Charles C. Di Peso

Charles C. Di Peso
Name	Charles C. Di Peso
Birth date	1920
Death date	1982
Nationality	American
Occupation	Archaeologist
Known for	Excavations at Casas Grandes
Employer	Museum of New Mexico

Charles C. Di Peso was an American archaeologist noted for leading large-scale excavations at Paquimé (Casas Grandes) and for promoting connections between prehistoric Southwest cultures and Mesoamerican civilizations. His career spanned fieldwork, museum curation, and publication during a period when figures like Alfred V. Kidder, Jesse D. Jennings, and Neil M. Judd shaped Southwestern archaeology. Di Peso's work influenced debates involving scholars such as Paul S. Martin, Emiliano Gallaga, and Ignacio Bernal.

Early life and education

Born in 1920, Di Peso grew up in an era shaped by events like the Great Depression and institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and University of Arizona. He pursued formal training in archaeology and anthropology at institutions linked to figures like Alfred V. Kidder and A.V. Hill, receiving mentorship comparable to that offered by scholars at the Peabody Museum and the Field Museum of Natural History. His academic formation intersected with programs at the University of New Mexico and contacts with curators from the American Anthropological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America.

Archaeological career

Di Peso joined the Museum of New Mexico and developed professional ties with curators from the American Museum of Natural History, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. He organized excavations that attracted collaboration from institutions such as the National Geographic Society and scholars associated with the University of Chicago and the Carnegie Institution. His administrative and field roles overlapped with contemporaries who worked at the Peabody Museum, the University of Arizona, and the Institute of Archaeology (Mexico City), fostering exchanges across borders with Mexican institutions like the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.

Major excavations and findings

Di Peso is best known for directing multi-season excavations at Paquimé, commonly called Casas Grandes, in what is now Chihuahua, Mexico, a site also studied by investigators from the National Geographic Society and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. His teams uncovered architectural complexes, burial contexts, and material culture that prompted comparisons with assemblages from sites such as Cañada de la Virgen, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Hohokam, and Mogollon contexts. Excavations revealed artifacts including polychrome ceramics, copper bells, and shell ornaments that echoed trade goods found at Tikal, Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, and in collections at the Peabody Museum and the Field Museum of Natural History. He documented stratigraphy and chronology that aligned Paquimé with regional sequences discussed by researchers at the University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Methodology and interpretations

Di Peso applied excavation strategies influenced by methodological trends from the University of Chicago and practitioners like Jesse D. Jennings and A.V. Kidder, employing grid-based excavation, meticulous stratigraphic recording, and comparative artifact analysis akin to work at the Peabody Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. He argued for long-distance interaction between the Southwest and Mesoamerica, drawing parallels to models advanced by scholars associated with Ignacio Bernal and institutions such as the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. His interpretations engaged debates involving Paul S. Martin's ideas, contested by followers of regionalist frameworks from researchers at Mesa Verde National Park and the National Park Service. Critics and proponents referenced analogies to material culture from Teotihuacan, Tula (Toltec site), and Zapotec civilization to support or challenge Di Peso's trade and migration hypotheses.

Publications and legacy

Di Peso published extensive site reports and monographs that became core references for studies of Paquimé in libraries and collections at the Peabody Museum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and university presses affiliated with the University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico. His major works entered scholarly discourse alongside publications by Neil M. Judd, Jesse D. Jennings, Paul S. Martin, and Ignacio Bernal, influencing subsequent research by archaeologists at the National Geographic Society, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, and academic departments at University of California, Berkeley and University of New Mexico. Debates over his conclusions spurred further excavations and analyses by teams connected to the Archaeological Institute of America and conservation efforts at Casas Grandes now promoted through regional heritage programs and museums.

Awards and recognitions

During his career Di Peso received acknowledgments from professional bodies comparable to honors granted by the Archaeological Institute of America, the American Anthropological Association, and the National Geographic Society, and his work was recognized in exhibitions at institutions such as the Peabody Museum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of New Mexico. Posthumous recognition of his contributions has been cited in discussions by curators at the Smithsonian Institution and by scholars publishing through university presses at the University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico.

Category:American archaeologists Category:1920 births Category:1982 deaths