Dillehay, Tom
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Tom Dalton Dillehay (born ) is an American
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
currently serving as the Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Religion, and Culture, as well as a Professor of Anthropology at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
. He has previously held teaching positions at the
Universidad Austral de Chile Austral University of Chile ( or UACh) is a Chilean research university based primarily in Valdivia, with satellite campuses in Puerto Montt and Coyhaique. Founded on September 7, 1954, it is one of the eight original Chilean Traditional Univers ...
and the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
. Dillehay received his advanced degrees in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. He established anthropology departments at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Temuco and at Austral University of Chile in Valdivia. In 1977, Dillehay became involved in the excavations at
Monte Verde Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, dating to approximately 14,550–14,500 calibrated years ...
, a site in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
where an early human settlement was discovered in 1975. Based on calibrated
carbon 14 Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colle ...
dates, Dillehay proposed that the remains found at Monte Verde are approximately 14,800 years old. This evidence, which suggests that the first humans arrived in the Americas around 15,000 years ago, challenges the "Clovis first" paradigm by indicating the possibility of an earlier human presence in South America.Dillehay, Tom D.; Carlos Ocampo; José Saavedra; Andre Oliveira Sawakuchi; Rodrigo Vega; Mario Pino; Michael Collins; Linda Scott Cummings; Iván Arregui; Ximena Villagran; Gelvam Hartmann; Mauricio Mella; Andrea González & George Dix (2015). «New Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile». PLoS ONE. 10 (11): e0141923. . This proposal based on his research at Monte Verde met with virulent resistance within the field of archaeology, but was ultimately accepted two decades later. Dillehay's work combines archaeology and ethnography. His excavations span eight countries, including the United States. Dillehay began excavating
Huaca Prieta Huaca Prieta is the site of a prehistoric settlement beside the Pacific Ocean in the Chicama Valley, just north of Trujillo, La Libertad Province, Peru. It is a part of the El Brujo Archaeological Complex, which also includes Moche (culture) s ...
in 2007, where he found evidence that people had lived in that area between 13,300 and 14,200 years ago. In addition to his archaeological work, Dillehay has conducted
ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
research among the
Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
people of southern Chile and the
Jívaro Jivaro or Jibaro, also spelled Hivaro or Hibaro, may refer to: * Jíbaro (Puerto Rico), mountain-dwelling peasants in Puerto Rico * Jíbaro music, a Puerto Rican musical genre * Jivaroan peoples, indigenous peoples in northern Peru and eastern ...
community in northern
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. His primary interest is exploring how ancient groups of foragers transitioned into settled societies. Dillehay has published 32 books. As of 2024, he lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.


Publications

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References


External links


Anthropology in Universidad Austral

Vanderbilt University Anthropology Department
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About Tom Dillehay
at The Archaeology Channel 21st-century American anthropologists Anthropology educators Vanderbilt University faculty Living people Academic staff of the Austral University of Chile Historians of the Mapuche world Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-anthropologist-stub