Anna Osler Shepard (1903-1971) was an American

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

whose work was foundational to the study of ancient ceramics in the American Southwest and

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

Biography

Shepard received her bachelor's degree from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1926. She conducted postgraduate work in optical crystallography at Claremont College in 1930 and later studied chemical

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

in 1937 at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. In 1940, she studied at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and received her PhD in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1942. She pioneered the study of

ceramic petrography Ceramic petrography (or ceramic petrology) is a laboratory-based scientific archaeological technique that examines the mineralogical and microstructural composition of ceramics and other inorganic materials under the polarised light microscope in ...

in the United States, determining the

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

of painted vessels from sites throughout the Southwest. She demonstrated that

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

, specifically women, produced pottery on a large scale for trade throughout the region. She also analyzed Maya blue pigments, as well as glazed ''plumbate'' pottery from the Postclassic period in Mexico. Frog Vessel LACMA AC1993

Her book, ''Ceramics for the Archaeologist'', published in 1956, still serves as a comprehensive reference for archaeologists today. Shepard's papers and ceramic collections are held in the Anthropology Section at the

University of Colorado Museum of Natural History The University of Colorado Museum of Natural History is a museum of natural history in Boulder, Colorado. With more than four million artifacts and specimens in the areas of anthropology, botany, entomology, paleontology and zoology, the muse ...

References

Bibliography

*Bishop, Ronald L. and Frederick W. Lange, editors (1991). ''The Ceramic Legacy of Anna O. Shepard''. University Press of Colorado, Boulder. *Morris, Elizabeth Ann (1974). Anna O. Shepard 1903-1971. ''American Antiquity'' 39:448-451. *Shepard, Anna O. (1948). ''Plumbate, a Mesoamerican Trade Ware''. No. 573, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. *Shepard, Anna O. (1956). ''Ceramics for the Archaeologist''. No. 609, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Anna O. American women archaeologists American women scientists 1903 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American archaeologists University of Nebraska alumni Claremont Colleges people New York University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Colorado alumni