Gordon R. Willey, Peabody Museum Expedition to British Honduras negatives

Gordon Randolph Willey was born on March 7, 1913. Regarded as one of the leading archaeologists of the 20th century, Willey had a strong influence on the practice and teaching of archaeology. Willey received his bachelors degree from the University of Arizona in 1935 and completed his masters degree in anthropology in 1936. After conducting field work in Georgia, Willey entered Columbia University's doctoral program . After completing his doctoral studies, Willey worked as an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution and then went on to teach at Harvard University, becoming the first Charles P. Bowditch Professor of Central American and Mexican Archaeology and Ethnology in 1950. Willey taught at Harvard for 36 years, mentoring dozens of Ph.D. candidates during his career.

In the field, Willey made important contributions to the archaeological knowledge of North, Central and South America. His work in the Southeast (U.S.) resulted in new methods of pottery analysis and new understanding of ancient culture history. Willey conducted archaeological expeditions in Peru,Panama,Nicaragua,Belize and Honduras. His research in the Viru Valley (Peru) offered significant contributions to understanding patterns of settlements of native societies. His Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Viru Valley, Peru stimulated further academic interest in this area and enabled scholars to reconstruct the socioeconomic organization of past cultures.

Highly respected in his field, Willey received numerous awards such as the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement (1973) from theArchaeological Institute of America. Other honors include the Kidder Award for Eminence in the Field of American Archaeology from the American Anthropological Association, the Viking Medal from the Viking Fund, the Huxley Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute (U.K.), the Order of the Quetzal from the Government of Guatemala, and honorary doctorates from the University of Arizona and the University of Cambridge (U.K.).