author
George A. (George Amos) Dorsey
1868–1931
A pioneering American anthropologist and ethnographer, he helped shape early study of the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains while working at Chicago's Field Museum. He also wrote for general readers, bringing archaeology, travel, and human history to a wide audience.
1 Audiobook
Traditions of the Arikara
by George A. (George Amos) Dorsey
About the author
Born in Hebron, Ohio, on February 6, 1868, he studied at Denison University and Harvard, earning a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1894. His early career included teaching at Harvard before he joined the Field Museum in Chicago, where he became one of the institution's best-known anthropology curators.
His research focused on Indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially Caddoan and Siouan communities of the Great Plains. Through fieldwork, collecting, and publishing, he played an important part in the development of Plains anthropology at a time when the field was still taking shape.
Beyond museum and academic work, he wrote books and articles for broader audiences, which helped make subjects like archaeology, ethnology, and world travel feel accessible to non-specialist readers. He died in New York City on March 29, 1931.