Walter W. Taylor papers
name: label: Creator
content: Taylor, Walter W. (Walter Willard)
label: Names
content: Pueblo Ecology Survey
label: Names
content: Smithsonian Institution. Northern Mexico Archeological Fund
label: Names
content: Adams, William Yewdale
label: Names
content: Taylor, Lyda Averill
place: label: Place
content: Coahuila (Mexico : State)
label: Place
content: Monument Valley (Ariz. and Utah)
label: Place
content: Sonora (Mexico : State)
label: Place
content: Spain
topic: label: Topic
content: Archaeology
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Walter Taylor in 2004.
creator: label: Creator
content: Taylor, Walter W. (Walter Willard)
culture: label: Culture
content: Pueblo
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Walter W. Taylor, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1913, but moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, as a young boy. He earned an A. B. in Geology from Yale University in 1935, and upon graduation worked for the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, where he was involved in archeological excavations, before becoming archeological field foreman at the University of New Mexico field school in Chaco Canyon.

In 1938, Taylor enrolled in the anthropology doctoral program at Harvard University, from which he earned his Ph. D. in 1942. That same year, Taylor enlisted as a private in the U. S. Marine Corps, and in 1944 his service overseas resulted in his capture and detainment in prisoner-of-war camps by German forces, from which he was not released until the end of the war in Europe. Taylor's military career lasted until 1955, when he resigned from the Marines as a captain, having earned a Purple Heart.

In 1958, Taylor began teaching at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, founding its Department of Anthropology. He also taught at the University of Texas, University of Washington, University of Santa Fe, Mexico City College, and La Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico. 

During his career, Taylor produced several publications on the topics of archaeological theory and Coahuila archeology. Early professional influences include his acquaintanceship with anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn, and the work of anthropologist Lyndon Hargrave.

"A specialist in the neolithic and chalcolithic archaeology of Western Europe, he was also known for his North American fieldwork," which he "conducted in Arizona, New Mexico, Georgia, Mexico (Coahuila, Sonora, and Zacatecas), and Spain, before retiring in 1974" (Bowman 1995, Euler 1997).

Taylor is perhaps best remembered for his research and fieldwork in Coahuila, Mexico, and his controversial doctoral dissertation, published as a book in 1948, titled A Study of Archeology, in which he criticized the approaches of contemporary archeologists and posited a new theory of conducting archeological research, called the "conjunctive approach." Taylor's book is widely regarded as being directly influential in the development of "New Archeology," or the "processual approach."

On April 14, 1997, Taylor "died at his home in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, of complications resulting from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease" (Euler 1997).


Sources Consulted

Bowman, John S., ed., "Taylor, Walter W. (Willard)," The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Euler, Robert C. "Walter Willard Taylor, Jr. 1913-1997." Society for American Archaeology Bulletin 15:4 (1997). Accessed August 7, 2013. http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/publications/saabulletin/15-4/SAA15.html.

Maca, Allan, William Folan and Jonathan Reyman, editors, Prophet, Pariah, and Pioneer: Walter W. Taylor and Dissension in American Archaeology. Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 2010.

Taylor, Walter W. Curriculum vitae. 1975.

1913 -- Born in Chicago, Illinois

1935 -- Earns A. B. in Geology from Yale University

1935-1941 -- Field work in Arizona, New Mexico, Georgia, Mexico (Coahuila)

1942 -- Earns Ph. D. in Anthropology from Harvard UniversityEnlists in U. S. Marine Corps

1944 -- Captured and detained in prisoner-of-war camps by German forces during overseas service in WWII

1947 -- Field work in Mexico (Coahuila)

1948 -- Publishes book, A Study of Archeology

1949-1965 -- Field work in Arizona, Mexico (Coahuila, Sonora, Zacatecas)

1955 -- Resigns from U. S. Marine Corps with rank of Captain

1958-1974 -- Professor of Anthropology and Chairman of the Department, Southern Illinois University

1963, 1967 -- Field work in Spain

1973 -- Field work in Arizona

1974 -- Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University

1997 -- Dies April 14 in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, from complications of Alzheimer's disease
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 59.82 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1925-1983
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.1987-00
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Maps
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: 1937. Report of an Archaeological Survey of Coahuila, Mexico. In New Mexico Anthropologist 2 (2): 2.

1938. Preliminary Report on Sites in Coahuila, Mexico (summary of paper read at April meeting of Southwestern Division, American Association for the Advancement of Science). In New Mexico Anthropologist 2 (2): 4-5.

1948. A Study of Archeology. In Memoir 69, American Anthropological Association.

1954. An Early Slab House Near Kayenta, Arizona. In Plateau 26 (4): 109-123.

1954. An Analysis of Some Salt Samples From the South West. In Plateau 27 (2): 1-71.

1956. Some Implications of the Carbon-14 Dates From a Cave in Coahuila, Mexico. In Texas Archaeological Society, Bulletin 27: 215-234.

1958. Two Archaeological Studies in Northern Arizona. In Museum of Northern Arizona, Bulletin 30.

1960. Archaeological Reconnaissance Behind the Diablo Dam, Coahuila, Mexico (with Francisco Gonzalez Rul). In Texas Archaeological Society, Bulletin 31: 153-165.

1961. Archaeology and Language in Western North America. In American Antiquity 27: 71-81.

1964. Tethered Nomadism and Water Territoriality: An Hypothesis. In Proceedings of the XXXV International Congress of Americanists, Mexico (2): 197-203.

1966. Additional Archaeological Data from Upper Grand Canyon: Nankoweap to Unkar Revisited (with Robert C. Euler). In Museum of Northern Arizona, Plateau 39 (1): 26-45.

1968. A Burial Bundle from Coahuila, Mexico. In Collected Papers in Honor of Lyndon Lane Hargrave, Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico: 1.

1972. The Hunter-Gatherer Nomads of Northern Mexico: A Comparison of the Archival and Archaeological Records. In World Archaeology (4) 2: 167-168.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Maps
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Includes correspondence, teaching materials, student papers, manuscripts, miscellaneous papers relating to projects, diaries, printed materials, photographs, cartographic materials. Much of the material concerns Taylor's archeological work in Coahuila, Mexico, some of which was carried out for the Smithsonian Institution (Northern Mexico Archeological Fund), and material on Tatvejo Cave in Sonora. Some materials concern Southeastern Indians and some or all of that belonged to Lyda Averell Taylor. Still other material concerns work in Monument Valley, Arizona, in 1952; the Pueblo Ecology Survey (with William Yewdale Adams), and work in Spain. The work also includes material concerning many other aspects of Taylor's life, both personal and professional. Also included are many papers by Taylor's students and other archeologists.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Taylor is listed as a correspondent in the following collections at the National Anthropological Archives: 
Frank Maryl Setzler Papers 1927-1960
American Indian Chicago Conference Records 1960-1966.

Taylor is listed as a subject in the following collection at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:
Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975, United States National Museum.

Archeological specimens related to Taylor's fieldwork, especially in Coahuila, Mexico, can be found in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Anthropology Collections.

Bone specimens related to Taylor's fieldwork in Coahuila, Mexico, can be found in the NMNH Mammals Divison of Vertebrate Zoology Collections.

Print versions of Taylor's books (author, editor, and contributor) can be found at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. These volumes include:
A Study of Archeology
Contributions to Coahuila archaeology: with an introduction to the Coahuila project
The identification of non-artifactual archaeological materials : report of a conference held in Chicago, March 11-13, 1956 / by the Committee on Archaeological Identification, Division of Anthropology and Psychology, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.
Culture and life; essays in memory of Clyde Kluckhohn
Archaeology without borders: contact, commerce, and change in the U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico

For oral history interviews with anthropologists that have Taylor listed as a subject or professional influence, see the following video cassettes at the Human Studies Film Archives:
Video Dialogues in Anthropology: John Rowe and Charles Wagley, 1984
Video Dialogues in Anthropology: Charles Wagley, 1983

For additional materials concerning Taylor's manuscript on "Sandals from Coahuila Caves," see:
Patty Jo Watson collection on Walter Taylor, circa 1980-2003, at the National Anthropological Archives.

For correspondence and other documents related to Taylor's position held at Southern Illinois University, see: 
Walter W. Taylor Papers, 1958-1973, University Archives, Southern Illinois University.