Byron Gregory Cummings was born on September 20, 1860 in Westville, Franklin County, New York. In 1885, he graduated from Oswego Normal College. He received his A.B. from Rutgers College in 1889 and an A.M. in 1889. For four years Cummings taught mathematics and Greek at Rutgers Preparatory School. He also attended the University of Utah as an instructor of Latin and English in 1893. In 1894 he was an Assistant Professor of Greek and Latin. The very next year he became the Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature. In 1906 Byron Cummings had become the very first Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
He personally organized several expeditions to southern Utah to explore the ancient ruins there. In 1907, with rancher John Wetherill, Cummings explored the ruins of the largest site, Keet Seel, in what is now called Navaho National Monument. In 1909, they discovered the ruin of Betatakin and Inscription House. Tucked into a cliff side alcove, Betatakin consisted of 135 rooms that measured 452 feet(138 metres) high and 370 feet (113 metres) wide. Though know to the local indigenous people, Cummings was one of the first white men to discover it.
In 1915 Cummings became a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Arizona. From 1917-1921, he served as Dean of the Schools of Arts, Letters and Sciences. In 1921 and again in 1927-1928, Cummings was Acting President. From 1915-1937, Byron acted as the Director of the Arizona State Museum. The museum now holds the most comprehensive collections of southwestern archaeology and ethnology in the nation. He is also known for the establishment of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society in Tucson. In 1935, he sponsored The Kiva, a quarterly publication of the society.
Known as "the Dean" to students and colleagues, Byron Cummings was not only an explorer, archaeologist, museum director, university administrator, anthropologist, teacher and state parks commissioner, he was also immensely influential in the early years of archaeology in the Arizona and Utah areas during its early development. He was known as a pioneer to Southwestern America for his involvement in discovering its archeological sites. “In the classroom and in the field, the Dean was ever an inspiration to his students. His singleness of purpose, his deep honesty in his approach to knowledge, his philosophy of life, could not and did not fail to reach all who heard him- Dr. Cummings’ activity as a professor- had a deeper expression than the mere imparting of knowledge. It included a distinctive human element (Tanner, 1954).” His investigations in Utah and Arizona continued until the end of his career. Cummings was a teacher to and an inspiration to many young leading anthropologists in the later 20th century.In 1954 Byron Gregory Cummings, age 93, died.
http://www.greatarchaeology.com/archaeologist_list.php
www.uapress.arizona.edu/books/bid1646.htm
http://www.nps.gov.archive/rabr/cmgsdgls.htm
http://www.nps.gov/archive/rabr/home.htm
Tanner, C L. Byron Cummings, 1860-1954. The Kiva, vol. 20, no. 1, October 1954, p 1-20.
Tanner, C L. Byron Cummings. International Dictionary of Anthropologists. Garland Publishing New York, NY, 1991, p 129.
Written by: Kendra K. Engelstad
Edited by: Lillian Dolentz, 2009