Spicer, Edward Holland, 1906-1983

Edward (Ned) H. Spicer (1906-1983) was a noted cultural anthropologist, member of the National Academy of Sciences, former president of the American Anthropological Association (1972), Guggenheim fellow, and University of Arizona professor emeritus. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Arizona in 1932 and his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1939. He is the author of numerous books, including: Pascua, a Yaqui Village in Arizona (1940), Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960 (1962), Impounded People; Japanese-Americans in the Relocation Centers (1969) and The Yaquis: A Cultural History (1980).

Spicer worked extensively with the Yaqui Indians of Old Pascua Village and with the U.S. War Relocation Authority during WWII. He taught anthropology at the University of Arizona from 1939-41 and 1946-1978 and he received the UA Foundation’s Creative Teaching Award the Tucson Trade Bureau’s Faculty Achievement Award. He also excavated the Tuzigoot ruins in the Verde Valley, Arizona and helped establish it as a national monument.

Spicer married Rosamond Spicer (nee Brown) (1913-1999) in 1936 and they shared a life of research and companionship. Rosamond was a noted cultural anthropologist, writer, mother, artist and community activist. She received her bachelor’s degree with honors in archaeology from Northwestern University in 1934 and her master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1938. She coauthored with Alice Joseph and Jane Chesky, The Desert People: A Study of the Papago Indians (1949), edited People of Pascua (1988), and edited Performing the Renewal of Community: Indigenous Easter Rituals in North Mexico and Southwest United States (1997). She was also assistant editor for the journal, American Anthropologist (1960-62), research associate for the Guggenheim Foundation and senior research fellow with the Wenner Gren Foundation. Rosamond was a member of the research society, Sigma Xi, and a fellow of the American Anthropological Society. She was also active in many Tucson organizations including, the Tucson Council for Civic Unity, Tucson Community School, and Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission. Both Edward and Rosamond were active in the establishment of the Fort Lowell Historic District; they founded the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association.

From the guide to the Papers of Edward H. and Rosamond B. Spicer, 1911-2000 (bulk 1937-1988), (Arizona State Museum)