Edwin Ferdon
| Edwin Nelson Ferdon Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 14, 1913 St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Died |
November 13, 2002 (aged 89) Tucson, Arizona |
| Spouse(s) | Vearl Ferdon |
| Children | 3[1] |
Edwin Ferdon (June 14, 1913 – November 13, 2002) was an American ethnologist noted for his studies of the people of the Americas and Polynesia.[2]
Early life
Edwin Nelson Ferdon Jr. was born on June 14, 1913[2] in St. Paul, Minnesota.[1] He had 2 sisters and a brother.[3] Ferdon's family moved to Coshocton, Ohio, where he attended high school.[4] While in Ohio, he also participated in Boy Scouts of America and became an Eagle Scout.[5]
He attended the University of Minnesota and graduated in 1937.[6] While in school, he went to do field work in Peru and Bolivia in 1935, and later went to Mexico in 1936 and again in 1937.[7] Ferdon's brother John Ferdon was killed at age 17 due to a radio that fell into the bath water in 1936 while Ferdon was away in Mexico City.[3]
Career
After graduation, he worked for the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, New Mexico[6] as a curator until 1938.[7] He left that job in order to do fieldwork in Ecuador for three years where he conducted archaeological surveys. He went on to attend the University of California to obtain a master's degree.[6]
In 1955, Thor Heyerdahl asked Ferdon to go on an expedition to Easter Island as an archaeologist.[6] Ferdon was only one of four archaeologists that went on the expedition.[8] While in Eastern Polynesia, Ferdon studied the walking rituals and the details of modern life in Tahiti. Ferdon also took many photographs to document the expedition.[9] He published many books and articles on his studies.[6] Ferdon worked for the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona and retired in 1983,[2] after serving as associate director.[1] During his career as an anthropologist and archaeologist, he was also the director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.[1]
Ferdon died on November 13, 2002 due to cancer.[6] He is buried at the East Lawn Cemetery in Tucson, Arizona.[1]
Publications
- Early Tonga: As the Explorers Saw It 1616–1810. University of Arizona Press. January 1988. ISBN 9780816510269.
- Early Tahiti As the Explorers Saw It, 1767–1797. University of Arizona Press. 1981.
- Early Observations of Marquesan Culture, 1595–1813. The University of Arizona Press. 1993.
- Characteristic Figurines from Esmeraldas. School of American Research. 1945.
- One Man's Log. 1966.
- Studies in Ecuadorian Geography. School of American Research and University of Southern California. 1950.
- Tonalá, Mexico: An Archaeological Survey. School of American Research. 1953.
- A Trial Survey of Mexican-Southwestern Architectural Parallels, Issue 21. School of American Research. 1955.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Obituaries: Edwin Nelson Ferdon". Honolulu Advertiser. 26 Nov 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 Abe Austin (2013). "Edwin Ferdon slides and negatives of Mesoamerica and Southern Mexico". Prepared for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, UT. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
- 1 2 "Body is Found in Tub". The Coshocton Tribune. 12 Jul 1936. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ↑ "Senior". Coshocton High School Weekly News. 21 April 1931. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ↑ "Minister Speaks Before Officials of Scout Area". The Coshocton Tribune. 22 Jan 1930. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- 1 2 International Directory of Anthropologists. March 1940. p. 44.
- ↑ Koch, Margaret (10 May 1981). "Explorers, Past and Present". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ↑ "Easter Island Will Be Thursday Topic". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. 16 October 1960. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
External links
- Edwin Ferdon slides and negatives of Mesoamerica and Southern Mexico, MSS 536 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
- Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr. at Find a Grave