Patty Jo Watson, Ph.D., Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor and professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, was recently awarded the Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology from the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA).
The award was presented at the AIA’s annual meeting Jan. 5 in San Diego.
The Pomerance Award is presented annually to a professional or amateur scientist, or team, whose interdisciplinary work with archaeology merits recognition.
During her distinguished career, Watson has made significant contributions to the field of archaeology. One of the most significant is the refinement and application of flotation technology to the recovery of small items, including ancient seeds and small bones.
During the early part of her career, Watson specialized in Near Eastern prehistory, participating in field projects in Iraq, Iran and Turkey.
In the 1960s, she initiated research in Salts Cave, Kentucky, a portion of the world’s longest cave system in Mammoth Cave National Park.
She was able to develop this work into a long-term research project on agricultural origins in eastern North America.
Her work in Salts Cave changed the manner in which archaeologists define agriculture in eastern North America and set a high standard for following research in both the New and Old Worlds.
Watson has published many books, including “Archaeological Ethnology in Western Iran” (1979), where she combined the fields of archaeology and ethnology, and “Explanation in Archaeology: An Explicitly Scientific Approach” (1971), which has major contributions to archaeological theory.
Watson has been involved with many professional organizations, including the American Anthropological Association, the Society for American Archaeology, the National Academy of Science and the Archaeological Institute of America.
The AIA is North America’s oldest and largest organization devoted to archaeology. Founded in 1879, the AIA has almost 8,000 members belonging to 102 local societies in the United States, Canada and overseas.