author
Harlan Ingersoll Smith
1872–1940
An early archaeologist and anthropologist of the Pacific Northwest, he spent decades documenting Indigenous archaeology and ethnology across Canada. His fieldwork helped shape some of the first major museum collections and records in the region.
1 Audiobook
The Archaeology of the Yakima Valley
by Harlan Ingersoll Smith
About the author
Born in East Saginaw, Michigan, in 1872, he became interested in archaeology at a young age and studied for a time at the University of Michigan before moving into museum work. Archival and museum sources describe him as an American-born anthropologist who later traveled widely across Canada in research on Indigenous archaeology and ethnology.
He worked with major institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, and in 1911 joined the Geological Survey of Canada as head of its Archaeology Division. His early work included excavations in eastern Canada, on Vancouver Island, and in Haida Gwaii, and he later returned to British Columbia to carry out ethnographic and archaeological work in places such as Bella Coola.
Remembered today for his extensive field notes, photographs, and collecting work, he left behind a large documentary record of early archaeology in Canada. He died in Ottawa in 1940.