Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T17:43:13.622Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Robert McCormick Adams: An Archaeological Biography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Norman Yoffee
Norman Yoffee*
Affiliation:
Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Robert Adams celebrated his 70th birthday on July 23, 1996. Forty years ago American Antiquity published his first journal article, which helped launch a remarkable career. Adams has influenced not only fundamental aspects of social evolutionary theory and archaeological reconnaissance surveys but also the structure of support for science in the United States and abroad. At the 1996 meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Adams was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. This essay traces the intellectual influences on Adams, the progress of his fieldwork, and the exposition and development of his ideas in his monographs and major essays. The significance of his work is assessed, and a bibliography of his principal archaeological writings is included.

Robert Adams celebró su 70 a cumpleaños el 23 de Julio de 1996. Hace cuarenta años, American Antiquity publicó su primer articule, el cual ayudó a lanzar su notable carrera. Adams no sólo tuvo influencia en los aspectos fundamentales de la teoría de la evolución social y en la prospección arqueológica pero también en la estructura de apoyo a la ciencia en los Estados Unidos y en el extranjero. Durante la junta de 1996, la Sociedad de Arqueologia Americana se otorgó a Adams la Medalla por Servicio de Distinción. El presente ensayo traza las influencias intelectuales que tuvo Adams, el progreso de su trabajo de campo, y la exposición y desarollo de sus ideas en sus monografías y trabajos mayores. Se revisa la importancia de su trabajo y se incluye una bibliografía de sus trabajos arqueológicos principales.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , July 1997 , pp. 399 - 413
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Adams, Robert McCormick 1956 Level and Trend in Early Sumerian Civilization. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1960 City Invincible: A Symposium of Urbanization and Cultural Development in the Ancient Near East (coedited with C. H. Kraehling). University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1965 Land Behind Baghdad: A History of Settlement on the Diyala Plains. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1966 The Evolution of Urban Society: Early Mesopotamia and Prehispanic Mexico. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1972 The Uruk Countryside: The Natural Setting of Urban Societies (with H. J. Nissen). University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1981 Heartland of Cities: Surveys of Ancient Settlement and Land Use on the Central Floodplain of the Euphrates. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1982 Behavioral and Social Science Research: A National Resource (coedited with N. J. Smelser and D. J. Treiman). National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1996 Paths of Fire: An Anthropologist's Inquiry into Technology in the Making of the Modern West. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1952 The Jarmo Pottery and Stone Vessel Industries. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1953 Some Small Ceremonial Structures at Mayapan. Current Reports 1: 144—179. Carnegie Institution of Washington.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1955 Developmental Stages in Ancient Mesopotamia. In Irrigation Civilizations: A Comparative Study, edited by Steward, J. H., pp. 6–18. Social Science Monographs No. 1. Panamerican Union, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1956 Some Hypotheses on the Development of Early Civilizations. American Antiquity 21: 227–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1957 Settlements in Ancient Akkad. Archaeology 10: 270–273. A Note on Canal and Marsh Stratigraphy near Zubediyah (with S. A. Harris). Sumer 13: 157–163.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1958 Salt and Silt: Problems of Irrigation Agriculture in Ancient Mesopotamia (with Jacobsen, T.). Science 128: 1251–1258. Survey of Ancient Watercourses in Central Iraq. Sumer 14: 101–103.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1959 Report on an Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Central Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico (with N. A. Mcquown). In Report on the Man-in-Nature Project, edited by Mcquown, N. A., pp. 1–58. Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1960 The Evolutionary Process in Early Civilizations. In Evolution after Darwin, edited by Tax, S., vol. 2, pp. 153–168. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick The Origin of Cities. Scientific American September: 153-168. Ecological and Socio-economic Features in the Rise of Mesopotamian Civilization. In City Invincible, edited by Kraehling, C. and McC, R.. Adams, pp. 24–34. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick Early Civilizations, Subsistence and Environment. In City Invincible, edited by Kraehling, C. and McC, R.. Adams, pp. 269–296. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1961 Changing Patterns of Territorial Organizations in the Central Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. American Antiquity 26: 341–360 Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Chiapas Highlands. In Los Mayas del sur y sus relaciones con los Nahuas meridionales, pp. 105–110. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologfa, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1962 Agriculture and Urban Life in Early Southwestern Iran. Science 136: 109–122. A Synopsis of the Historical Demography and Ecology of the Diyala River Basin, Central Iraq. In Civilizations in Arid Lands, edited by Woodbury, R. B., pp. 15–29. Anthropological Papers No. 62. University of Utah, Salt Lake.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1964 The Origins of Agriculture. In Horizons of Anthropology, edited by Tax, S., pp. 120–131. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1965 The Development of Political Institutions. Review of The Political Systems of Empires, by S. N. Eisenstadt. Economic Development and Cultural Change 13: 245–248.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1966 Trend and Tradition in Near Eastern Archaeology. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 110: 105–110. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1968 Archaeological Research Strategies: Past and Present. Science 160: 1187–1192. Archaeological Reconnaissance and Soundings in Jundi Shapur (with Hansen, D. P.). Ars Orientalis 7: 53–70. Urban Revolution: Introduction. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 16: 201–207. 2nd ed. The Natural History of Urbanism. In “The Fitness of Man's Environment,” Smithsonian Annual 2: 41–59. Uruk-Warka Area. Sumer 23: 203–209.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1969 The Study of Ancient Mesopotamian Settlement Patterns and the Problem of Urban Origins. Sumer 25: 111–124. Conclusion. In Middle Eastern Cities, edited by Lapidus, I. M., pp. 188–196. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1970 Tell Abu Sarifa: A Sassanian-Islamic Ceramic Sequence from South Central Iraq. Ars Orientalis 8: 87–119.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1972 Settlement and Irrigation Patterns in Ancient Akkad. In The City and Area of Kish by McG. Gibson, pp. 182-208, Maps 1-5. Field Research Projects, Miami, Florida. Patterns of Urbanization in Early Southern Mesopotamia. In Man, Settlement and Urbanism, edited by Ucko, P. J., R. Tringham and D. W. Dimbleby, pp. 735–749. Duckworth, London.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1973 Discussion. In Research and Theory in Current Archaeology, edited by Redman, C. L., pp. 321–327. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1974 Anthropological Perspectives on Ancient Trade. Current Anthropology 15: 239–258 Historic Patterns of Mesopotamian Agriculture. Irrigation's Impact on Society, edited by T. E. Downing and McG. Gibson, pp. 1–6. Anthropological Papers No. 25. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1975 The Emerging Place of Trade in Civilizational Studies. In Ancient Civilization and Trade, edited by Sabloff, J. and Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C., pp. 451–465. School of American Research Series. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
An Early Prehistoric Site in the Warka Region. Sumer 31: 11–16 An Ancient Uruk Threshing Sledge or Harrow? Sumer 31: 17–19 The Mesopotamian Social Landscape: A View from the Frontier. In Reconstructing Complex Societies, edited by Moore, C., pp. 1–20. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Supplement 20.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1977 World Picture, Anthropological Frame. American Anthropologist 79: 265–279. Saudi Arabian Archaeological Reconnaissance 1976 (with Parr, P. J., Ibrahim, M. , al-Mughannun, A. S.). Atlal, The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology 1: 21—40. Social Research and Development. In The National Research Council in 1977: Current Issues and Studies, pp. 23–34. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1978 Strategies of Maximization, Stability, and Resilience in Mesopotamian Society, Settlement, and Agriculture. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 122: 329–335. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1979 Late Prehispanic Empires of the New World, pp. 59-73 In Power and Propaganda: A Symposium on Ancient Empires, edited by Larsen, M. T., pp. 59–73. Akademisk Forlag, Copenhagen. Common Concerns but Different Standpoints: A Commentary. In Power and Propaganda: A Symposium on Ancient Empires, edited by Larsen, M. T., pp. 393-104. Akademisk Forlag, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1981 Rationales and Strategies for Social Science Research. Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 34: 8–34. Review article of The Rural Landscape of the Land of Arraphe, by Carlo Zaccagini. Revista degli Studi Orientali 54: 381–388. Comment on A. Gilman, “The Development of Social Stratification in Bronze Age Europe.” Current Anthropology 22: 8–9 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1982 Property Rights and Functional Tenure in Mesopotamian Rural Communities. In Societies and Languages of the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honor of I. M. Diakonoff, edited by Dandamayev, M. A., Gershevitch, I., Klengel, H., Komoroczy, G., Larsen, M. T., and Posgate, J. N., pp. 1–14. Aris and Phillips, Warminster, England. Die Rolle des Bewasserungsbodenbaus bei der Entwicklung von Institutionen in der altmesopotamischen Gesellschaft. In Produktivkrafte und Gesellschaftsformationen in vorkapitalistischer Zeit, edited by Hermann, J. and Sellnow, I., pp. 119^40. Akademie Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1983 Natural and Social Sciences Paradigms in Near Eastern Prehistory. In The Hilly Flanks and Beyond: Essays on the Prehistory of Southwestern Asia Presented to Robert J. Braidwood, edited by Young, T. C., Jr., P. E. L. Smith, and P. Mortensen, pp. 369–374. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, vol. 36. Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick The Jarmo Pottery and Stone Vessel Industries. In Prehistoric Archaeology along the Zagros Flanks, edited by Braidwood, L. S., Braidwood, R. J., Howe, B., Reed, C. A., and Watson, P. J., pp. 209–232. Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 105. Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1984 Mesopotamian Social Evolution: Old Outlooks, New Goals. In On the Evolution of Complex Societies: Essays in Honor of Harry Hoijer, edited by Earle, T., pp. 79–129. Undena Publications, Malibu, California. Text and Context in the Study of the Bronze Age in Mesopotamia and Neighboring Regions. Information Bulletin 6: 38–48. International Association for the Study of the Cultures of Central Asia.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1988 Introductory Remarks: Spatial and Temporal Contexts. In Conceptual Issues in Environmental Archaeology, edited by Bintliff, J. L., Davidson, D. A., and Grant, E. G., pp. 1–15. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, Scotland. Contexts of Civilizational Collapse. In The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations, edited by N. Yoffee Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1991 Museums beyond Treasures and Traditions. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 135: 332–338. Philadelphia. Cultural and Sociotechnical Values. In Engineering as a Social Enterprise, edited by Sladovich, H. E., pp. 26–38. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. Strains in the American Industry-Science-Education Triad. In Japanese/American Technological Innovations: The Influence of Cultural Differences in Japanese and American Innovation in Advanced Materials, edited by Kingery, W. D., pp. 243–248. Elsevier, New York.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1992 Ideologies: Unity and Diversity. In Ideologies and the Evolution of Precolumbian Civilizations, edited by Demarest, A. and Conrad, G., pp. 205–221. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1994 Soil and Water as Critical Factors in the History of the Fertile Crescent. In Soil and Water Science: Key to Understanding our Global Environment. Special Publication No. 36, pp. 11–14. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1994-1984 Smithsonian Horizons. Monthly column in Smithsonian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1996 Epilogue. In The Study of the Ancient Near East in the 21st Century, edited by Cooper, J. S. and Schwartz, G., pp. 405–411. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Reviews Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1952 A New Neolithic Industry: The Yarmukian of Palestine, by M. Stekelis. Artibus Asiae 15: 296–297.Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1953 Excavations at Tepe Gawra, vol. II, by A. Tobler. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 12: 217–219 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1954 New Light in the Most Ancient East, by V. G. Childe. Anthropologist 56: 316–319 Cave Explorations in Iran 1949, by Coon, C.. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 13: 65–66 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1955 Relative Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, edited by R. Ehrich. American Anthropologist 56: 316–319 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1956 Excavations at Star Carr, by G. Clark. Journal of Geology 64: 309 Everyday Life in Babylonia and Assyria, by G. Contenau. Archaeology 9: 71–72 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1957 Trade and Markets in the Early Empires, edited by Polanyi, K. et al. American Sociological Review 32: 596–597 Theory of Culture Change, by J. Steward. American Antiquity 22: 195–196 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1958 Prehistory of European Society, by V. G. Childe. American Anthropologist 60: 1240–1241 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1960 The Preindustrial City, by G. Sjoberg. American Anthropologist 63: 1105–1107 The Origin of Civilized Societies, by Coulborn, R.. American Antiquity 25: 424–425 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1966 Archdologie aus der Luft: Arbeitergebnisse der Flugjahr 1960 and 1961 im Rheinland, by I. Scollar. American Anthropologist 68: 1305–1306 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1967 Men, Machines and Modern Times, by Mori son, E.. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists March: 26Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1970 The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, by Ucko, P. and Dimbleby, G.. Economic History Review 23: 380–382 Looking for Dilmun, by Bibby, G.. Chicago Sun-Times Book Week 1 March: 1, 10Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1973 Radiocarbon Variations and Absolute Chronology, by I. Olsson. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32: 253–256 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1974 Archaeological Researches in Retrospect, by G. Willey. Science 185: 849–850 An Archaeological Perspective, by L. Binford. American Anthropologist 76: 649–651 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1978 The Old Assyrian City-State and Its Colonies, by M. T. Larsen. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 37: 265–269 Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1980 Gordon Childe: Revolutions in Archaeology, by B. Trigger. American Scientist 68: 704Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1981 The Dying Community, by A. Gallaher and H. Padfield. Science 212: 1380–1381 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1983 Lowland Maya Settlement Patterns, edited by W. Ashmore. Economic Geography.9X-9A Google Scholar
Adams, Robert McCormick 1985 Land Tenure and Social Transformation in the Middle East, edited by R. Khalidi. Bulletin of the Middle East Studies Association 19: 227–230 Google Scholar