Leslie Spier

Who was Leslie Spier?

Leslie Spier was an American anthropologist best known for his ethnographic studies of American Indians. He spent a great deal of his professional life as a teacher; he retired in 1955 and died in 1961.

Spier created a path for the study of cultural change, taking the time to conduct in-depth studies of group contact. His studies focused on changes throughout various cultures over time; he saw great importance in empirical research and made his reports as detailed as possible. Spier’s early years were spent studying the many diverse areas of anthropology ranging from archaeology to physical anthropology. His main interests were studying human relations and analyzing cultural processes among Native American groups. As a teacher, Spier was greatly admired by his students because he was extremely successful in passing along his methodological techniques for gathering exact data. Spier is remembered best for his explanatory studies and widespread fieldwork of cultural groups. Spier continued his research using his personal methodology right to his death in 1961.