The U-M Bentley Historical Library has created a collection of research, notes, photographs and other work by former U-M archaeology professor Jeffrey R. Parsons. Parsons was the curator of Latin American archaeology at UMMAA and a professor in the Department of Anthropology from 1966 until his retirement from U-M in 2006. He also served as director of UMMAA from 1983 to 1986. He began his research career in the Valley of Mexico in 1963, perfecting the technique of archaeological surface survey now used in many areas of the world. The results were detailed reports on the settlement sites of every period from 1200 BC to AD 1520—more than 2500 hamlet, village, and town sites. These published data allowed archaeologists to address broader theoretical issues such as the roles of population growth, irrigation, and conflict. In 1998 Parsons received the highest honor given New World archaeologists, the Alfred V. Kidder Award from the American Anthropological Association. Parsons passed away in March 2021.
The Parsons collection is open to researchers, and a finding aid is available here: https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-2012180. The 50 boxes described in this link are the majority of the Parsons archives.
Photo: The photo shows Parsons sorting sherds in the field lab at the site in San Juan Teotihuacán in 1963. It was published in Parsons' last book, Remembering Archaeological Fieldwork in Mexico and Peru, 1961-2003 (Figure 2.34, page 31). Read more about the book here: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/archaeology-books/
