Smith, Watson, 1897-1993

Anthropologist; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Board of Trustees, 1957-, President, 1968-1970.

From the description of Oral history interview, 1971 Mar. 24 [sound recording]. (Arizona Historical Society, Southern Arizona Division). WorldCat record id: 35827116

Watson Smith (1897-1993) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up in Rhode Island. He received an undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1919, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1924. Smith practiced law until 1933, at which point he left to pursue a career in archaeology.

He worked on the Field Museum Expedition at Lowry Ruin in 1933 and 1934, the Rainbow Bridge Monument in 1936 and 1937, and the Harvard Peabody Museum’s Awatovi Expedition in 1938. The Awatovi Expedition, directed by J.O. Brew, would become the basis for much of Smith’s work and notoriety. The Peabody Museum commissioned the Awatovi Expedition from 1935 to 1939 at the ancient Pueblo site on the Hopi Reservation. During this time, Smith became an expert on the preservation of mural paintings, and it led to his later work at Nestor’s Palace in Western Peloponnesus in Greece.

Smith became Curator of Southwestern Archaeology at the Harvard Peabody Museum following World War II. He also directed field work at Wupatki for the Museum of Northern Arizona, and at the Upper Gila River Expedition for the Peabody. In 1952, he conducted research near Zuni, New Mexico, which led to his writing on Zuni law. In 1954, Smith moved to Tucson, and founded what he called “Peabody Museum West of the Pecos,” and conducted extensive research on ceramics and Awatovi materials.

From the guide to the Watson Smith collection, 1870-1983, predominant 1930-1979, (The Museum of Northern Arizona)

Watson Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 21, 1897. After graduating from Brown University in 1919 and from Harvard Law School in 1924, he practiced law until 1933 at which time Watson decided to pursue an interest in archaeology. Through mutual friends, he became acquainted with Paul S. Martin of the Field Museum of Chicago.

During the summers of 1933 and 1934, Smith worked on the Field Museum Expedition at Lowry Ruin. He spent the summers of 1936 and 1937 on the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition (RBMVE). Smith joined the Harvard Peabody Museum's Awatovi Expedition, under the direction of J.O. Brew, for the 1938 field season. In 1952, Smith's "Kiva Mural Decorations at Awatovi and Kawaika" was published in the Papers of the Peabody Museum series. Through his work on the Awatovi kiva murals, Smith became an authority on the salvaging and recording of mural paintings, resulting in a 1954 invitation to assist in mural recovery at Nestor's Palace in the Western Peloponnesus of Greece.

After World War II, Smith was appointed Curator of Southwestern Archaeology at the Harvard Peabody Museum. He was the field director for the Museum of Northern Arizona excavation at Wupatki and for the Harvard Peabody Museum Upper Gila Expedition in 1949 and 1951. Smith spent the summer of 1952 near Zuni doing field research for his study of Zuni law. In 1954, "Zuni Law: A Field of Values," co-authored with John Milton Roberts, was published in the Papers of the Peabody Museum series.

When Smith moved to Tucson in 1954, he converted the guest house behind his home to an archaeological lab, known as "Peabody Museum West of the Pecos," where he continued research on the Awatovi materials. This research was the basis for his innovative views on the study of ceramics. Most important among the publications that resulted from research at the Peabody Museum West of the Pecos are two Papers of the Peabody Museum, "Painted Ceramics of the Western Mound at Awatovi" and "Prehistoric Kivas of Antelope Mesa."

When he went to the Southwest Museum to lecture on the Awatovi murals, Smith visited Frederick Hodge, who asked him to assume the responsibility for writing a report on Hawikuh. Hodge had directed an excavation at Hawikuh (or Hawikku) from 1917 through 1923 but had not produced a major report. Smith invited Richard and Nathalie Woodbury to collaborate on the project, which resulted in a 1966 publication, "The Excavation of Hawikuh by Frederick Webb Hodge: Report of the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition, 1917-1923."

In 1975, Smith moved from his home of 21 years to a location closer to the University. He continued to write using office space in the Arizona State Museum. In 1983, the American Anthropological Association presented him with the Alfred Vincent Kidder award for his significant contributions to Southwest archaeology. He died at age 95 on July 29, 1993.

From the guide to the Watson Smith Papers, 1937-1994, (Arizona State Museum)