University of Colorado at Boulder anthropology Professor Emeritus David Breternitz has won the Emil W. Haury Award in honor of his significant archaeological work spanning more than 50 years in southwestern Colorado.
The award, named for pre-eminent Southwest archaeologist Emil W. Haury, is presented annually by the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association in recognition of outstanding contributions to scientific research in the national parks and monuments of the western United States.
"David Breternitz is a major figure in Colorado archaeology and at the University of Colorado," said Steve Lekson, assistant professor and curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. "His work at Dinosaur National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park was huge, but it's only part of the story."
Breternitz excavated many sites in Colorado, with his most important project being the Dolores Archaeology Project in southwestern Colorado, which was one of the largest field efforts in the history of Southwestern archaeology, Lekson said.
"The Dolores Project completely redefined our understanding of the earliest Pueblo times," he said.
Breternitz joined the anthropology faculty at CU-Boulder in 1962, where he taught until retiring in 1985. He led the initial archaeological surveys of Dinosaur National Monument from 1963 to 1966, and surveyed Mesa Verde National Park from 1971 to 1977. He served as director of the Mesa Verde National Research Center from 1978 to 1985.
Breternitz earned his master's degree in 1956 and his doctorate in anthropology in 1963 from the University of Arizona.
Haury was head of the University of Arizona anthropology department from 1937 to 1980 and also headed the Arizona State Museum from 1938 to 1964. His research was instrumental in defining the prehistoric Hohokam culture.
The Southwest Parks and Monuments Association publishes books and operates museum stores in more than 60 national parks in the western United States. The association's proceeds support education and research programs of the National Park Service.