Kroeber, Alfred Louis

Kroeber, Alfred Louis, 1876-1960, American anthropologist, b. Hoboken, N.J., Ph.D. Columbia, 1901. He taught (1901-46) at the Univ. of California and was director (1925-46) of the anthropological museum there. An authority on the indigenous people of the Americas, he participated in many expeditions in the Southwest and in Mexico and Peru, where he conducted both ethnographic and archaeological research. Like his teacher Franz Boas, Kroeber upheld the tradition of broad scholarship, and he was a major figure in the founding of the modern science of anthropology. He set forth clearly the relationship of culture patterns to the individual and presented a new concept of society as the interaction of groups and persons. Kroeber wrote many influential articles, and his books include Anthropology (1923, rev. ed. 1948), Configurations of Culture Growth (1944), The Nature of Culture (1952), and Style and Civilization (1957).

(born June 11, 1876, Hoboken, N.J., U.S.—died Oct. 5, 1960, Paris, Fr.) U.S. anthropologist. Trained under Franz Boas (Ph.D., 1901), he later taught at the University of California at Berkeley. Kroeber's career nearly coincided with the emergence of academic, professionalized anthropology in the U.S. and contributed significantly to its development. He made valuable contributions to American Indian ethnology, New World archaeology, and the study of linguistics, folklore, kinship, and culture. His most influential books are considered to be Anthropology (1923) and The Nature of Culture (1952). His daughter, Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929), was a noted science fiction and fantasy writer.

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Alfred Louis Delattre (1850-1932) was a French archaeologist, born at Déville-lès-Rouen. Sent as a missionary to Algeria, he became chaplain of the church of St. Louis of Carthage and conservator of the archaeological museum at Algiers. His investigations among the ruins of ancient Carthage were very valuable. He became director of the Musée Lavigerie de Saint-Louis de Carthage, founded through his efforts in 1875. His works include:

• Carthage et la Tunisie au point de vue archéologique (1883)
• Inscriptions de Carthage (1884-85)
• Souvenirs de la croisade de Saint Louis trouvés à Carthage (1888)
• Les tombeaux puniques de Carthage (1890)
• Souvenirs de l'ancienne église d'Afrque (1893)
• Musée Lavigerie de Saint-Louis de Carthage (three volumes, 1899-1900)

Literature

For his articles in periodicals, consult Marquis d'Anselme de Puisaye, Etude sur lews divèrses publications du Révérend Pére Delattre (Paris, 1895).

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