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Article Information
Gertrude Caton Thompson link: Gertrude Caton Thompson
This is the article that was chosen to be edited because there is more information about Gertrude Caton Thompson and her work in archaeology that can be added. The type of information that can be included is her work before becoming an archaeologist and her investigative methods which affected the archaeological excavations, which our group is going to try to add to the article.
Early life:
Caton Thompson's first experience in the field came in 1915 working as a bottle washer in an excavation in France. Gertrude Thompson served as the secretary for the London branch of the Women's Suffrage Movement in, this allowed her access to lectures of prominent archaeologists of the time including Sarah Paterson .
- Her position as secretary allowed her to attend lectures by Sarah Paterson in 1917.
Work in Malta:
In 1921, along with Margaret Murray Margaret Murray, Gertrude Caton Thompson helped in the excavation of the megalithic temple of Borg en Nadur near St. George's Bay in Malta. Her responsibilities included investigating the caves near the temple searching for neanderthal skulls as evidence for a land bridge between Malta and the continent of Africa. Though she did not find evidence to support this theory the the excavation overall yeilded other notable artifacts, such as Bronze Age pottery that closely paralleled Sicilian styles of the same period.
Work in Egypt:
Caton Thompson not only found a number of archaeological artifacts from Egypt, she also organized their display in the Egyptian Exhibition in England. Gertrude Caton Thompson's innovative techniques also left their mark on the field. Along with her excavation techniques, Caton Thompson was also the first to use air surveys to locate archaeological sites. Caton-Thompson was the first archaeologist to scientifically excavate a pre-historic settlement site in Egypt. Combing through the site six inches deep at a time, finding huts of mud and rubble, she is known as one of the pioneers of early archaeological method and was renowned for her attention to detail. With these dicoveries, in 1924, Thompson had found the earliest farming civilization to date in the Fayum region of Egypt, estimated to about 4000 B.C. Borrowing a plane from the visiting Lady Baily of London, Thompson was the first archaeologist to use aerial photographs as a means for archaeological expedition in Egypt.
Her publication of "Kharga Oasis in Prehistory" was the first publication of the new Athlone Press of the University of London. Also the flints she was allowed to bring back to London are permanently housed in the Institute of Archaeology in London. Caton Thompson made her first visit to the Kharga Oasis in 1928 during her expedition to the Zimbabwe excavations. There were three expeditions to the Kharga Oasis from 1930 to 1933. Elinor Gardner did the surveying for many of the excavations. Caton Thompson had to excavate only for Paleolithic artifacts because there was such a variety of prehistoric civilizations at the Kharga Oasis including Neolithic artifacts. Caton Thompson determined that the Kharga Scarp contained water without rainfall, which helped to supply water to a Neolithic civilization. The Kharga Scarp contained many Paleolithic sites, and with their discovery Caton Thompson became one of the first women to lead an excavation of a Stone Age sight.
Great Zimbabwe:
Caton Thompson assembled an all female expedition for the Zimbabwe excavations, which was the first of its kind. The dig was very successful, Although her work was hindered by poor habits and lack of carefulness on the part of archaeologist who studied the area prior to her arrival. Caton Thompson used the ceramics, which were similar to what modern villagers were using, and structures like terrace walls to determine who built the structures from the site.
Later life:
Thompson was the first to collect paleoliths in South Arabia although that excavation did not yield great results. some notes from the excavation were lost in an enemy attack on London during World War II. After finishing her archaeological career Caton-Thompson was integral in the foundation of the British Institute of the History and Archaeology of East Africa, of which she served on the governing council until 1971. Gertrude Caton Thompson was left out of many publications that were meant to highlight the notable members of her field as well as books that specialized in her timeline. Books including Dawson and Uphill's 1972 "Who Was Who in Egyptology" and John Wilson's "Signs and Wonders Upon Pharoah" focused on early egyptologist and both failed to mention an award winning female archaeologist. she went on to have her memoirs release as an autobiography entitled "Mixed Memoirs" in 1983.
Awards and Honors:
Caton Thompson's was also elected to the vice presidency of the Royal Anthropological Institute in 1944. She received the Huxley Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute in 1946. In 1935 Caton Thompson was also the first woman to receive the Rivers Medal, for her work in Northern Africa.
Article Sources:
Cohen, Getzel and Joukowsy, Martha. Breaking ground: pioneering women archaeologists. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.mst.edu/lib/umr-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3414851
trowelblazer online editorial https://trowelblazers.com/gertrude-caton-thompson/
Lady Science article: https://www.ladyscience.com/gertrude-caton-thompson-archaeology/d542f2fkrmned2m2cfk7jpk4p9w2sm
Sheppard, Kathleen. The life of Margaret Murray.
British Museum article on Gertrude Thompson.
Gertrude Caton Thompson, "the desert fayum"
Gertrude Caton Thompson, "kharga oasis in prehistory"
The African Archaeological Review, vol 33, issue 1, "decisive evidence for multidirectional evolution of sociopolitical complexity in southern africa"
The African Archaeological Review, vol 18, issue 1, " who's "that girl": british, south african, and american women as africanist archaeologists in colonel africa (1860s-1960s)"
The African Archaeological Review, vol 34, issue 1, "farming and shaping pottery in contemporary south-eastern botswana"
Peer Review
Looks like some good info to start with, but more is needed. Missing an initial draft and needs more sources to balance info for draft. Alex C Stansbery (talk) 02:58, 21 March 2018 (UTC)
Article Review Edits
More sources have been added to the list of article sources and there will be an initial draft of the article using the new sources.
Peer review by K8shep (talk) 13:36, 21 March 2018 (UTC)
You have some good notes and ideas here on what you want to add, but it doesn't look like you've made much progress in terms of drafting. You have very good sources here. Note also that Caton-Thompson wrote an autobiography that is very useful for talking about her life and work. She also shows up in a book I wrote (The life of Margaret Alice Murray [2013]), so if you're interested you can check it out from the library here at S&T. You really need to get some words on the page here in order to move along as you should for the article. I would start by taking notes, and making those notes into clear, complete sentences. Maybe choose one section to focus on at a time, or each of you take a section. She was integral to Great Zimbabwe--does her article discuss this? You might choose this section to go into considerable detail on--so you'd need to find sources on Great Zimbabwe.