On July 6, 1892 in Medical Lake, Washington, Will Carleton McKern was born. McKern's work contributed greatly to the discipline of Archeology.
McKern studied at the University of California at Berkeley. His research was conducted in California, Washington, Honolulu, and Wisconsin. His studies were interrupted by World War I when he served in the 62nd Infantry of the U.S. Army. He was married on October 22, 1919 to Clara Florence; they had two children. He went on to write several articles about archeology, and he conducted further research in that field. In 1940, McKern served as President of the Society for American Archaeology ("McKern, Will Carleton," 844).
McKern is remembered in the field of archeology for many reasons. One contribution is his study of petroglyphs (carvings or drawings on rock surfaces) in western Colorado. McKern studied and classified petroglyphs from three different cultures (McKern, vii), and his study of these petroglyphs is still used by Colorado archeologists today. McKern also conducted field research with the Indians of Wisconsin, especially in the city of Milwaukee. He was also the Curator of the Milwaukee Public Museum from 1915-1943, and became the Director of the Milwaukee Public Museum from 1943-1958.
The one thing that McKern is remembered most for is his Midwestern Taxonomic Method or as it is known, the McKern System, written in 1930. This system deals with how archeologists classify the materials they find. It contains four basic units: focus, aspect, phase and pattern. Focus means a group of places or sites which have many cultural traits in common. Aspect deals with several foci that share many cultural traits. Phase looks at several common aspects, and pattern, which is the largest classification, and deals with a group of phases that have common traits (McGregor, 65). The goal of this system was to create a method that any archeologist could use to classify their findings. This was a beneficial system because it helped archeologists group their findings together into one system.
W.C. McKern's times have long since past and things have greatly changed since his taxonomic system was used. His system has been rewritten and revised many times since 1930, but it still greatly contributed to the study of archeology. Mr. McKern died on Nov. 20, 1988.
Fisher, Alton K., "Obituary: Will Carleton McKern", Wisconsin Archaeologist, v.69, no.3 (1988), p.207-209.
McGregor, John C. Southwestern Archaeology. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965.
McKern, W.C. Western Colorado Petroglyphs. Ed. Douglas D. Scott. Denver: Bureau of Land Management, 1983.
"McKern, Will Carleton." Who's Who in the Midwest. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Company, 1949. 844.
Written by Heidi Southworth
Edited by Marcy L. Voelker, 2007