education and training
- B.A., Dartmouth College
- M.A., Harvard University
- Ph.D., Harvard University
Fitzhugh, William
Senior Scientist, Curator of North American Archaeology and Director, Arctic Studies Center
Positions
- Curator/Director Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History 1970 -
Archeology and ethnology of northern Canada and United States, circumpolar regions, and Mongolia; Arctic material culture; Arctic social science policy; cultural ecology of the North; ethnographic and prehistoric maritime adaptations; culture and climatology
Geographic Focus
- Canada Country
- Labrador-Quebec Geographic Region
- Mongolia Country
- Newfoundland State or Province
- Russian Federation Country
Background And Education
awards and honors
Research And Grants
investigator on
- Tradition and Transitions Among the Labrador Inuit. Social Science and History Research Council of Canada 2015 - 2019
- Inuit Studies Conference awarded by Canada Council for the Arts
- Inuit Studies Conference: Travel Support for Russian/FSU Participants awarded by Trust for Mutual Understanding
- Of Kayaks and Caribou Parkas: Recovering Traditional Knowledge and Exhibition Outreach awarded by National Science Foundation
- Visions of Adaptation: Indigenous Video Production in a Transforming Greenland awarded by National Science Foundation
Publications
selected publications
-
article
- From adaptation to niche construction: Weather as a winter site selection factor in northern Mongolia, the Quebec Lower North Shore, and the southern Urals 2021
- The Martin North River Site and the Saunders Phase in Labrador 2021
- Author Correction: Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia 2020
- Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia 2020
- Horse sacrifice and butchery in Bronze Age Mongolia 2020
- Kettle Head and the Inuit of Grand Isle: Basques, Boulder Pits, and Excavations on the Quebec Lower North Shore 2020
- Darkhad Textile Recovery and Conservation Project 2019
- Gateways 2018: More Evidence from Hart Chalet, Grand Plain, Belles Amours, and Grand Isle 2019
- Gateways 2018: More Evidence from Hart Chalet, Grand Plain, Belles Amours, and Grand Isle. 2019
- Paradise Gained, Lost, and Regained: Pulse Migration and the Inuit Archaeology of the Quebec Lower North Shore 2019
- Radiocarbon dating and cultural dynamics across Mongolia's early pastoral transition 2019
- The Indigenous Watercraft of Northern Eurasia 2019
- The Rigolet Archaeological survey Project 2018 2019
- Origins of equine dentistry 2018
- The Gateways Project 2017: Hart Chalet, Grand Plain, Grand Isle, and Belles Amours 2018
- The Rigolet Project IV: Mason Island, Snooks Cove, and Lake Melville 2018
- Exhibiting the Interconnections between Inuit, Narwhals, and Arctic Climate Change 2017
- Exhibiting the Interconnections between Inuit, Narwhals, and Climate Change 2017
- Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections 2017
- Mongolian Deer Stones, European Menhirs, and Canadian Arctic Inuksuit: Collective Memory and the Function of Northern Monument Traditions 2017
- The Rigolet Project 2016: Groswater Bay, Narrows, and Eastern Lake Melville 2017
- 2015 Excavations at the Hart chalet Inuit Village 2016
- A Survey of the Islands in Southern Groswater Bay 2016
- DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago 2016
- Excavation and Survey along Quebec's Lower North Shore 2016
- Preserving Mongolia's Heritage 2015
- Rigolet surveys and excavations at the Hart Chalet Inuit site, Brador 2015
- The Inuit Archaeology of the Quebec Lower North Shore 2015
- The Tuvaaluk and Torngat Archaeological Projects: Review and Assessment 2015
- After Red Bay: A Basque and Inuit Joint Venture on the Quebec Lower North Shore 2014
- Basques and Inuit at Hare Harbor-1 and the Inuit Hart Chalet Site on the Quebec Lower North Shore 2014
- Frederica deLaguna (1906-2004): Memorial Essay (reprint: in Russian) 2014
- The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic 2014
- Arctic sea-ice decline archived by multicentury annual-resolution record from crustose coralline algal proxy 2013
- Basque and Inuit Archaeology at Hare Harbor-1 and little Canso Island-1, Quebec lower North Shore 2013
- Call Me "Tiger": Ernest S. Burch, Jr., the Smithsonian, and Remembrance 2012
- Inuit Archaeology on the Quebec Lower North Shore in 2010 2012
- An Inuit Winter House on Petit Mecatina (Hare Harbor-1, EdBt-3) and Notes on the Harp Seal Failure of 2010 2011
- Basques and Inuit on the Quebec Lower North Shore: 2009 Field Report 2010
- Changing Cultures and Climate in the Arctic: Prehistory to Modern Times 2010
- Elmer Harp, Jr. (1913-2009) 2010
- Inuit Archaeology on the Quebec Lower North Shore in 2011 2010
- Laying the Groundwork for Arctic Social Science 1985-1990 2010
- Laying the Groundwork for Arctic Social Sciences, 1985–1990 2010
- Changing Cultures and Climate in the Arctic: Prehistory to Modern Times 2009
- Inuit Sites Found at Petit Mécatina and Brador: St. Lawrence Gateways Project 2008 2009
- Stone Shamans and Flying Deer of Northern Mongolia: Deer Goddess of Siberia or Chimera of the Steppe? 2009
- Identification of Protein Remains in Archaeological Potsherds by Proteomics 2008
- Underwater Archaeology at the Hare Harbor Basque Site at Petit Mecatina 2007
-
book
- The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of Northern Eurasia 2020
- Surveys in Groswater Bay and excavations at Hart Chalet and St. Paul River, Quebec 2017
- The Gateways Project 2016: Surveys in Groswater Bay, Labrador, and St. Paul River, Quebec, and Excavations at Hart Chalet 2017
- The Gateways Project 2015: Archaeological Surveys in Groswater Bay and Excavations at Hart Chalet. Ed. Fitzhugh, William. 2016
- The Gateways Project 2014: Land Excavations at Hart Chalet 2015
- Maine to Greenland: Exploring the Maritime Far Northeast 2014
- The Gateways Project 2013: Land and Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor and Brador 2014
- Frederica de Laguna 1906-2004, a biographical memoir 2013
- Rock Art and Archaeology: Investigating Ritual Landscape in the Mongolian Altai 2012. Ed. Fitzhugh, William. 2013
- The Gateways Project 2012: land and Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor, Petit Mecatina, and Little Canso Island. Ed. Fitzhugh, William. 2013
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2011 2012
- The Gateways Project 2011: Land & Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor, Mécatina 2012
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2009 2010
- The Gateways Project 2009: Land Excavations at Hare Harbor, Mécatina 2010
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2008 2009
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2007 2008
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2006 2007
- Progress Report on the 2004 Memorandum of Understanding: Report on the MOU between The Mongolian Academy of Sciences, The National Museum of Mongolian History, and the Smithsonian Institution 2007
-
chapter
- Riding the Harp Seal Highway: Modeling Climate, Sea Ice Pulsations, and Inuit Migrations in the Eastern Subarctic 2020
- Treasures from the Earth; Echoes of the Past 2020
- A World of Questions 2017
- Inuguat: Prehistoric Human Figurines of the North American Arctic 2017
- Archaeology of the Inuit of Southern Labrador and the Quebec Lower North Shore 2016
- Foreword 2016
- Frederica de Laguna: The Last Arctic Universalist and Bridge to the Future 2016
- Solving the "Eskimo Problem": Henry Bascom Collins and Arctic Archaeology 2016
- Climate modeling of sea ice, harp seals, and Eskimos 2014
- Deer Stones and Rock Art in Mongolia during the Second the First Millenia BC 2014
- The Ipiutak spirit-scape: an archaeological phenomenon 2014
- Foreword 2013
- Mapping Ritual Landscapes in Bronze Age Mongolia and Beyond: Interpreting the Ideoscape of the Deer Stone-Khirigsuur Complex 2011
- Ship to Shore: Inuit, Early Europeans, and Maritime Landscapes in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence 2011
- Arctic Cultures and Global Theory: Historical Tracks along the Circumpolar Road 2010
- Deer Stones and Khirigsuurs 2010
- Documenting Mongolia’s deer stones: application of 3D laser scanning technology to archaeological conservation. Chapter 13 2010
- Millennia of Change: Dynamics of Culture and Environment Along the Northern Forest Fringe 2010
- The arctic and subarctic 2010
- "Of No Ordinary Importance": Reversing Polarities in Smithsonian Arctic Studies 2009
- Ancestors and Ivories: Art of the Ancient Bering Sea 2009
- Eagles, Beasts, and Gods: Art of the Old Bering Sea Harpoon Complex 2009
- Exploring cultural boundaries: the less 'invisible' Inuit of southern Labrador and Quebec 2009
- Genghis Khan: Empire and Legacy 2009
- Hamilton Inlet, Coastal Eastern Labrador: Cultural Boundary Shifts Along a Forest-Tundra Frontier 2009
- Labrador, Newfoundland, and Quebec (Canada): Basque Whaling and Fishing Sites from the 1500s 2009
- Nomads with Cell Phones 2009
- Notes on Art, Style, and Cultures 2009
- Pre-Scythian Khirigsuurs, Deer Stone Art, and Bronze Age Cultural Intensification in Northern Mongolia 2009
- Precursor to Empire: Early Cultures and Prehistoric Peoples 2009
- The Ancient Stone Men of Mongolia 2009
- The Mongolian Deer Stone-Khirigsuur Complex: Dating and Organiation of a Late Bronze Age Menagerie 2009
- Arctic and Circumpolar Regions 2008
- Agent-Based Modeling Simulation of Social Adaptation and Long-Term Change in Inner Asia 2007
- Dartmouth College: A Northern Tradition 2007
- Documenting Mongolia's Deer Stones: Application of Three-Dimensional Digital Imaging Technology to Preservation 2007
- Foreword 2007
-
conference paper
-
report
- The Gateways Project 2019: Excavations at Hart Chalet, Grand Isle, and Bonne Esperance 2020
- The Gateways Project 2018: Surveys in Groswater Bay and Excavations at Hart Chalet, Grand Isle, and Grand Plain 2019
- The Gateways Project 2019. Excavations at Hart Chalet, Grand Isle, and Bonne Esperance 2019
- The Gateways Project 2017: Surveys in Groswater Bay, Labrador, and Excavations at Hart Chalet and St. Paul River, Quebec. 2018
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2008 2009
- The Gateways Project 2008. Land and Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor, Mecatina 2009
- American Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2007 2008
- The Gateways Project 2007: Land and Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor, Mecatina 2008
-
review
-
webpage
editor of
-
book
- Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend 2017
- The Gateways Project 2015: Archaeological Surveys in Groswater Bay and Excavations at Hart Chalet 2016
- Rock Art and Archaeology: Investigating Ritual Landscape in the Mongolian Altai 2012 2013
- The Gateways Project 2012: land and Underwater Excavations at Hare Harbor, Petit Mecatina, and Little Canso Island 2013
- 18th Inuit Studies Conference Program: Arctic / Inuit / Connections. Learning From the Top of the World. October 24-28, 2012 2012
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2011 2011
- American-Mongolian Deer Stone Project: Field Report 2009 2010
- Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire 2009
- Towards an archaeology of the Nain Region, Labrador 2008
Activities
Responsible Collections Areas
- Arctic and circumpolar archaeology, ethnology, and environment
outreach overview
- Exhibitions, lectures, popular books and catalogs on northern topics, indigenous collaborations
contact or provider for service
- Assistant: Nancy Shorey 202-633-1924 Access Service
Affiliation
member of
Other
International Audience Summary of Expertise
-
William Fitzhugh is an anthropologist specializing in circumpolar archaeology, ethnology and environmental studies. He first became interested in the North through canoeing in Ontario and his anthropological studies at Dartmouth College. After two years in the U.S. Navy he attended Harvard University where he received his PhD in anthropology in 1970, and thereafter took a position at the National Museum of Natural History.
As director of the Arctic Studies Center and Curator in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History, Bill has spent more than forty years studying and publishing on arctic peoples and cultures in northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, Scandinavia, and Mongolia. His archaeological and environmental research has focused upon the prehistory and paleoecology of northeastern North America, and broader aspects of his research feature the evolution of northern maritime adaptations, circumpolar culture contacts, cross-cultural studies and acculturation processes in the North, especially concerning Native-European contacts.
As curator of the National Museum of Natural History's arctic collections, Bill has produced five nternational exhibitions, Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimos; Crossroads of Continents: Native Cultures of Siberia and Alaska; Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People; Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, and Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories from Bering Strait. His public and educational activities include the production of films, including the NOVA specials, "Mysteries of the Lost Red Paint People", "Norse America", and several other Viking films. He served as Chairman of the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology from 1975-80 and again in 2002-2005, has been an Advisor to the Arctic Research Commission, represents the Smithsonian and arctic social science in various government councils, served on the Smithsonian Science Commission and holds various other administrative and advisory posts. Read More
Location
- National Museum of Natural History Academic Department
