author
Leslie Spier
1893–1961
A pioneering American anthropologist, he became known for close, detailed studies of Native American communities and for asking how cultures change over time. His work helped shape twentieth-century anthropology both in the field and in the classroom.
1 Audiobook
Notes on the Kiowa Sun Dance
by Leslie Spier
About the author
Born in New York City in 1893, he first studied engineering at the College of the City of New York, graduating in 1915. After encountering Franz Boas, he shifted to anthropology and earned his doctorate from Columbia University in 1920.
He is best remembered for ethnographic studies of Native American peoples and for scholarship that traced cultural change through careful historical and comparative work. Reliable biographical sources also show that teaching was central to his career, with appointments at the University of Washington, Yale University, and the University of New Mexico.
Spier retired in 1955 and died in 1961. Later assessments from the National Academy of Sciences describe him as a major figure in American anthropology whose scholarship and influence continued to be widely felt after his death.