Ann Perkins (historian)

Ann Perkins
Born(1915-04-18)April 18, 1915
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMay 7, 2006(2006-05-07) (aged 91)
Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations
  • Archaeologist
  • art historian
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship (1954)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
ThesisThe Comparative Stratigraphy of Prehistoric Mesopotamia (1940)
Doctoral advisorHenri Frankfort
Academic work
Discipline
  • Archaeology
  • art history
Sub-discipline
Institutions

Ann Louise Perkins (April 18, 1915 – May 7, 2006) was an American archaeologist and art historian. Originally starting as a graduate and research assistant at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, she taught at Yale University and became a full professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After publishing her 1949 book The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia, she switched from Near Eastern archaeology to classical era art after working with the excavations of the ancient city of Dura-Europos, and then published the 1973 book The Art of Dura-Europos.

Biography

Early life and education career

Perkins was born on April 18, 1915, in Chicago;[1] her parents were Grace and Joseph Atwood Perkins.[2] After attending Morton High School in Morton, Illinois, she studied at the University of Chicago, where she got her BA in 1935 and MA in 1936, before getting a PhD in Near Eastern archaeology at the Oriental Institute in 1940.[3][2] Her doctoral dissertation The Comparative Stratigraphy of Prehistoric Mesopotamia was supervised by Henri Frankfort.[4]

After working at the Oriental Institute as a research assistant since 1942, Perkins moved to the Yale University Department of Classics to become a research associate there in 1949.[2] Although she could not work as an undergraduate teacher at Yale as a woman, she often taught Yale graduate students as an associate professor and also worked as a visiting professor at other universities.[2] In 1965, she moved to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to become a full professor.[2] In 1978, she retired from UI and became a professor emeritus.[2][1] She worked at UI's Center for Advanced Study during her last years at the university.[2]

Academic career

In 1949, Perkins published her book The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia.[5] In 1954,[6] she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Mesopotamian archaeology.[3] She was a 1959/1960 United States Department of State specialist for one of their Middle East tours of duty.[2]

Although originally interested in Near Eastern archaeology, Perkins' experience with the excavations of the ancient city of Dura-Europos, including her work on a preliminary report, the organization of remains and files, and her role as an executive editor for Yale's publications in the field, piqued her academic interest in classical era art.[2] She became interested in Mediterranean art, particularly Eastern Roman art from the Hellenistic and Roman eras.[2] In 1973, she published The Art of Dura-Europos.[2]

Perkins wrote the American Journal of Archaeology's "Archaeological Bibliography" and Near East "Archaeological News" articles and, from 1957 to 1977, was an advisory board member for the journal.[2] She also contributed to the Encyclopedia Americana, the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Interpreter's Bible series.[2]

Personal life and death

In addition to academia, Perkins was also interested in music; she was a violinist and choral singer in high school, before being a choral and madrigal singer while working at Yale.[2] Perkins lived in Champaign, Illinois.[1]

Perkins died on May 7, 2006, in Urbana, Illinois, aged 91.[2]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ann (Louise) Perkins". Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Retrieved July 19, 2025 – via Gale In Context: Biography.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Darling, Janina K.; Downey, Susan B. (2007). "Ann Perkins, 1915-2006". American Journal of Archaeology. 111 (1): 149–150. doi:10.3764/aja.111.1.149. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 40024584. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Reports of the Secretary and Treasurer. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 1953. p. 149.
  4. ^ "Alumni Placement". mes.uchicago.edu. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  5. ^ "SAOC 25. The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. Archived from the original on June 25, 2025. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  6. ^ "Ann Perkins". Guggenheim Fellowships. Archived from the original on March 24, 2025. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  7. ^ Albright, W. F. (1951). "Review of The Comparative Archaeology of Early Mesopotamia". American Journal of Archaeology. 55 (2): 209–210. doi:10.2307/501286. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 501286.
  8. ^ Finegan, Jack (1950). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Journal of Bible and Religion. 18 (3): 204–205. ISSN 0885-2758. JSTOR 1456535.
  9. ^ Goetze, Albrecht (1950). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 4 (1): 77–78. doi:10.2307/1359620. ISSN 0022-0256. JSTOR 1359620.
  10. ^ Hillen, C. (1950). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 9 (4): 265–266. doi:10.1086/371005. ISSN 0022-2968. JSTOR 542990.
  11. ^ Parrot, André (1950). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Syria. 27 (1/2): 147–150. ISSN 0039-7946. JSTOR 4196559.
  12. ^ Speiser, E. A. (1953). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 73 (4): 229–231. doi:10.2307/594864. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 594864.
  13. ^ Van Buren, E. Douglas (1950). "Review of The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, No. 25)". Orientalia. 19 (2): 202–206. ISSN 0030-5367. JSTOR 43072735.
  14. ^ Bivar, A. D. H. (1974). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europos". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 37 (3): 747–748. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00128265. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 613873.
  15. ^ Colledge, Malcolm A. R. (1974). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europos". American Journal of Archaeology. 78 (4): 442. doi:10.2307/502769. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 502769.
  16. ^ Colledge, Malcolm A. R. (1976). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europos". The Classical Review. 26 (1): 149–150. doi:10.1017/S0009840X00247859. ISSN 0009-840X. JSTOR 711219.
  17. ^ Delvoye, Charles (1975). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europos". L'Antiquité Classique. 44 (1): 413–414. ISSN 0770-2817. JSTOR 41650413.
  18. ^ Lassus, Jean (1975). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europus". Revue Archéologique (1): 123–124. ISSN 0035-0737. JSTOR 41744554.
  19. ^ P., A. (1975). "Review of The Art of Dura-Europos". Syria. 52 (1/2): 153–154. ISSN 0039-7946. JSTOR 4198006.
  20. ^ Tissot, Francine (1974). "Review of The art of Dura-Europos". Arts Asiatiques. 30: 209–211. ISSN 0004-3958. JSTOR 43485381.
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