description: In November 1930, Black wrote to Dr. Coleman to volunteer his services as an archaeologist, and in 1931, when the Fairbanks, Morse and Company relocated to Wisconsin, Black resigned his position in order to stay in Indiana and support his family. In May 1931, the Indiana Historical Society hired Black to serve as a local guide and driver to Warren K. Moorehead, a nationally known archaeologist from Ohio State University and the Peabody Foundation who helped create archaeological programs for the study of the eastern part of the United States; Eli Lilly, who served as the president of the Indiana Historical Society from 1932 to 1947; and E. Y. Guernsey, who did archaeological work for Indiana Historical Society. The purpose of their trip was to assess Indiana archaeological sites. In June 1931, Lilly and the Indiana Historical Society hired Black to continue archaeological work in the state.
  Most of Black's thirty-five-years as an archaeologist were spent as the Indiana Historical Society's director of archaeology and its only archaeologist on staff. Black, Lilly, and Paul Weer (one of Lilly's friends), developed a multidisciplinary research program for Indiana in the 1930s. In order to conduct research, Black became proficient in several areas: surveying, cartography, drafting, photography, and geophysics. He also used new technologies and worked with scientists from other fields.
  Black traveled the state investigating and reporting on archaeological sites. In the fall of 1931, Moorehead recommended sending Black to Greene County, Indiana, to begin surveys in the area. In October 1931, Black went to Columbus, Ohio, to study the collections at the Ohio State Museum and to receiver further training in field excavations. Black returned to Green County in 1932 to conduct excavations in conjunction with the Indiana Historical Bureau.
  In 1933, Black assisted on a survey of Dearborn County, Indiana, and Ohio counties to record sites such as Nowlin Mound. Black also led excavations at Nowlin Mound, his first major project, which began in 1934. His meticulous excavation methods and detailed published report, "Excavation of the Nowlin Mound: Dearborn County Site 7, 1934-1935," written with James Bennett Griffin and Frederick R. Matson Jr., provided a well-documented description of the mound structure. The project also "served as the model for all subsequent excavations on like contexts." The Nowlin Mound report included a history of the mound and details of excavation, including a description of its construction and artifacts. According to James H. Keller, who was Black's biographer, "Probably no more precise description of mound structure is in print than that contained in the Nowlin Mound report."
caption: Glenn Black with Eli Lilly. Photo part of a collection donated by the Glenn A. and Ida Black family.
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