U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory Search this
University of Kansas. Department of Anthropology Search this
University of South Carolina. Department of Anthropology Search this
Extent:
26 Linear feet (53 document boxes, 4 record storage boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 folder, 3 computer disks)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
South Carolina
Hierakonpolis (Extinct city)
Glorieta National Battlefield (N.M.)
Date:
1961-2004
Summary:
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Ted Allan Rathbun. The collection documents his career as a forensic anthropologist and educator through correspondence, publications and teaching materials. The collection includes the publications resulting from his research in South Carolina, Egypt, and Glorieta, New Mexico, as well as a small portion of his research data. His other writings that can be found in the collection include his monographs, journal articles, papers presented at conferences, and reviews he wrote for various journals and publications. The collection also includes materials relating to his consulting activities for law enforcement agencies, and military and historical organizations. Additionally, the collection contains materials related to organizations that he was a member of and his syllabi and lecture notes as a professor at the University of South Carolina. The collection also includes Rathbun's course notes when, as a student at the University of Kansas, he studied under William Bass, Ellis Kerley and other notable anthropologists. Among his correspondents were J. Lawrence Angel, Eve Cockburn, Henry Dobyns, Henry Field, T. Dale Stewart, and T. Cuyler Young.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Ted Allan Rathbun,. The collection documents his career as a forensic anthropologist and educator through correspondence, publications and teaching materials. The collection includes the publications resulting from his research in South Carolina, Egypt, and Glorieta, New Mexico, as well as a small portion of his research data. His other writings that can be found in the collection include his monographs, journal articles, papers presented at conferences, and reviews he wrote for various journals and publications. The collection also includes materials relating to his consulting activities for law enforcement agencies, and military and historical organizations. Additionally, the collection contains materials related to organizations that he was a member of and his syllabi and lecture notes as a professor at the University of South Carolina. The collection also includes Rathbun's course notes when, as a student at the University of Kansas, he studied under William Bass, Ellis Kerley and other notable anthropologists. Among his correspondents were J. Lawrence Angel, Eve Cockburn, Henry Dobyns, Henry Field, T. Dale Stewart, and T. Cuyler Young.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
Arranged into 10 series: 1) Correspondence (1969-2004); 2) Field Work (1976-1996, 2001); 3) Consulting Work (1974-2004); 4) Research Data (1977-1980); 5) Publications (1963-2001); 6) Grants (1977-1991); 7) Professional Organizations (1981-2000); 8) Grants and Publications Reviews (1974-2000); 9) University of South Carolina (1970-2004); 10) Education (1961-1970)
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Allan Rathbun (1942-2012) earned his B.A. (1964), M.A. (1966), and Ph.D. (1971) in anthropology from the University of Kansas, where he studied under anthropologist William M. Bass. He taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran, where he became fluent in Farsi and did research for his doctorate. He conducted research on topics as wide-ranging as population growth in Iran; the physical characteristics of Woodland Indians; Coastal South Carolina paleopathology; growth rates among ancient urban states; shark attacks and human remains; social class and health; the history of African American health; and predynastic cemeteries at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt. Through his South Carolina field work and publications, Rathbun became noted for expanding the knowledge of Afro-American history from the colonial and Civil War times.
Rathbun was also a pioneer in establishing and expanding the use of forensic anthropology technology by law enforcement. He was licensed in South Carolina to assist coroners, law enforcement officials and medical examiners in identifying human remains. He and his students refined a process for the reconstruction of victim's faces, which were then used to assist in their identification. He served as a consulting physical anthropologist to the Charleston County Medical Examiner (1973-93); Deputy State Archaeologist for Forensics (1985-2000); and Consultant to the U.S. Military Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii (1990-2003/2004) where he reviewed cases of military (and civilian) remains from the Vietnam, Korea, and WWII eras. He also participated in the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) efforts for identification of the victims of September 11, 2001.
Rathbun taught at the University of South Carolina for 30 years. He was a popular classroom professor and led research field trips with his students. In 1996 he received the Louise Fry Scudder Faculty Award, which recognized him for excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, student mentoring and advising, and service contributions beyond the university. He retired from full-time teaching in 2000.
Rathbun was also a research associate of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology; director of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (1985-91); and for 15 years a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Sciences. In 2005, he was honored by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences with the T. Dale Stewart Award — its highest honor in Forensic Anthropology — for his lifetime achievements and contributions to the field.
1942 -- Born April 11
1964 -- Married
1964 -- Earns B.A. from University of Kansas, Honors in Anthropology
1966 -- Earns M.A. from University of Kansas, Physical Anthropology
1966-1968 -- Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran
1970 -- Instructor at the University of South Carolina
1971 -- Earns PhD. from University of Kansas, (Physical Anthropology of SWAsia, Applied Cultural and Cultural Ecology). Dissertation: An Analysis of the Physical Characteristics of the Ancient Inhabitants of Hasanlu, Iran
1971-1975 -- Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina
1975-1984 -- Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina
1984-2000 -- Professor at the University of South Carolina
1987-1989 -- Chairman of the Anthropology Department
1990-1996 -- Undergraduate Director
1996 -- Awarded Louise Fry Scudder professorship
1999 -- Named Distinguished Professor
2000 -- Named Distinguished Professor Emeritus
2005 -- Honored by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences with the T. Dale Stewart Award
2012 -- Passed away on November 14
Related Materials:
Rathbun's South Carolina research materials are at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. His other field research data can be found at the Field Museum in Chicago and the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.
His body was donated to the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee and the Physical Anthropology Collections, National Museum of Natural History.
Separated Materials:
Biological specimens found within Series 3. Consulting Work, Subseries: Forensic Cases were transferred to Physical Anthropology Collections, National Museum of Natural History. Videos, also from the forensic case files, were transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives.
Provenance:
Dr. Rathbun donated his professional papers to the National Anthropological Archives in 2005. Additional files were donated in 2013 by his wife, Babette Rathbun, after his death.
Restrictions:
Rathbun's forensic case files donated in 2013 are restricted until 2088. Two folders containing student grades have been separated and are restricted until 2055. For preservation reasons, his computer disks have been separated and restricted. Please note that the collection contains images of human remains.
Conservation of the enclosure of Khasekhemwy at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt : investigation, experimentation, and implementation / Richard L. Jaeschke and Renee Friedman
