Edwin Ferdon (June 14, 1913 – November 13, 2002) was an American ethnologist noted for his studies of the people of the Americas and Polynesia. Ferdon attained his bachelor's degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

and his master's degree from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

. During his lifetime, Ferdon participated in field work in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, Bolivia,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, and

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...

. While he was not in the field, he worked in museums, including the Museum of New Mexico as a curator and the Museum of International Folk Art as the director. Ferdon died on November 13, 2002, at the age of 89.

Early life

Edwin Nelson Ferdon Jr. was born on June 14, 1913, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He had two sisters and a brother. Ferdon's family moved to

Coshocton, Ohio Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States approximately 63 mi (102 km) ENE of Columbus. The population was 11,216 at the 2010 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in ...

, where he attended high school. While in Ohio, he also participated in

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

and became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

. He attended the

and graduated in 1937. While in school, he went to do field work in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and Bolivia in 1935, and later went to

in 1936 and again in 1937. Ferdon's brother, John, was killed at the age of 17 due to a radio that fell into the bath water in 1936 while Ferdon was away in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Career

After graduation, he worked for the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a curator until 1938. He left that job in order to do fieldwork in

for three years where he conducted archaeological surveys. He went on to attend the

to obtain a master's degree. In 1955,

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...

asked Ferdon to go on an expedition to

as an archaeologist. Ferdon was one of four archaeologists who went on the expedition. While in Eastern Polynesia, Ferdon studied the walking rituals and the details of modern life in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. Ferdon also took many photographs to document the expedition. He published many books and articles on his studies. Ferdon worked for the Arizona State Museum at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

and retired in 1983, after serving as associate director. During his career as an anthropologist and archaeologist, he was also the director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Ferdon died on November 13, 2002, due to cancer. He is buried at the East Lawn Cemetery in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Publications

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

Edwin Ferdon slides and negatives of Mesoamerica and Southern Mexico, MSS 536
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdon, Edwin 1913 births 2002 deaths Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Ethnologists American ethnologists University of Minnesota alumni Harold B. Lee Library-related photography articles University of California alumni University of Arizona staff