- Term
Frances E. Watkins
- Alternate Term
Watkins, Frances E.
Watkins, Dr. Frances E.
Watkins, Dr.
Few
Few?
Watkins, Frances
Watkins, Frances E.?
Watkins
Dr. Watkins
Dr. Frances E. Watkins
- Remarks
Frances Emma Watkins was born on December 27, 1899 in Denver, Colorado. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Denver in 1929, specializing in archaeology and anthropology. While earning her degree, Watkins participated in a 1928 School of American Research excavation at Jemez, New Mexico under Dr. Edgar L. Hewett. After graduation in 1929, Watkins joined Isabel Kelly and Eva Horner to do field work in a program sponsored by the Laboratory of Anthropology in New Mexico. The group of three women directed an excavation at Tecolote in New Mexico under the tutelage of Dr. Alfred V. Kidder. It was possibly the first excavation directed by an all-female team. In 1930, Watkins began working for the Southwest Museum as Assistant Curator under M. R. Harrington and sometimes filled in for Southwest Museum librarian Ella L. Robinson. Watkins later went on to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology from the University of Southern California in 1942. While at the Southwest Museum, Watkins participated in field expeditions with Harrington, including an excavation at Borax Lake, California in 1945. Watkins contributed regularly to the Southwest Museum’s periodical The Masterkey, penning 24 articles on archaeology and anthropology between 1929 and 1946, in addition to her annual accessions reports and other columns on museum news and activities. Watkins also published three articles for other Southwest Museum publications, and nine articles for other publications, such as the California History Nugget, between 1938 and 1954. Watkins listed the following associations in her 1957 autobiographical submission to Who’s Who of American Women; Southwestern Archeological Federation, 1934-1936; California Cliff Dwellings Club, 1944-1945; College Women’s Club of Pasadena, and Friends of the Huntington Library. Watkins passed away before 1987.