Hugh O'Neill Hencken (January 8, 1902 – August 31, 1981) was an American

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

who specialized in

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

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

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, from 1932 to 1972.

Career

O'Neill Hencken was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on January 8, 1902, to an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

family. He studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he obtained a B.A. (1926), an M.A. (1929), and his PhD in archaeology in 1930. 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, United States. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropologica ...

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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In the 1940s he was part of the American Defense 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, 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 552,261. 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, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and eventually sold at auction in the 1930s. This included the collection from , 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 classical 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 thre ...

, ''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 a British 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. Gord ...

and was elected a corresponding fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

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 network of libraries and services at Harvard University, a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic librar ...

Personal life

Hugh O'Neill Hencken married Mary Davies Hopkins at the Espicopal Church in Sedgefield, North Carolina on June 8, 1929. The marriage ended in divorce. His 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 or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

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

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...

, were excavating, and married in London on October 12, 1935. They had three daughters. Thalassa died in Wellesley, MA on June 11, 1997. She was buried at Newton Cemetery, MA.

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 Educators from New York City American people of Irish descent Princeton University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Harvard University faculty American prehistorians Fellows of the British Academy Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Presidents of the Archaeological Institute of America