Max Wells Jakeman (1910 – July 22, 1998) was the founder of the department of archaeology at
Brigham Young University (BYU) and an early member of the advisory board of the
New World Archaeology Foundation
The New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF) is an archaeological organization run by Brigham Young University. When founded it was the largest archeological project funded by a religious institution. It was founded by Thomas Stuart Ferguson who ...
(NWAF). Jakeman has been described as "the father of Book of Mormon archaeology".
Jakeman received his Ph.D. from the
University of California, Berkeley where he wrote his doctoral dissertation based on a combination of archaeological evidence and Spanish documents relating to the history of the
Yucatan. Jakeman believed that archaeology must be grounded in a firm understanding of documents, and he did not see archaeology as a sub-discipline of anthropology.
In 1946 Jakeman joined the faculty of BYU where he worked to teach archaeology in the framework of "historical archaeology," that is, archaeology based on a close connection with historical documents. Jakeman was also closely connected with the
Society for Early Historic Archaeology The Society for Early Historic Archaeology was an organization based at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is ...
of which he served for a time as the director.
Jakeman was also the author of ''The Origin and History of the Mayans: Vol. 1''
Borders listing of book
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Jakeman was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a believer in the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
See also
* John L. Sorenson
John Leon Sorenson (April 8, 1924 – December 8, 2021) was an American anthropologist, scholar and author. He was a professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University, and the author of ''An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon'', ...
* Thomas Stuart Ferguson
Thomas Stuart Ferguson (May 21, 1915 – March 16, 1983) was an American lawyer, a Mormon and an amateur archaeologist who dedicated his life to finding archeological evidence of the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica. He was instrumental in the foundat ...
Notes
Sources
Daniel C. Peterson and Matthew Roper. "Ein Heldenleben? On Thomas Stuart Ferguson as an Elias for Cultural Mormons" in FARMS Review Vol. 16, Issue 1.
* Stewart W. Brewer
"The History of an Idea: The Scene on Stela 5 from Izapa, Mexico, as a Representation of Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life"
''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies''. Vol. 8, issue 1
"Memorial: Max Wells Jakeman: 1910-1998"
'' Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' Vol. 7, Issue 1
article on Mormonism and the Book of Mormon that mentions Jakeman's studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakeman, M. Wells
1910 births
1998 deaths
Latter Day Saints from California
Book of Mormon studies
Brigham Young University faculty
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Latter Day Saints from Utah
20th-century American archaeologists