Hugh O'Neill Hencken (January 8, 1902 – August 31, 1981) 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 ...

who specialized in

Iron Age Europe In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of the prehistoric period and the first of the protohistoric periods,The Junior Encyclopædia Britannica: A reference library of general knowledge. (1897). Chicago: E.G. Melvin. (seriously? 1897 "Junior" ...

. He was curator of European archaeology at the Peabody Museum,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, from 1932 to 1972.

Career

O'Neill Hencken was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on January 8, 1902, to an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

family. He studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he obtained his doctorate in archaeology in 1929. He was appointed the curator of European archaeology at the

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, with ...

in 1932, serving until his retirement in 1972. During this period he also held positions as a lecturer at

, director and chairman of the American School of Prehistoric Research, the Peabody Museum's research division, and taught at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. In the 1940s he was part of the American Defence Harvard Group, a committee of Harvard faculty that compiled lists of historic monuments for the Allied forces in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Specializing in

, O'Neill Hencken worked in a number of countries, including England, Ireland, Morocco, Algeria, Italy, and Greece. Between 1934 and 1936, he directed the archaeological programme of

Earnest Hooton Earnest Albert Hooton (November 20, 1887 – May 3, 1954) was an American physical anthropologist known for his work on racial classification and his popular writings such as the book ''Up From The Ape''. Hooton sat on the Committee on the Negro, ...

's Harvard Archaeological Mission to Ireland, including excavations in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, and

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. As curator at the Peabody Museum, he acquired much of the material and notes from the

Duchess of Mecklenburg This is a list of the Duchesses and Grand Duchesses; the consorts of the Duke Mecklenburg and later the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Strelitz Duchess of Mecklenburg Mecklenburg-Schwerin Line (III) Mecklenburg-Strelitz Line Grand ...

's excavations in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, conducted between 1904 and 1913, which were confiscated at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and eventually sold at auction in the 1930s. This included the collection from Magdalenska gora, an important Iron Age cemetery, which O'Neill Hencken was able to finally bring to publication in 1978, sixty-five years after it was excavated. In the later years of his career he published a number of major synthetic studies, including ''The Earliest European Helmets'' (1971), and two volumes dealing with

Etruscan origins In antiquity, several theses were elaborated on the origin of the Etruscans from the 5th century BC, when the Etruscan civilization had been already established for several centuries in its territories, that can be summarized into three main hypo ...

, ''Tarquinia, Villanovans and Early Etruscans'' (1968) and ''Tarquinia and Etruscan Origins'' (1968)''.'' O'Neill Hencken was an honorary member of the

Prehistoric Society The Prehistoric Society is an international learned society devoted to the study of the human past from the earliest times until the emergence of written history. Now based at University College London in the United Kingdom, it was founded by V. ...

and was elected a corresponding fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1972. A ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' in his honour, ''Ancient Europe and the Mediterranean'', edited by Vladimir Markotic, was published in 1977. His collected papers are held by the

Harvard Library Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection ...

Personal life

O'Neill Hencken's second wife Thalassa Cruso was a well-known

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

. They met in Ireland, where both O'Neill Hencken and Cruso, a student of

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...

, were excavating, and married in 1935. They had three daughters.

References

External links

Hugh O'Neill Hencken papers
Peabody Museum Archives
Mecklenburg Collection
Peabody Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Neill Hencken, Hugh 1902 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American archaeologists People from New York City American people of Irish descent Princeton University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Harvard University faculty Prehistorians Fellows of the British Academy Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Presidents of the Archaeological Institute of America