Harold S. Gladwin - Publications and Excavations

Publications and Excavations

Gladwin kept publishing on various important archaeological topics throughout his life, up until 1975. Some of his most read works include: Tree Ring Analysis, The Eastern Range of the Red-On-Buff Culture, A Review and Analysis of the Flagstaff Culture, Men out of Asia, Excavations at Snaketown: Material Culture, and The Chaco Branch Excavations at White Mound and in the Red Mesa. Of these publications, Tree Ring Analysis was revised and republished many times by Gladwin, as he would argue with the methods of other archaeologists, or learn more detail into the art of tree ring dating. Particularly in his 1946 publication on the problems of tree ring dating, Gladwin used his own data from the Gila Basin to dispute dates that A.E. Douglass had prescribed to certain archaeological evidence. While Gladwin consistently sought out information that prescribed to his own view of dendrochronology, to this day, he is seen as somewhat of a novice on the topic. Nonetheless, in his publications, Gladwin takes a careful consideration of the methods employed by he and others, as to bring special attention to the critical thinking that one must undertake as an archaeologist. One of Gladwin’s most famous publications was Men out of Asia. In this novel-like publication, Gladwin describes his view on anthropology, and proposes a theory on the origins of peoples in the Americas, as a result of “multitudinous migrations.” This book is filled with cartoon-like representations of what Gladwin thought the first occupants of North America and their descendants looked like. This publication gives insight into Gladwin’s own humor and the love he had for this subject material.