1931 in archaeology

The year 1931 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Events

• Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments adopted at the First International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments.

Explorations

• Aleš Hrdlička begins survey of Kodiak Island.

Excavations

• Chinese prehistorian Jia Lanpo and archaeologist Bian Mienmien join the ongoing excavations at Peking Man Site in Zhoukoudian, China.
• University of Pennsylvania project at Piedras Negras, Guatemala begins (lasts to 1939).
• Excavation of tomb of Hemaka at Saqqara in Egypt is begun by Cecil Mallaby Firth.
• Tunnelling into Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico is begun by Ignacio Marquina.
• Alfonso Caso begins eighteen-year project at Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico.
• International project at Samaria begins (lasts to 1935).
• Prima nave of the Nemi ships is recovered.

Finds

• 29 December: Calakmul rediscovered by Cyrus L. Lundell
• French archaeologist Henri Breuil visits the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, China and confirms the presence of stone tools
• George Florescu discovers Vlad III Dracula's tomb in Snagov Monastery
• The remains of 450 infants and 150 dogs dated to 165 BC–150 BC are found at the Athenian Agora; the infants are subsequently found to have died from meningitis and other natural causes^[1]

Publications

• W. D. Caröe - The Importance of the Historical Buildings of Cyprus.
• C. F. C. Hawkes - "Hillforts". Antiquity 5 pp. 60–97.

Births

• 13 September - Brian Dobson, British archaeologist notable for work on Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Army (died 2012)^[2]
• 30 October - Giancarlo Ligabue, Italian palaeontologist, discoverer of Ligabueino (died 2015)^[3]
• 21 November - Lewis Binford, American archaeologist known for his development of processual archaeology (died 2011)^[4]

Deaths

• Alfred Maudslay, explorer, archaeologist and writer of accounts of the ruins of the Maya civilization (b. 1850)^[5]

References