Archaeology and Anthropology
In this section, you can find information on archaeologists, anthropologists, and palaeontologists. These different disciplines have been placed together here as there is frequently a crossover between their works. Some individuals here can also be found on the biology pages due to the interdisciplinary nature of their work (as an example, the links between palaeontology and evolutionary biology)
Archaeology specifically is the study of people and objects from the past, whilst anthropology is the study of the development of human cultures and societies. Both come from the development of antiquarianism – the study of history with reference to artefacts.
Modern archaeology is a complex and multi-disciplinary topic, involving a mixture of history, geology, and biology. Most archaeologists here are associated with specific time periods, locations, or peoples (e.g. Egyptologists)
Palaeontology is the further specialism dealing with ancient and pre-historic life. Palaeontology is distinct from archaeology in that it involves the study of non-modern human life, but can involve the study of pre-modern human species.
18th Century
Lady Hester Stanhope (1776 - 1839) - English Adventurer and Archaeologist
Elizabeth Philpot (1780 - 1857) - English Palaeontologist
Josephine Kablick (1787 - 1863) - Czech Botanist and Palaeontologist
Mary Buckland (1797 - 1857) - English Palaeontologist
Mary Anning (1799 - 1857) - English Fossil Collector and Palaeontologist
19th Century
Johanna Mestorf (1828 - 1909) - German Archaeologist
Zsófia Torma (1832 - 1899) - Hungarian Archaeologist
Praskovya Uvarova (1840 - 1924) - Russian Archaeologist
Zelia Nuttall (1857 - 1933) - American Archaeologist
Margaret Crosfield (1859 - 1952) - English Palaeontologist
Margaret Alice Murray (1863 - 1963) - English-Indian Egyptologist, Archaeologist, and Anthropologist
Gertrude Bell (1868 - 1926) - English Explorer and Archaeologist
Maud Cunnington (1869 - 1951) - Welsh Archaeologist
Harriet Boyd Hawes (1871 - 1945) - American Archaeologist
Marie Stopes (1880 - 1958) - British Palaeobotanist
Gertrude Caton Thompson (1888 - 1985) - English Archaeologist
Winifred Goldring (1888 - 1971) - American Palaeontologist
Hanna Rydh (1891 - 1964) - Swedish Archaeologist
Dorothy Garrod (1892 - 1968) - English Archaeologist
Jole Bovio Marconi (1897 - 1986) - Italian Archaeologist
Tilly Edinger (1897 - 1967) - German Palaeontologist
Mildred Trotter (1899 - 1991) - American Forensic Anthropologist
20th century - present
Suzanne LeClercq (1901 - 1994) - Belgian Palaeobotanist
Maria Reiche (1903 - 1998) - German-Peruvian Archaeologist
Kathleen Kenyon (1906 - 1978) - British Archaeologist
Joan du Plat Taylor (1906 - 1983) - British Archaeologist
Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer (1907 - 2004) - South African Palaeontologist
Jacquetta Hawkes (1910 - 1996) - British Archaeologist
Mary Leakey (1913 - 1996) - British Palaeoanthropologist
Halet Çambel (1916 - 2014) - Turkish Archaeologist
Anne Stine Ingstad (1918 - 1997) - Norwegian Archaeologist
Marija Gimbutas (1921 - 1994) - Lithuanian Archaeologist
Ursula M. Cowgill (1927 - 2015) - American Anthropologist
Margaret Rule (1928 - 2015) - British Archaeologist
Hester A. Davis (1930 - 2014) - American Archaeologist
Halszka Osmolska (1930 - 2008) - Polish Palaeontologist
Teresa Maryańska (1937 - 2019) - Polish Palaeontologist
Meave Leakey (1942 -) - British Palaeoanthropologist
Elisabeth Vrba (1942 - ) - German-American Palaeontologist
Patricia Vickers-Rich (1944 -) - Australian Palaeontologist
Gerta Keller (1945 - ) - Swiss Palaeontologist
Anna Curenius Roosevelt (1946 - ) - American Archaeologist
Ruth Shady (1946 - ) - Peruvian Archaeologist
Jenny Clack (1947 - 2020) - English Palaeontologist
Sue Hendrickson (1949 - ) - American Palaeontologist
Mercedes Doretti (1959 - ) - Argentinian Forensic Anthropologist
Sue Black (1961 - ) - Scottish Forensic Anthropologist
Sonia Alconini (1965 - ) - Bolivian Archaeologist
Jane Rigby (fl. 2000s) - American Palaeontologist
Mary Higby Schweitzer (fl. 2000s) - American Palaeontologist