Marion Stirling Pugh
Marion Stirling Pugh | |
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Middletown, New York, US | |
Died | April 24, 2001 , US | (aged 89)
Known for |
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Board member of |
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Spouses |
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Children | 2 |
Awards |
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Academic background | |
Education |
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Academic work | |
Discipline | Archaeology |
Sub-discipline | Mesoamerican archaeology |
Institutions | Bureau of American Ethnology |
Marion Stirling Pugh (
Early life and education
Marion Illig was born in
Archaeological career
Illig married Stirling on December 11, 1933.[1] For their honeymoon, she accompanied Stirling as he traveled around the Southeastern United States conducting archaeological excavations for the Public Works Administration.[5] During this time she trained in field archaeology alongside a number of young scholars who would go on to become prominent figures, including Gordon Willey, James A. Ford, Jesse D. Jennings, and Marshall T. Newman.[5]
In 1938, the Stirlings visited Mexico for the first time. While Marion, pregnant with her first child, visited Mitla and Monte Albán, Matthew traveled eight hours on horseback from Tlacotalpan to Tres Zapotes, to see the Olmec colossal head discovered there by José María Melgar y Serrano in 1862. He found that the sculpture was surrounded by a substantial archaeological site and, upon returning to the United States, the Stirlings obtained grants from the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution to explore the area further.[5] Between 1939 and 1946, they conducted eight expeditions to Southern Mexico,[5] which according to National Geographic "essentially rewrote Mesoamerican history".[3] Pugh's role on the excavation was as "housekeeper, bookkeeper, and supervisor of artifact preparation in the field laboratory".[6] Stirling described her as his "co-explorer, co-author and general co-ordinator".[7]
Pugh was a member of the
Personal life and legacy
Pugh's first husband Matthew Stirling died in 1975.[1] They had two children, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. (1938–1989) and Ariana Stirling Withers (1942–2015).[1][2] She was married to John Ramsey Pugh, a retired general involved with the Textile Museum, from 1977 until his death in 1994.[2]
While in her 80s, she travelled to Antarctica.[1]
She died in Tucson, Arizona, on April 24, 2001.[2]
The Stirling archives were donated by their grandchildren to the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian Institution in 2006.[1]
Selected publications
- Stirling, Matthew and Marion I. Stirling. "Tarqui, an early site in Manabi Province, Ecuador." Bureau of American Ethnology, Anthropological Paper 63, Bulletin 196 (1963): 1–28.
- Stirling, Matthew and Marion I. Stirling. "Archaeological notes on Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro, Panama." Bureau of American Ethnology, Anthropological Paper 72, Bulletin 191 (1964): 255–284.
- Stirling, Matthew and Marion I. Stirling. "The archeology of Taboga, Uraba and Taboguila Islands, Panama." Bureau of American Ethnology, Anthropological Paper 73, Bulletin 191 (1964): 285–348.
- Stirling, Matthew and Marion I. Stirling. "El Limon, an early tomb site in Cocle Province, Panama." Bureau of American Ethnology, Anthropological Paper 71, Bulletin 191 (1964): 247–254.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Duvall, Katie (2019). "Guide to the Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers, 1876-2004 (bulk 1921-1975)". Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives. Smithsonian Institution.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Strochlic, Nina (February 13, 2020). "These 20 women were trailblazing explorers—why did history forget them?". National Geographic. March 2020. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-521-78312-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-88402-098-3.
- ISBN 978-0-521-78312-5.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- ^ "SWG Gold Medalists". Society of Woman Geographers. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
Further reading
- Coe, Michael D. (1976) "Matthew Williams Stirling, 1896-1975." American Antiquity 41, no. 1: 67-73.
- "International Women's Day Archive Discovery: Marion Stirling". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
External links
- Stirling and Stirling Pugh papers, Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives
- Photographic archive including photographs of Stirling Pugh, Smithsonian Institution Archives