The papers of Dennis J. Stanford and Margaret A. (Pegi) Jodry document the archaeological excavations and analysis of Paleoindigenous (also called Paleoindian) sites through the United States including sites within the San Luis Valley in Colorado and those on the Delmarva Peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay region. Stanford's career as curator of North American Archaeology and Jodry's career as project archaeologist and research associate at the National Museum of Natural History from the 1970s to 2010s as well as their collaboration with other researchers and professional organizations is also represented. The collection consists of field notes, data and analysis, manuscript drafts, publications, correspondence, illustrations and maps, photographic prints, negatives, slides, and recorded film and sound.
Biographical / Historical:
Dennis Joe Stanford (1943-2019) was born on May 13, 1943 in Cherokee, Iowa. After moving to New Mexico and then to Wyoming, Stanford had in early interest in archaeology by finding artifacts starting at the age of 9. After volunteering on an archaeological dig at the Union Pacific Mammoth Site as a teenager, Stanford received a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming in 1965 as a student of Dr. William Mulloy. Stanford then received a M.A. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 1967, and then subsequently began his doctoral research, which focused on the excavation (conducted in 1968-1969) and analysis of the Walakpa site in Alaska. He then received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 1972. That same year, Stanford was hired by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) as an Associate Curator of Archaeology and Director of the Paleoindian/Paleoecology Program. By 1978, he was promoted to Curator of Archaeology and served as Head of the Division of Archaeology from 1990-1992 and again from 2004-2011. He also served as Chairman of the NMNH Department of Anthropology from 1992-2000. During his 47 years at NMNH, Stanford also conducted extensive research on topics and methods such as experimental archaeology, lithic analysis, the peopling of the Americas, and paleoecology and published over 150 works, including several books such as Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture (2012), which he coauthored with archaeologist Bruce Bradley. A few notable sites, experiments, and concepts examined by Stanford and colleagues include the Jones-Miller, Selby, Dutton, Lamb Spring, and sites within the San Luis Valley in Colorado; the Ginsberg elephant butchery experiment; and the Solutrean Hypothesis. Stanford also contributed over one million objects to NMNH's collections, comprising the Dennis Stanford National Paleoindian Collection. Dennis J. Stanford died on April 24, 2019 at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Chronology of the Life of Dennis Stanford
1943 May 13 -- Born in Cherokee, Iowa, USA
1960-1961 -- Volunteered at excavations of the Union Pacific Mammoth site in Wyoming
1965 -- B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming
1967 -- M.A. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico
1968-1969 -- Led survey and excavations at the Walakpa site near Point Barrow, Alaska
1972 -- PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico Began at the Smithsonian Institution as Associate Curator of Archaeology and Director of the Paleoindian/Paleoecology Program at the National Museum of Natural History
1973-1975 -- Excavations at the Jones-Miller Bison Kill site in Wray, Colorado
1975-1978 -- Excavations at the Selby and Dutton sites in Wray, Colorado
1977 -- Excavations at the Linger site (5AL91), Colorado
1978 -- Promoted to Curator of Archaeology at NMNH
1978-1979 -- Conducted the Ginsberg Elephant Butchery Experiment
1980-1981 -- Led second excavation of the Lamb Spring site, Colorado
1981-1983 -- Excavations at the Stewart's Cattle Guard site, Colorado
1983 -- Excavations at the Reddin site (5SH77), Colorado
1990-1992 -- Named Head of the Division of Archaeology at the National Museum of Natural History
1992 -- Coedited Ice Age Hunters of the Rockies with Jane Day Recipient of the C. T. Hurst Award for Outstanding Contributions to Colorado Archaeology, Colorado Archeological Society
1992-2000 -- Served as Chair of the National Museum of Natural History Department of Anthropology
2004-2011 -- Head of the National Museum of Natura History Division of Archaeology
2005 -- Coedited Paleo-American Origins: Beyond Clovis with Robson Bonnichsen, Bradley T. Lepper, and Michael R. Waters
2012 -- Coauthored Across the Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture with Bruce Bradley
2019 April 24 -- Died in Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
