Witthoft, John

John Witthoft taught in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Born October 4, 1921 in Oneonta, New York, John Witthoft had an unusual childhood. Suffering from scarlet fever at age 6, the disease left him with permanent eye damage and life-long tremors. His family saw these physical afflictions as retribution for his disagreeing with their religious beliefs and as a consequence disowned him at a very early age. At age 13 he started working and held many various jobs until finally settling on anthropology as a career. He obtained his masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. While at the university, he assisted anthropologist Frank Speck with his studies of Cherokee language and culture at Big Cove, North Carolina. From 1948-1966, Witthoft was the Pennsylvania state anthropologist. He reported to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and curated the state museum in Harrisburg. Some of his work there included field drawings of Indian mounds in Bradford County in 1948 as part of the Works Progress Administration program. Witthoft joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1966 and remained as professor there until his retirement in 1986. During his teaching career he continued his field research among the Eastern Cherokee, Seneca, Cayuga, Delaware, and Cataba in the Atlantic region and the Hopi and Paiute in the West.