Edgar Lee Hewett

Who was Edgar Lee Hewett?

Edgar Lee Hewett was an American archaeologist and anthropologist whose focus was the Native American communities of New Mexico and the southwestern United States. He is best known for his role in bringing about the Antiquities Act, a pioneering piece of legislation for the conservation movement, for being the founder and first director of the Museum of New Mexico, as well as the first president of the New Mexico Normal School, now New Mexico Highlands University.

Hewett's dealings with Maria Martinez, the great potter of San Ildefonso Pueblo, were instrumental in establishing San Ildefonso as a center for Native American pottery, and for the rebirth of pottery as a significant folk art form in the region.

Hewett also had a significant role in the formation of Bandelier National Monument and Chaco Culture National Historical Park, established to preserve extensive prehistoric ruins of the Pueblo people that he studied, largely through his role in bringing about the Antiquities Act authorizing the creation of such national monuments.