All Interviews

George Gumerman

George J. Gumerman has been a major figure in the anthropology of the U.S. Southwest. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1968 and taught at Prescott College and was a long-time Distinguished Professor at Southern Illinois University. He was also Director of the Arizona State Museum, Senior Scholar at the School for Advanced Research, and Director of the SIU’s Center for Archaeological Investigations.

In addition to his administrative roles, we conducted many archaeological projects in the Southwest. The most well-known was the massive, long-term Black Mesa Project in northeastern Arizona. His research projects occurred at the intersection of academic and Cultural Research Management activities and were early models of integrating the two research protocols.

George was centrally involved in major synthetic efforts aimed at breaking down artificial disciplinary and geographic barriers. He was a key person in investigating the relationships between ancient environments and human history in the Southwest. Likewise, he worked with many scholars to find commonalities across geographic areas, such as the Hohokam, Ancestral Pueblo, and Mogollon.

This is the recording of an interview on January 9, 2023 in which George describes his graduate work at the University of Arizona, teaching at Prescott College and Southern Illinois University. He also discusses his interdisciplinary work through the Santa Fe Institute,  and other programs. George describes how his career developed, who his mentors were, and also provides advice for those studying archaeology and beginning their careers in professional archaeology.