author
Martin A. Baumhoff
1926–1983
An influential California anthropologist and archaeologist, he helped shape the study of Native California history through fieldwork, teaching, and widely cited research. His work ranged from archaeology and rock art to population studies and Native language-area research.
1 Audiobook
California Athabascan Groups
by Martin A. Baumhoff
About the author
Born in Camino, California, on December 22, 1926, Martin A. Baumhoff became a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, where he joined the faculty in 1958. He later served as chair of the Department of Anthropology from 1963 to 1966, and then as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs during a turbulent period on campus.
Baumhoff is remembered for important work in California archaeology and ethnography. His publications included studies of California rock art, Aboriginal population patterns, Yana archaeology, and Native groups in northwestern California, and his research helped connect archaeological evidence with broader ecological and historical questions.
He died of cancer on March 27, 1983. Colleagues remembered him as a major figure in California anthropology whose scholarship and university service left a lasting mark.