Morris, Craig 1939-2006

Biographical or Historical Note

Dean of Science

Craig Morris was the Senior Vice President, Dean of Science, and Curator, Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History. Joining the Department of Anthropology as Assistant Curator in 1975, Craig Morris became Curator in 1980 and served as Chairman of the department from 1983 to 1990. In 1995, he was appointed Dean of Science. In that capacity, Dr. Morris--along with Senior Vice President and Provost Michael J. Novacek--provided leadership to the Museum's curatorial staff. In addition, he coordinated the efforts of the Department of Exhibition with those of the Museum's scientific departments. Dr. Morris studied the archaeology of the Inka Empire, focusing on how its rise and growth are related to broader issues of political and economic processes in archaic states. He has conducted excavations in several sites in Peru and Bolivia, is the author of more than 100 scholarly papers, and has collaborated on several books, the most recent of which is The Cities of the Ancient Andes, coauthored with Adriana von Hagen. Dr. Morris was the curator of the section on Andean societies in the Museum's Hall of South American Peoples, which opened in 1989. He has served as curator of the special exhibitions Leonardo's Codex Leicester: A Masterpiece of Science (1997), Peru's Golden Treasures (1977-78), Gold of El Dorado: Heritage of Colombia (1979-80), and the New York showing of Royal Tombs of Sipn (1994). In 1998, Dr. Morris was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Morris received an M.A. (1964) and a Ph.D. (1967) in anthropology from the University of Chicago. (source: AMNH website 2015)

Worked at the American Museum of Natural History in American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology.

Sources

Library of Congress Name Authority File

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology

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