Curators in the Division of Anthropology, 1873-Present

The primary source for this list was Bella Weitzner's "A Year by Year Summary of the Department of Anthropology, 1871-1952." Supplementary information was obtained from the biography files kept in the Museum library and from the C.V. files kept in the Anthropology Archives. List compiled by Alicia Carmona, May 1999 and updated by Kristen Mable, January 2004.

Chairs/Curators in Chief
Albert Smith Bickmore1873-1890
James Terry1891-1893
Frederick W. Putnam1894-1902
Franz Boas1904-1905 (officially resigned in 1906)
Clark Wissler1906-1941
Bella Weitzner1935-1956 (1935-appointed assistant curator; retired in 1956)
Harry L. Shapiro1942-1969
Stanley A. Freed1969 (acting chair) 1970-1976
David Hurst Thomas]]>1976-1983
Craig Morris1983-1990
Ian Tattersall]]>1990-1997
Enid Schildkrout]]>1997-2002
Charles Spencer]]>2002-2009
Laurel Kendall]]>2009-2021
Ashley Hammond]]>2022-present
Curators, North American Ethnology
Franz Boas1895-1905 (officially resigned in 1906)
Livingston Farrand1903-1904
Clark Wissler1905-1941
Robert H. Lowie1909-1921
Pliny E. Goddard1910-1928
Alanson Skinner1913-1915
Harry Tschopik Jr.1947-1955
Stanley A. Freed1960-1999
Peter Whiteley]]>2001-present
Curators, North American Archaeology
Harlan I. Smith1900-1911
Nels C. Nelson1912-1943
Helge Larson1943-1944
James A. Ford1946-1964
Richard A. Gould1965-1971
David Hurst Thomas]]>1972-2020
Curators, South American Ethnology
Harry Tschopik Jr.1947-1955
Robert L. Carneiro1957-2010
John Bunce2024-present
Curators, South American Archaeology
Charles W. Mead1912-1925
Ronald L. Olson1930-1931
Wendell C. Bennett1931-1937
Junius B. Bird1939-1973
Craig Morris1975-2006
Curators, Mexican and Central American Archaeology
Marshall H. Saville1894-1907
Herbert J. Spinden1909-1921
J. Alden Mason1925
George C. Vaillant1928-1940
Gordon F. Ekholm1942-1974
Charles Spencer]]>1991-present
Curators, African Ethnology
Colin Turnbull1959-1969
Enid Schildkrout]]>1973-2005
Alex de Voogt]]>2009-2018
Curators, Asian Ethnology
Laurel Kendall]]>1983-present
Curators, Pacific Ethnology
Margaret Mead1925-1969
Michiko Takaki1970-1973
Paige West2009-2010
Jenny Newell]]>2012-2017
Curators, Biological Anthropology
Louis R. Sullivan1918-1925
Harry L. Shapiro1926-1970
Ian Tattersall]]>1971-2010
Brian Richmond2014-2016
Ashley Hammond]]>2018-present