Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Department

History

First Reader

Dr. Trey Berry

Second Reader

Dr. Byron Eubanks

Third Reader

Dr. Randall Wight

Abstract

The early twentieth century bred a generation of amateur archaeologists with time on their hands and money in their pockets. Although amateurs, they made great advances in the science of archaeology. Among these archaeologists were men such as Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the city of Troy; Howard Carter, the discoverer of the riches of King Tut's tomb; Mathew Stirling, the man who discovered the Olmec culture; Sir Arthur Evans, who discovered the Mycenae; and Hiram Bingham, who found the lost city of Machu Picchu. Most of these men were middle to upper class and thus had the money and free time to wander the globe pursuing their passion.

During this same time, an American counterpart to these international archaeologists emerged. Unlike the others, Clarence Bloomfield Moore chose to conduct his research in the southeastern United States and thus became one of the most important characters in the history of American archaeology. His societal and financial background put him on the same plane with these others and gave him the means to pursue his passion. However, while Moore's contributions to the science of archaeology are obvious, his methods are quite controversial. Was Moore indeed the conscientious scientist for which archaeologists today give him credit, or little more than a glorified pot hunter and grave robber?

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.