Neil Judd

Neil M. Judd and Santiago Nahnjo, Governor of Santa Clara Pueblo, circa 1909.

Neil Merton Judd (1887–1976) was an American archaeologist who studied under the pioneering archaeologist of the American Southwest, Edgar Lee Hewett. He was curator of archaeology at the erstwhile United States National Museum, which later became part of the Smithsonian Institution. He is noted for his discovery and excavation of many ruins left by the Ancestral Pueblo People (also known as Anasazi) of the Four Corners area, especially sites located within Chaco Canyon, a region located within the arid San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. He headed the first federally backed archeological mission sent to Chaco Canyon, excavating the key ruins of Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo.

References

• Brew, JO (1978), "Neil Merton Judd, 1887-1976", American Anthropologist, 80 (2: 352-354).
• Strutin, M (1994), Chaco: A Cultural Legacy, Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, ISBN 1-877856-45-2.

Further reading

• Neil M. Judd, Men Met along the Trail: Adventures in Archaeology, 1968, University of Oklahoma Press. Judd's professional memoirs.
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park: A Brief History of Investigations & Excavations in Chaco Canyon: 1877 to Present
• Register to the Papers of Neil Merton Judd, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution