Alfred Vincent Kidder Papers
1920-1962
(0.25 linear feet)

B K53

© American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street * Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
 American Philosophical Society 105 South Fifth Street Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
Table of contents Abstract
Head of the Historical Division of the Carnegie Institution, the archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder specialized in the cliff dwelling cultures of the American Southwest, and is best remembered for work at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, and Pecos del Arroyo.

Primarily personal in nature, the exchange of letters between Kidder and his colleague and friend Neil M. Judd provides some details on their work on the archaeology of the Southwest. The 68 letters include sporadic references to excavations at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, and other archaeological sites, with a few references to other archaeologists and anthropologists.
Background note
Born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on October 25, 1885, Alfred V. Kidder enjoyed an outstanding education. As a student at elite prep schools in Cambridge and Boston, Mass., and Switzerland, he entered Harvard, where a childhood interest in Indians blossomed into a profession when he was introduced to the formal study of anthropology. After receiving his bachelors in 1908, he became one of the first Americans to receive a doctorate in archaeology in 1914, working on the pottery of the Southwest.

Working at the Phillips Academy, Andover, until 1929 (primarily on the site at Pecos dekl Arroyo), and thereafter as Chair of the Division of Historical Research of the Carnegie Institution, Kidder's interests remained centered on the Southwest. In addition to the Pecos site in New Mexico, he made valuable contributions to the archaeology of Mesoamerica through the Carnegie, coordinating excavations of Mayan sites at Chichen Itza and Uaxactun in Yucatan and Kaminaljuya in Guatemala. Although he was often denigrated by critics in the profession for being too little concerned with synthesizing the abundant data he collected in the field and for reaching too limited conclusions, many of his conclusions on the classification of southwestern basketry, for instance, endured for many years. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1934, and the American Anthropological Association named an award for eminence in New World archaeology in his honor in the early 1950s.

Kidder retired from the Carnegie in 1950, teaching briefly at the University of California before retiring to his home in Cambridge. He died on June 11, 1963, leaving behind his wife, Madeleine, whom he married in 1910, and five children.


Scope and content
Primarily personal in nature, the exchange of letters between the archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder and his colleague and friend Neil M. Judd provides some details on their work on the archaeology of the Southwest. The 68 letters include sporadic references to excavations at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, and other archaeological sites, with a few references to other archaeologists and anthropologists. The later letters contain some information about Kidder's family.

Administrative information
Restrictions
None.

Provenance
Gift of Neil Merton Judd, 1965.

Preferred citation
Cite as: Alfred Vincent Kidder Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information
Recatalogued by rsc, 2002.

Added entries
Subjects
  • Archeology
  • Boas, Franz, 1858-1942
  • Chaco Canyon (N.M.)--Antiquities
  • Indians of North America--Southwest, New
  • Morley, Sylvanus Griswold, 1883-1948
  • Pueblo Bonito (N.M.)--Antiquities
  • Southwest, New--Antiquities

    • Contributors
  • Judd, Neil Merton, 1887-
  • Kidder, Alfred Vincent, 1885-1963

    		•
    Contact information
    American Philosophical Society
    105 South Fifth Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386

    [http://www.amphilsoc.org/]

    ©2002


    Detailed inventory

    		 Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd July 6, 1920 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd August 24, 1920 1p.

    		Believes Chaco will be the biggest thing in American archaeology.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd September 18, 1920 3p.

    		Chaco Canyon excavation.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd September 18, 1920 5p.

    		More on the Chaco dig. National Geographic's involvement gives it profile. Chaco ruins mark the high water mark of southwestern civilizations.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd December 6, 1920 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd March 29, 1921 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd March 29, 1921 2p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder July 19, 1921 1p.

    		Have excavated the central kiva at Pueblo Bonito.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder July 12, 1922 1p.

    		Pueblo Bonito

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd February 18, 1929 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder March 11, 1933 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd March 14, 1933 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd May 15, 1933 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd May 31, 1933 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd July 15, 1937 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder July 21, 1937 1p.

    		Re: photos of Chaco and Pueblo Bonito.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd July 1, 1947 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder August 14, 1947 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd August 22, 1947 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd December 22, 1949 1p.

    		Alfred V. Kidder Award Committee, TLS to Neil Merton Judd March 17, 1950 2p.

    		Alfred V. Kidder Award Committee, TLS to Neil Merton Judd October 11, 1950 2p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder October 31, 1950 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd November 6, 1950 1p.

    		Alfred V. Kidder Award Committee, TLS March 10, 1951 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd December 10, 1953 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd January 20, 1954 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd November 7, 1954 3p.

    		"Boaz's enormous reputation, I've always felt, was to a considerable extent built up by a large and persistent claque (if that's how its spelled -- anyhow, mostly Jewish females)." Vannevar Bush raising Cain; suspects the Carnegie Institution is out of the humanities for good.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS to Madeleine and Alfred Vincent Kidder December 26, 1954 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd June 15, 1955 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder June 21, 1955 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd June 24, 1955 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd November 4, 1955 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd March 16, 1956 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd March 30, 1956 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd September 17, 1956 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder September 21, 1956 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd July 29, 1957 1p.

    		Wooden kivas at Pecos.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Madeleine and Alfred Vincent Kidder June 15, 1958 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd June 23, 1958 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder September 20, 1958 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd September 25, 1958 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd June 6, 1959 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder June 29, 1959 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd July 16, 1959 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder July 26, 1959 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd August 4, 1959 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd September 5, 1959 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd December 14, 1959 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd January 18, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Madeleine and Alfred Vincent Kidder January 20, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Madeleine and Alfred Vincent Kidder January 27, 1960 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., ALS to Neil Merton Judd February 12, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder February 22, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder April 28, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder September 16, 1960 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS to Alfred Vincent Kidder July 19, 1921 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd September 23, 1960 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd February 26, 1961 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd May 3, 1961 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd May 31, 1961 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder November 8, 1961 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd November 15, 1961 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd November 27, 1961 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd December 6, 1961 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd January 3, 1962 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Alfred Vincent Kidder January 19, 1962 1p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd February 6, 1962 2p.

    		Kidder, Alfred V., TLS to Neil Merton Judd February 21, 1962 1p.

    		Judd, Neil M., TLS Cy to Madeleine and Alfred Vincent Kidder March 10, 1962 1p.