Overview
This collection includes materials relating to Dales' excavations at Mohenjo-daro, 1964-65, records of the Seistan Survey, 1968-1971, Balakot Excavations records, and papers pertaining to Dales general research interests.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1961 - 1980
Conditions Governing Access
Restrictions on access: none
Conditions Governing Use
Restrictions on use: none
Extent
20 linear feet (14 boxes; (46 oversize flat files))The Dales' collection includes materials relating to Dales' excavations at Mohenjo-daro, 1964-65, records of the Seistan Survey, 1968-1971, Balakot Excavations records, and papers pertaining to Dales general research interests. The papers include photographs, field records, notes, plans, photologs, correspondence, and records relating to the study of artifacts in Pakistan.
Biographical Sketch
George F. Dales, Jr. was an archaeologist who researched ancient Indus River Valley civilizations. He was born in Akron, Ohio in 1927 and received his bachelor's degree in classical studies in 1953 from the University of Akron. In 1960, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied history, art, and archaeology of the Middle East as well as cuneiform writing. His PhD dissertation was Mesopotamian and Related Female Figurines: Their Chronology, Diffusion and Cultural Functions.
From 1961-1963 Dales was a special lecturer at the University of Toronto. He returned to the University of Pennsylvania as Assistant (1963-66) and Associate (1966-72) Curator of South Asian collections at the University Museum as well as Assistant and Associate Professor in South Asia Regional Studies. In 1972, Dales joined the faculty of Middle Eastern studies at Berkeley; in 1979 he joined the department of South and Southeast Asian studies, also at Berkeley.
Dales spent 30 seasons at archaeological sites, starting in Nippur in southern Iraq (1957). Other sites he explored include Mohenjo Daro and Balakot, and since 1985 Dales directed the Harappa Archaeological Project, involving various universities and institutions.
Dales published more than 80 articles and monographs. His publications include Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan: The Pottery (1986) His last work, Explorations on the Makran coast, Pakistan: A search for paradise, published posthumously by the Archaeological Research Facility of the University of California, Berkeley in 1992 was an illustrated journal account of his 1960 survey of the Makran coast of Pakistan.
Sources:
- New York Times. Obituaries. April 24, 1992.http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/24/us/george-f-dales-jr-is-dead-at-64-archeologist-studied-indus-ruins.html
- "George F. Dales". Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Dales
Arrangement
- Series I: Mohenjo-daro excavations, 1964-1965
- Series II: Seistan Survey,1968-1971
- Series III: Balakot Excavations
- Series IV: Dales'general research interests
- Series V: Miscellaneous Dales papers files
- Series VI: Oversize items
Physical Location
Peabody Museum Archives
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2001.10
These papers are a gift of Barbara A. Dales March 2001
General note
Collections records may contain language, reflecting past collecting practices and methods of analysis, that is no longer acceptable. The Peabody Museum is committed to addressing the problem of offensive and discriminatory language present in its database. Our museum staff are continually updating these records, adding to and improving content. We welcome your feedback and any questions or concerns you may want to share.
Processed by:
Heidi Miller 2005; edited by Patricia H. Kervick, Associate Archivist; May 2010
- Title
- Dales, George F. (1927-1992) Papers, 1961-1980, bulk: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Peabody Museum Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- pea00058
Repository Details
Part of the Peabody Museum Archives Repository
Papers in the Peabody Museum Archives consist of primary source materials that document the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic research and fieldwork since its founding in 1866. More than 2,800 feet of archival paper collections contain documents, papers, manuscripts, correspondence, data, field notes, maps, plans, and other historical records that represent diverse peoples from around the world, and which were created or collected by the Museum, its individual affiliates, or related entities. The collections also document the history or provenience, as well as the creation of, many of the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic collections.