Roald H. Fryxell
Encyclopedia
Roald H. Fryxell was an American
geologist
and archaeologist.
, a geologist and professor, and Regina Holmén Fryxell
, an organist and music teacher, both on the faculty of Augustana College
in Illinois
, from which he graduated in 1956 with a degree in geology.
. He was noted for his interdisciplinary work in geoarchaeology.
During the 1960s Fryxell worked with two members of the U.S. Geological Survey under a National Science Foundation
grant to study a site named Hueyátlaco, at the north shore of the Valsequillo Reservoir, in the state of Puebla
, Mexico
. They discovered stone tools that they dated from 250,000 years ago. This finding was received with great skepticism by the archaeological community.
In 1968 Fryxell was a co-principal investigator with Richard Daugherty (WSU) during the unearthing of the Marmes Rockshelter
from the floodplain of the Palouse River
near the confluence of the Palouse and Snake River
s in southeastern Washington. The site was found to contain some of the oldest human remains in the western hemisphere at 12,000 years of age.
In 1971 he was selected to be part of the team of geologists in Houston
who examined rocks brought back from the Moon
during the Apollo program. He was also the designer of the apparatus used for collecting core samples of the moon's surface. The lunar crater Fryxell
is named after him.
Fryxell died in 1974 in a car accident, and his family chose to honor his memory by endowing the Fryxell Award for Interdisciplinary Research, given annually by the Society for American Archeology in recognition of interdisciplinary excellence by a scientist. The SAA also holds a Fryxell Symposium during their meetings. An overlook shelter at the Palouse Falls
is also named after him, as is the Roald H. Fryxell Memorial Scholarship at Augustana College
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and archaeologist.
Background
Roald Hilding Fryxell was the son of Fritiof FryxellFritiof Fryxell
Fritiof M. Fryxell , was an American geologist and mountain climber, best known for his research and writing on the Teton Range of Wyoming. Upon the establishment of Grand Teton National Park in 1929, he was named the park’s first naturalist, a position he held for six summers...
, a geologist and professor, and Regina Holmén Fryxell
Regina Fryxell
Regina Fryxell, born Regina Holmén was a popular and influential American composer of Lutheran hymns and was responsible for the Setting Two of the Service Book and Hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on which she worked between 1948 and 1958...
, an organist and music teacher, both on the faculty of Augustana College
Augustana College (Illinois)
Augustana College is a private liberal arts college located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Covering of hilly, wooded land, Augustana is adjacent to the Mississippi River...
in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, from which he graduated in 1956 with a degree in geology.
Career
Dr. Fryxell, known as "Fryx" by his friends, later became professor of geochronology at Washington State UniversityWashington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
. He was noted for his interdisciplinary work in geoarchaeology.
During the 1960s Fryxell worked with two members of the U.S. Geological Survey under a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
grant to study a site named Hueyátlaco, at the north shore of the Valsequillo Reservoir, in the state of Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, 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...
. They discovered stone tools that they dated from 250,000 years ago. This finding was received with great skepticism by the archaeological community.
In 1968 Fryxell was a co-principal investigator with Richard Daugherty (WSU) during the unearthing of the Marmes Rockshelter
Marmes Rockshelter
The Marmes Rockshelter is an archaeological site first excavated in 1962, near the confluence of the Snake and Palouse Rivers, in Franklin County, southeastern Washington. This rockshelter is remarkable in the level of preservation of organic materials, the depth of stratified deposits, and the...
from the floodplain of the Palouse River
Palouse River
The Palouse River is a tributary of the Snake River located in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho. It flows for southwestwards, primarily through the Palouse region of southeastern Washington...
near the confluence of the Palouse and Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
s in southeastern Washington. The site was found to contain some of the oldest human remains in the western hemisphere at 12,000 years of age.
In 1971 he was selected to be part of the team of geologists in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
who examined rocks brought back from the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
during the Apollo program. He was also the designer of the apparatus used for collecting core samples of the moon's surface. The lunar crater Fryxell
Fryxell (crater)
Fryxell is a small lunar crater that lies amidst the western inner ring of the Montes Rook. This crater is located on the Moon's far side, at the extreme edge of the region of the surface sometimes brought into view of the Earth due to libration. Even under rare conditions of favorable lighting and...
is named after him.
Fryxell died in 1974 in a car accident, and his family chose to honor his memory by endowing the Fryxell Award for Interdisciplinary Research, given annually by the Society for American Archeology in recognition of interdisciplinary excellence by a scientist. The SAA also holds a Fryxell Symposium during their meetings. An overlook shelter at the Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls
The Palouse Falls lies on the Palouse River, about upstream of the confluence with the Snake River in southeast Washington, United States. The falls are in height...
is also named after him, as is the Roald H. Fryxell Memorial Scholarship at Augustana College
Augustana College (Illinois)
Augustana College is a private liberal arts college located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Covering of hilly, wooded land, Augustana is adjacent to the Mississippi River...
.
Sources
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature (Tudor Publishers. 1995) ISBN 0-936389-27-3.