John Mann Goggin
Encyclopedia
John Mann Goggin was a cultural anthropologist in the southwest, southeast, Mexico, and Caribbean, primarily focusing on the ethnology, cultural history, and typology of artifacts from archaeological sites.
that John roamed and soon formed a thriving interest in the cultural history
and ethnology
of the region. Throughout high school, John began collecting archaeological artifacts and exploring sites that he personally found, further establishing his love for the field of anthropological archaeology.
He began his undergraduate work at the University of Florida in Gainesville, but did not complete his B.A at the university. It was here that he composed his first paper, “A Ceramic Sequence in South Florida”, which explores the chronology of different pottery types of the Florida Natives. Soon he transferred to the University of New Mexico, where he received his B.A. in Anthropology in 1938.
Goggin remained in New Mexico for the next few years, continuing field work on the Pueblo Indians while maintaining part-time graduate studies at the University of New Mexico. From 1941-42, he held the position of curator for the Coronado State Monument which supplied Goggin with further experience in his inherent appreciation for artifacts.
With the United States involvement in World War II, Goggin took on the work as an engineer at Florida airports that were under construction. Physical disabilities left Goggin inadequate for overseas military efforts, but did not prevent his aid at the home front. After the war, Yale Peabody Museum offered Goggin an assistantship in favor of his excavations of F.H. Sommer III at upper Matecumbe Key. This made graduate work at Yale in anthropology possible for Goggin. Later, he received his M.A. from Yale in 1946 and then a Ph.D. in 1948 under the instruction of lifetime colleague, Irving Rouse.
Upon his receiving his Ph.D. from Yale in 1948, Goggin returned to the University of Florida as Associate Professor of Anthropology in the joint department of Sociology and Anthropology, this was the first appointment by a university to Anthropology in the entire state of Florida. Goggin’s enthusiasm and love for anthropology spread to his students as enrollment in his classes continued to increase year after year. Goggin took every opportunity he could to work directly with his students, either in the field or in the archaeology laboratories that Goggin personally developed with the help of his peers. Goggin persisted on educating his students on the importance of ecology
, ethnology
, and history within archaeology
. His teaching and love for anthropology inspired his students and enthusiasts to create an explosion in amateur archaeology in and around Florida throughout his lifetime.
Goggin, with the help of peers in Florida, founded the Florida Anthropological Society, where he held the position of editor of the group’s journal from 1949-51.. He also served as editor of American Antiquity
, from 1950-54. In 1951, Goggin was made the first foreign member of Junta Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología in Cuba. While acquiring all these credentials, he was an active member in the Florida Academy of Sciences, the Florida Historical Society
, the Society for American Archaeology
, and the Southeastern Archaeology Conference.
In 1961, he was promoted to full Professor and Acting Head of the new Anthropology Department. Then in 1963, he was made Research Professor of Anthropology when his terminal cancer hindered his ability to work as instructor. He maintained a permanent address and a base of operation in Florida from 1948 to his death in 1963.
The main themes and ideology behind Goggin’s work laid in his appreciation for the collection and examination of artifacts. Goggin attempted to set all the artifacts from a certain site into a chronology paying particular attention to typology
, functions, construction, and where, in accordance to stratification
, the objects lay. Beyond these specifications to research, Goggin used all the aspects of anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, history, and natural history
, as a lens in which he would establish a chronology of artifacts.
He expressed his distrust in sampling
early on. As a collector of artifacts he found sampling very dangerous to the preservation of tangible history. While working and schooling in New Mexico, Goggin developed his own method of “controlled sample collecting.” In this method he marked off 16 parts of the surface ground at Goodland Point midden. He collected and seriated the samples separately in order to establish a chronology of five distinct periods, and used the process to determine a theory of midden building for South Florida.
While at Yale, Goggin continued to study the cultural history of Florida. For his dissertation, he created a chronology of Florida’s history based on locations and periods with evidence of solid wood given way to “cultural patterns.” He presented his argument and evidence from a standpoint of ethnohistory, ethnology, and archaeology. The section of the dissertation specifically dealing with the Lower St. Johns area was later edited and published as the monograph Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. Johns Archaeology, Florida.
Goggin’s theories on chronology of specimens and his revolutionary approach to archeology paved the way for modern archaeologists such as the late William C. Sturtevant
(1926–2007). Though he died well before he became a nationally renowned anthropologist, his ideology became fundamental in modern anthropology. Goggin refused to be called an archaeologist, in favor of his all encompassing view on the subject. More specifically, he mapped out the first cultural and natural history of Florida. Goggin incorporated archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, history, and natural history to assign a chronological history to a cultural group based on trends and “cultural patterns.”
Biography
Shortly after John M. Goggin’s birth, his family moved to Miami, Florida, where John’s father, a dentist, had set up practice. John would spend his early years here. It was in the evergladesEverglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
that John roamed and soon formed a thriving interest in the cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
and ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
of the region. Throughout high school, John began collecting archaeological artifacts and exploring sites that he personally found, further establishing his love for the field of anthropological archaeology.
He began his undergraduate work at the University of Florida in Gainesville, but did not complete his B.A at the university. It was here that he composed his first paper, “A Ceramic Sequence in South Florida”, which explores the chronology of different pottery types of the Florida Natives. Soon he transferred to the University of New Mexico, where he received his B.A. in Anthropology in 1938.
Goggin remained in New Mexico for the next few years, continuing field work on the Pueblo Indians while maintaining part-time graduate studies at the University of New Mexico. From 1941-42, he held the position of curator for the Coronado State Monument which supplied Goggin with further experience in his inherent appreciation for artifacts.
With the United States involvement in World War II, Goggin took on the work as an engineer at Florida airports that were under construction. Physical disabilities left Goggin inadequate for overseas military efforts, but did not prevent his aid at the home front. After the war, Yale Peabody Museum offered Goggin an assistantship in favor of his excavations of F.H. Sommer III at upper Matecumbe Key. This made graduate work at Yale in anthropology possible for Goggin. Later, he received his M.A. from Yale in 1946 and then a Ph.D. in 1948 under the instruction of lifetime colleague, Irving Rouse.
Upon his receiving his Ph.D. from Yale in 1948, Goggin returned to the University of Florida as Associate Professor of Anthropology in the joint department of Sociology and Anthropology, this was the first appointment by a university to Anthropology in the entire state of Florida. Goggin’s enthusiasm and love for anthropology spread to his students as enrollment in his classes continued to increase year after year. Goggin took every opportunity he could to work directly with his students, either in the field or in the archaeology laboratories that Goggin personally developed with the help of his peers. Goggin persisted on educating his students on the importance of ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, and history within archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. His teaching and love for anthropology inspired his students and enthusiasts to create an explosion in amateur archaeology in and around Florida throughout his lifetime.
Goggin, with the help of peers in Florida, founded the Florida Anthropological Society, where he held the position of editor of the group’s journal from 1949-51.. He also served as editor of American Antiquity
American Antiquity
The professional journal American Antiquity is published by the Society for American Archaeology, the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The journal is considered to be the flagship journal of American archaeology.American Antiquity is a quarterly...
, from 1950-54. In 1951, Goggin was made the first foreign member of Junta Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología in Cuba. While acquiring all these credentials, he was an active member in the Florida Academy of Sciences, the Florida Historical Society
Florida Historical Society
The Florida Historical Society is an organization that promotes the study of the history of Florida within the context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1856, the Society collects, preserves and publishes materials relating to the history of Florida and its denizens.-External links:*...
, the Society for American Archaeology
Society for American Archaeology
The Society for American Archaeology is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. The Society holds an annual conference and publishes the flagship journal of American archaeology,...
, and the Southeastern Archaeology Conference.
In 1961, he was promoted to full Professor and Acting Head of the new Anthropology Department. Then in 1963, he was made Research Professor of Anthropology when his terminal cancer hindered his ability to work as instructor. He maintained a permanent address and a base of operation in Florida from 1948 to his death in 1963.
Ideology
Goggin’s main interest in study was the interaction between colonists and the natives. Therefore most of his fieldwork is done in old colonial areas throughout Florida and the Caribbean, with an exception of the work done while in attendance to University of New Mexico. Between 1936 and 1960 he spent a total of three and a half years doing field work in Mexico, he paid 30 visits to the Caribbean, while maintaining constant work in Florida.The main themes and ideology behind Goggin’s work laid in his appreciation for the collection and examination of artifacts. Goggin attempted to set all the artifacts from a certain site into a chronology paying particular attention to typology
Typology (archaeology)
In archaeology a typology is the result of the classification of things according to their characteristics. The products of the classification, i.e. the classes are also called types. Most archaeological typologies organize artifacts into types, but typologies of houses or roads belonging to a...
, functions, construction, and where, in accordance to stratification
Stratification (archeology)
Stratification is a paramount and base concept in archaeology, especially in the course of excavation. It is largely based on the Law of Superposition...
, the objects lay. Beyond these specifications to research, Goggin used all the aspects of anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, history, and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, as a lens in which he would establish a chronology of artifacts.
He expressed his distrust in sampling
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
early on. As a collector of artifacts he found sampling very dangerous to the preservation of tangible history. While working and schooling in New Mexico, Goggin developed his own method of “controlled sample collecting.” In this method he marked off 16 parts of the surface ground at Goodland Point midden. He collected and seriated the samples separately in order to establish a chronology of five distinct periods, and used the process to determine a theory of midden building for South Florida.
While at Yale, Goggin continued to study the cultural history of Florida. For his dissertation, he created a chronology of Florida’s history based on locations and periods with evidence of solid wood given way to “cultural patterns.” He presented his argument and evidence from a standpoint of ethnohistory, ethnology, and archaeology. The section of the dissertation specifically dealing with the Lower St. Johns area was later edited and published as the monograph Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. Johns Archaeology, Florida.
Goggin’s theories on chronology of specimens and his revolutionary approach to archeology paved the way for modern archaeologists such as the late William C. Sturtevant
William C. Sturtevant
Dr. William C. Sturtevant was an anthropologist and ethnologist.He is best known as the general editor of the 20-volume Handbook of North American Indians....
(1926–2007). Though he died well before he became a nationally renowned anthropologist, his ideology became fundamental in modern anthropology. Goggin refused to be called an archaeologist, in favor of his all encompassing view on the subject. More specifically, he mapped out the first cultural and natural history of Florida. Goggin incorporated archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, history, and natural history to assign a chronological history to a cultural group based on trends and “cultural patterns.”
Major publications
- Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. Johns Archeology, Florida. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 47. 147 pp. New Haven. University of Florida Press, 1998
- Indian and Spanish: Selected Writings (edited by Charles H. Fairbanks, Irving Rouse, and William C. Sturtevant). University of Miami, Coral Gables, 1964.