William Shirley Fulton
Encyclopedia
William Shirley Fulton, an archeologist and founder of the Amerind Foundation
was born in Waterbury, Connecticut
. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University
in 1903.
between 1906 and 1917 permanently captured his interest in the archaeology and ethnology of the American southwest. Throughout the 1920s Fulton regularly traveled in the Arizona from his home in New England, exploring the mountains, as well as the canyons and mesa country seeking evidence of past occupation by earlier cultures that had inhabited the area.
On one of his visits he was introduced to Texas Canyon
with its unique geology and tales of prehistoric settlements. Fulton purchased about 1600 acres (6.5 km²) in Texas Canyon calling it the “FF Ranch” in 1930. He built a home in the canyon in 1931.
As early as 1929, Fulton began to excavate archaeological sites on the property in Arizona. Fulton was asked to become a director of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
in New York City in 1934, and it was under the auspices of this organization that he published his Archaeological Notes on Texas Canyon, Arizona. By 1936, Fulton’s collection of ethnographic and archaeological materials had become so large that a small three-room museum and workroom was built on the ranch property to house it.
With the establishment of the Amerind Foundation
in 1937, Fulton became fully committed to supporting research into North America's prehistoric past.
With Fulton’s as director, and with his generous financial support, the Amerind Foundation continued to expand. The Amerind Foundation sponsored several major archaeological excavations in the Southwest and northern Mexico throughout the 1950s, resulting in a number of publications, and in 1959, the Fulton-Hayden Memorial Library and Art Museum became the most recent addition to the burgeoning Amerind Foundation's facilities.
awarded Fulton the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. The citation read in part:
In 1960, in honor of his work in the field of archaeology, Fulton received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University in recognition of his lifelong commitment to archaeological research. An excerpt from that award reads:
.
candidates are nominated by the Department of Anthropology subject to the approval of the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Office of Student Financial Aid.
Amerind Foundation
The Amerind Foundation is museum and research facility dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories...
was born in Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1903.
Biography
Several trips to ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
between 1906 and 1917 permanently captured his interest in the archaeology and ethnology of the American southwest. Throughout the 1920s Fulton regularly traveled in the Arizona from his home in New England, exploring the mountains, as well as the canyons and mesa country seeking evidence of past occupation by earlier cultures that had inhabited the area.
On one of his visits he was introduced to Texas Canyon
Texas Canyon
Texas Canyon is located in Cochise County, Arizona about 20 miles east of Benson on Interstate 10 and lies between the Little Dragoon Mountains on the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south...
with its unique geology and tales of prehistoric settlements. Fulton purchased about 1600 acres (6.5 km²) in Texas Canyon calling it the “FF Ranch” in 1930. He built a home in the canyon in 1931.
As early as 1929, Fulton began to excavate archaeological sites on the property in Arizona. Fulton was asked to become a director of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
in New York City in 1934, and it was under the auspices of this organization that he published his Archaeological Notes on Texas Canyon, Arizona. By 1936, Fulton’s collection of ethnographic and archaeological materials had become so large that a small three-room museum and workroom was built on the ranch property to house it.
With the establishment of the Amerind Foundation
Amerind Foundation
The Amerind Foundation is museum and research facility dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories...
in 1937, Fulton became fully committed to supporting research into North America's prehistoric past.
With Fulton’s as director, and with his generous financial support, the Amerind Foundation continued to expand. The Amerind Foundation sponsored several major archaeological excavations in the Southwest and northern Mexico throughout the 1950s, resulting in a number of publications, and in 1959, the Fulton-Hayden Memorial Library and Art Museum became the most recent addition to the burgeoning Amerind Foundation's facilities.
Awards
In 1959 the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
awarded Fulton the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. The citation read in part:
- For your distinguished achievement as an eminently successful business executive and as founder and administrator of a great research institution devoted to wider understanding of ancient and contemporary Indian civilizations, for your cultivation of the deepest human and spiritual values, for your devotion to high standards of scholarship and wide dissemination of learning, the University of Arizona hails you as one of this country’s great citizens…
In 1960, in honor of his work in the field of archaeology, Fulton received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University in recognition of his lifelong commitment to archaeological research. An excerpt from that award reads:
- When as a young man you began exploring the early history of the Indians of our Southwest, you could not have imagined how far your researches would take you. What began as a hobby has become an outstanding achievement in archaeology and ethnology, not merely of Arizona and Mexico, but of the Indians throughout this hemisphere. Your museum in Arizona is known everywhere by scholars for the range and perfection of its artifacts, for the importance of its publications, and for the generosity and leaning of its creator…
Endowment
A bequest by the late William Shirley Fulton, pioneer Arizona archaeologist and founder of the Amerind Foundation of Dragoon, ArizonaDragoon, Arizona
Dragoon is an unincorporated community in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Dragoon is east-northeast of Benson. Dragoon has the ZIP Code of 85609; in 2000, the population of the 85609 ZCTA was 297....
.
Eligibility
The candidate must be an outstanding undergraduate or graduate students in archaeology. University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
candidates are nominated by the Department of Anthropology subject to the approval of the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Office of Student Financial Aid.