Women in Archaeological Science: The Pioneers

 By Roxanne Radpour, Associate Editor for Archaeological Pigments

For Women’s History Month, the SAS Bulletin wants to highlight a few pioneering women in the field of archaeological science and conservation. While archaeometry itself is not an old discipline, per say, its foundations lay in archaeology and archaeological conservation, which have longer histories. Here, we present four women who have made significant impacts in these fields.

To read about other women in history who have had profound impact in archaeology and science as well as contemporary female scientists (an ever-expanding group!), check out some links:

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/women-of-science

https://trowelblazers.com/

Gertrude Caton-Thompson (1888-1985)

Gertrude Caton-Thompson’s first foray in to archaeological work was as a ‘bottle-washer’in the south of France. While working with Flinders Petrie in Egypt on pre-dynastic sites, she broke away from the group to begin her own excavation at Hamamiyyah. Her fieldwork approach stood out as she was focused on executing a more systematic archaeological survey with stratigraphy-focused excavation – in general, more scientific. Her work in the southern Arabian Peninsula were among the first scientific archaeological excavations in this region. Through her analytical approach of stratigraphy and sequence dating, Caton-Thompson was able to confirm that the ruins of Zimbabwe were medieval and made by the local people, an important discovery whose results were contended but upheld by her irrefutable approach. For the Zimbabwe excavations, she also organized the first all-female archaeological expedition. 

Ione Gedye (1907-1990)

Ione Gedye studied classical archaeology and was a student of Flinders Petrie at UCL. She cleaned objects in the excavations she assisted in and became one of the original staff members of the technical department at the Institute of Archaeology. Her work in applying treatments and cleaning objects was highly experimental at the time, as there were no protocols established. Her developed expertise eventually led to her founding the conservation department at the Institute of Archaeology, and taught conservation for almost forty years.  

Elisabeth West Fitzhugh (1926-2017)

Elisabeth West Fitzhugh was considered to be the first female conservation scientist at the Smithsonian Institution. She received her bachelors degree in chemistry and a masters in the archaeology of western Asia. In 1956 she was introduced to chemist Rutherford John Gettens at the Smithsonian, and she joined him in the new technical research laboratory at the Freer Gallery. From 1956 to 2011, she worked in conservation science at both the Freer and Sackler Galleries, utilizing scientific technologies at the Smithsonian and also collaborating with external institutions to perform materials analysis of collection materials, such as emission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. She developed a specialty in the history and identification of ancient pigments. Perhaps West Fitzhugh’s most monumental work, together with R.J. Gettens and Lynda Zycherman, brought about the discovery of two new ancient pigments, Chinese blue (BaCuSi₄O₁₀) and Chinese purple (BaCuSi₂O₆), the former which had shown striking resemblance to Egyptian blue (CaCuSi₄O₁₀) in their preliminary investigations. 

Heather Lechtman 

Heather Lechtman is a professor of Archaeology and Ancient Technology at MIT, and the Director of the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE). She obtained her bachelors in Physics from Vassar, and a masters in Fine Arts and Archaeology and a diploma in Archaeological Conservation from NYU. In 1967 she joined MIT, becoming a professor of Materials Science and Engineering in 1974. She has performed and taught research for over 50 years at MIT, where her work on material culture has focused on prehistoric Andean technology, particularly Andean metallurgy, the societal context of these technologies, and the anthropological impacts. Professor Lechtman’s long-standing career has cemented her as a pioneer of archaeological science.