Helene J. Kantor (July 15, 1919 – January 13, 1993) was a Near Eastern Archeologist and Art Historian in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, best known for her work at

Chogha Mish Tappeh-ye Choghā Mīsh (Persian language; چغامیش ''čoġā mīš'') dating back to 6800 BC, is the site of a Chalcolithic settlement in Western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province on the Susiana Plain. It was occupied at the beginni ...

from 1961 through 1978.

Early life and education

Kantor was born in Chicago in 1919 with

congenital myopathy Congenital myopathy is a very broad term for any muscle disorder present at birth. This defect primarily affects skeletal muscle fibres and causes muscular weakness and/or hypotonia. Congenital myopathies account for one of the top neuromuscular di ...

, a rare muscular disease that limited her activity and eventually ended her career. Her father was psychologist

Jacob Robert Kantor Jacob Robert Kantor (August 8, 1888, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – 1984, Chicago, Illinois) was a prominent American psychologist who pioneered a naturalistic system in psychology called interbehavioral psychology or interbehaviorism. He was the ...

. She attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

and received a B.A. in Zoology and Biology at the age of 19. She earned her Ph.D. in 1945 from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Research career

In 1944, while still a student, Helene published an article entitled "The Final Phase of Predynastic Culture, Gerzean or Semainean" in the ''

Journal of Near Eastern Studies The ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press, covering research on the ancient and medieval civilisations of the Near East, including their archaeology, art, history, literature, ling ...

''. Her most noted work, ''The Aegean and the Orient in the Second Millennium B.C.,'' was published in 1947. This cross-cultural comparison demonstrated important connections between the artwork of the two civilizations. Aside from her primary work at

, she saved the site of nearby

Chogha Bonut Chogha Bonut (Persian ''Choghā bonut'') is an archaeological site in south-western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province. The site is about 20km southeast of Dezful, and 5km west of Chogha Mish, another ancient site. It is believed that the s ...

from destruction by modern development and conducted two seasons of investigation there in 1976/77 and 1977/78.Alizadeh, Abbas
Excavations at Choga Bonut: The Earliest Village in Susiana, Iran
''The Oriental Institute News and Notes'', No. 153, Spring 1997

Awards and honors

*In 1984, Kantor received the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

's Percia Schimmel Archeological Prize for her lifetime achievements. *In 2004, the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...

established the Helene J Kantor Memorial Lecture.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kantor, Helene J 1919 births 1993 deaths Indiana University alumni University of Chicago alumni American women archaeologists 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century women writers 20th-century American archaeologists