Theodore Doney McCown (1908–1969): Anthropologist and Archaeologist who Reshaped Understanging of Human Evolution

Dr. Theodore McCown

Main Mausoleum, 1st Floor, Section 12, Tier 4, 4th niche from left

Dr. Theodore McCown was an American anthropologist and archaeologist whose work reshaped modern understanding of human evolution. A professor at the University of California, Berkeley, he is best known for his role in the Mount Carmel excavations of the 1930s, his pioneering studies of fossil human remains, and his contributions to forensic anthropology in the United States. His research bridged archaeology, biological anthropology, and forensic science, and he trained a generation of scholars who carried his approaches into diverse fields.

McCown was born in Macomb, Illinois, to Chester Charlton McCown, a biblical scholar, and Harriett Doney. In 1914, the family moved to Berkeley, California, where his father became Dean of the Pacific School of Religion. His father’s subsequent directorship of the Palestine Exploration Fund in the 1920s exposed Theodore to formal archaeological work during extended stays in Palestine. These formative years instilled in him an enduring interest in the material and fossil record of human history.

McCown studied anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, under Alfred L. Kroeber. He was inspired by Henry Morton Stanley’s In Darkest Africa and gained field experience excavating California shell mounds and studying the Kawaiisu Indians. He graduated with a B.A. in anthropology in 1929, receiving highest honors. In 1930, he was appointed assistant at the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, where he participated in excavations at Jerash. He later joined the American School of Prehistoric Research, which gave American students direct access to European and Near Eastern excavations.

McCown’s scientific career was defined early by his role in the Mount Carmel excavations (1931–1935, 1937) in present-day Israel. Working with British archaeologist Dorothy Garrod and others, he was given responsibility for Skhūl Cave. Between 1931 and 1932, McCown uncovered the remains of at least ten individuals (Skhūl I–X), including children and adults. Several skeletons were found in apparent burials, with grave goods such as a wild boar mandible. His discoveries provided some of the earliest evidence for intentional burial practices among archaic humans.

Dr, Theodore McCown and Skulls

 

The Mount Carmel material included fossils from both Skhūl Cave and nearby Tabūn Cave. McCown, collaborating with the British anatomist Sir Arthur Keith, studied and described these remains. Their monumental publication, The Stone Age of Mount Carmel: The Fossil Human Remains from the Levalloiso-Mousterian (Cambridge University Press, 1939), documented the skeletal material in detail. The analysis highlighted morphological differences between the Skhūl and Tabūn specimens, noting that the Skhūl fossils appeared more modern, while the Tabūn skeleton exhibited more Neanderthal-like traits. McCown argued that the fossils represented a population undergoing evolutionary change, foreshadowing debates on the relationship between Neanderthals and early modern humans. His insistence on interpreting variability within populations rather than through rigid racial categories was a major advance in paleoanthropology.

Although McCown and Keith proposed a new species name (Palaeoanthropus palestinensis), this did not gain acceptance. Today, the Skhūl fossils are regarded as early Homo sapiens, and their association with intentional burial is recognized as a milestone in human behavioral evolution.

Returning to California, McCown joined the Berkeley faculty in 1938 while completing his dissertation on Natufian crania from Mount Carmel. He received his Ph.D. in 1939. His academic progression was steady: Assistant Professor in 1941, Associate Professor in 1946, and full Professor of Anthropology in 1951. He chaired the department from 1950 to 1955 and played a central role in establishing Berkeley’s program in physical anthropology. He also served as Curator of Physical Anthropology at the Lowie Museum (later the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology).

McCown was an exceptional teacher, remembered for his organized lectures, wide-ranging knowledge, and ability to inspire students. He supervised more than 18 doctoral dissertations and numerous master’s theses, helping to establish a strong tradition of physical and forensic anthropology at Berkeley.

During World War II, McCown served as a cryptographer and in Graves Registration with the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps (1942–1945), based at the Presidio in San Francisco. His work identifying war dead deepened his interest in forensic anthropology, which he would later teach and develop at Berkeley. At a time when only a handful of scholars—such as Earnest Hooton at Harvard and Wilton Krogman at Penn—were training forensic anthropologists, McCown was instrumental in establishing the field on the West Coast.

He participated in prominent identifications, including the remains of Father Junípero Serra in Carmel (in connection with his beatification), Juan Bautista de Anza in Mexico, and the evaluation of remains once claimed to be those of Amelia Earhart. These cases highlighted his expertise and made him a resource for both academic and governmental agencies.

McCown’s research interests extended globally. In 1941–42, he excavated the Pre-Incaic site of Huamachuco in the Peruvian Andes, publishing his findings in The Pre-Incaic Site of Huamachuco (1945). He identified two distinct periods of occupation and analyzed both architecture and pottery. He also examined skeletal collections gathered by earlier anthropologists such as Alfred Kroeber.

Later, McCown turned to India, conducting fieldwork in the Narmada Valley in 1957–58 and again in 1964–65, often accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth Richards McCown, herself trained in anthropology. There he studied Middle Pleistocene deposits and Acheulean stone tools, situating them within broader contexts of human evolution. His international experience also took him to France, Czechoslovakia, and Mexico.

Dr. Theodore McCown, Dorothy Garrod and Francis Turville-Petre

McCown combined scholarship with service to the university. At Berkeley, he was Associate Dean of the College of Letters and Science (1956–1961) and served on numerous Academic Senate committees. Within the department, he was Chair, Undergraduate Adviser, and Coordinator of the Archaeological Research Facility. His deep knowledge of the campus and his collegial personality made him an invaluable figure in faculty governance.

McCown was widely recognized by his peers. He was active in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society for American Archaeology, the American Society of Physical Anthropology, and the American Society for Human Genetics. He was a Fellow of both the American Anthropological Association and the Royal Anthropological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He also presented influential papers on hominid taxonomy and the education of anthropologists, contributing to the integration of evolutionary theory into paleoanthropology.

McCown died suddenly of a heart attack in Berkeley on August 17, 1969, at the age of 61.  

Sources: The Stone Age of Mount Carmel: The Fossil Human Remains from the Levalloiso-Mousterian (McCown & Keith, 1939); The Pre-Incaic Site of Huamachuco (McCown, 1945); University of California In Memoriam (Hammel, Heizer & Washburn, 1970); Online Archive of California biographical sketch; Harvard American School of Prehistoric Research Directory; British Museum Biographical Records; Institute of Andean Research publications; Anthropology iResearchNet profile of Theodore D. McCown; Virginia Tech online profile, Find a Grave