Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier
Encyclopedia
Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (August 6, 1840 – March 18, 1914) was an American archaeologist after whom Bandelier National Monument
in New Mexico
, United States
, is named.
Bandelier was born in Bern, Switzerland. His early education was very slight, and he never attended school after his eighth year. When a youth he emigrated to the United States
. As a young man he labored unhappily in his family business. Under the mentorship of the pioneering anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan
he turned to scholarship, more particularly to archaeological
and ethnological
work among the Indians
of the southwestern United States, Mexico
and South America
. Beginning his studies in Sonora
(Mexico), Arizona
and New Mexico, he made himself the leading authority on the history of this region, and — with F. H. Cushing
and his successors — one of the leading authorities on its prehistoric civilization.
In 1892 he abandoned this field for Ecuador
, Bolivia
and Peru
, where he continued ethnological, archaeological and historical investigations. In the first field he was in a part of his work connected with the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition and in the second worked for Henry Villard
of New York
, and for the American Museum of Natural History
of the same city. Bandelier had shown the falsity of various historical myth
s, notably in his conclusions respecting the Inca civilization of Peru.
While he was in the pueblo of Isleta, he met his long term friends Father Anton Docher
, The Padre of Isleta and Charles Fletcher Lummis
.
Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is a National Monument preserving the homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. It is named after Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who researched the cultures of the area. Bandelier was designated a National Monument on February 11, 1916, and most of its backcountry...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is named.
Bandelier was born in Bern, Switzerland. His early education was very slight, and he never attended school after his eighth year. When a youth he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As a young man he labored unhappily in his family business. Under the mentorship of the pioneering anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan
Lewis H. Morgan
Lewis Henry Morgan was a pioneering American anthropologist and social theorist, a railroad lawyer and capitalist. He is best known for his work on kinship and social structure, his theories of social evolution, and his ethnography of the Iroquois...
he turned to scholarship, more particularly to archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and ethnological
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
work among the Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of the southwestern United States, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Beginning his studies in Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
(Mexico), Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and New Mexico, he made himself the leading authority on the history of this region, and — with F. H. Cushing
Frank Hamilton Cushing
Frank Hamilton Cushing was an American anthropologist and ethnologist...
and his successors — one of the leading authorities on its prehistoric civilization.
In 1892 he abandoned this field for Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, where he continued ethnological, archaeological and historical investigations. In the first field he was in a part of his work connected with the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition and in the second worked for Henry Villard
Henry Villard
Henry Villard was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway....
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and for the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
of the same city. Bandelier had shown the falsity of various historical myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
s, notably in his conclusions respecting the Inca civilization of Peru.
While he was in the pueblo of Isleta, he met his long term friends Father Anton Docher
Anton Docher
Anton Docher was a French Roman Catholic priest, missionary and defender of the Indians. He was born in 1852 in Le Crest, a small wine growing village of Puy de Dôme in Auvergne. He lived in the pueblo of Isleta in the state of New Mexico for 34 years...
, The Padre of Isleta and Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis was a United States journalist and Indian activist; he is also acclaimed as a historian, photographer, poet and librarian....
.
Publications
- Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Annual Reports, 1877, 1878, 1879:- On the Art of War and Mode of Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans
- On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands and the Customs with respect to Inheritance among the Ancient Mexicans
- On the Social Organization and Mode of Government of the Ancient Mexicans
- From the Papers of the Archaeological Institute of AmericaArchaeological Institute of AmericaThe Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
, American Series, constituting vols. i.-v.:- Historical Introduction to Studies among the Sedentary Indians of New Mexico, and Report on the Ruins of the PuebloPuebloPueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
of PecosPecosPecos may refer to:* Pecos Bill, a mythical American cowboy, immortalized in numerous tall tales* Pecos Classification, a division of all known Ancient Pueblo Peoples culture into chronological phases...
(1881) - Report of an Archaeological Tour in Mexico in 1881 (1884)
- Final Report of Investigations among the Indians of the South-western United States (1890—1892, 2 vols.)
- Contributions to the History of the South-western Portion of the United States carried on mainly in the years from 1880 to 1885 (1890)
- Historical Introduction to Studies among the Sedentary Indians of New Mexico, and Report on the Ruins of the Pueblo
- "The Romantic School of American Archaeologists" (New York Historical Society, 1885)
- The Gilded Man (El Dorado) and other Pictures of the Spanish Occupancy of America (1893)
- On the Relative Antiquity of Ancient Peruvian Burials (American Museum of Natural History, Bulletin, v. 30, 1904)
- Aboriginal myths and traditions concerning the island of Titicaca, Bolivia. (1904)
- The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca ... from Florida to the Pacific, 1528-1536 (editor, translated into English by his wife; 1905).
- The Delight Makers, a novel of Pueblo Indian life
- The Islands of Titicaca and Koati(1910)
- He contributed over 60 articles to the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...