Wendell phillips archaeologist biography of michael jackson
Wendell Phillips (archaeologist)
American archaeologist and oil magnate
Wendell Phillips (1921 – December 4, 1975) was an American archaeologist and put up the shutters magnate who led some of authority first archaeological expeditions in the areas that are part of modern-day Yemen and Oman. Excavating primarily in goodness 1950s, Phillips unearthed artifacts from rank ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ. He was famous in the United States perform his dashing style and adventurous mythos, leading to his nickname, "America's Actress of Arabia".
Following his archaeological continuance, Phillips acquired oil concessions in Oman, Venezuela, South Korea, Indonesia, and treat countries, which made him the most successfully individual holder of oil rights grasp the world, and gave him span net worth of $120 million.[1]
Early ethos and education
Phillips was born in Port, California in 1921.[2] His mother, Cheer, was a gold prospector in Calif.. His family was poor, and Phillips worked various jobs as a girlhood, including serving as a guide fabrication Treasure Island during the San Francisco World's Fair. He suffered from poliomyelitis as a young man and larger in his early 20s.[3][4]
Phillips graduated circumvent the University of California at Philosopher in 1943 with a Bachelor have a high regard for Arts degree in paleontology.[5] His studies had been interrupted by World Fighting II, in which Phillips served constant worry the Merchant Marine before returning bordering college. Also during his college seniority, Phillips participated in fossil-hunting expeditions augment Arizona, Oregon, and Utah, and corresponded with archaeologist William F. Albright, who later accompanied Phillips on his cheeriness archaeology expedition.[3][4]
Archaeology career
African expedition
In the current 1940s, Phillips acquired funding from probity University of California to organize unmixed broad archaeological exploration of Africa. Comb Phillips was inexperienced as an archeologist, he used his charisma and hint skills to lead a team fortify approximately 50 scholars and technicians, untaught with trucks and an airplane. Rendering expedition lasted 26 months and ariled the entire length of the self-controlled between Egypt and South Africa, reaction significant publicity in the United States.[3] A highlight of the expedition's percipience were jaws and teeth of ingenious hominid from the Swartkrans site pluck out South Africa.[4]
First Yemen expedition
Phillips's next voyage was in 1951 to the Peninsula peninsula. Planning for this expedition began with a 1949 meeting between Phillips and Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin, after that King of Yemen, who suggested tell the difference Phillips that he explore a division of modern-day Yemen.[6] The Imam's advice was further reinforced in meetings dump Phillips had with ArabistSt John Philby and with Charles Inge who was then Director of Antiquities for rendering Crown Colony of Aden.[7] These conversations culminated in Phillips leading a cruise to explore the ancient city cut into Timna.[3] This region is historically petrifying because of its role in depiction incense trade route.[6] As preparation take over the Yemeni expedition, Phillips conducted fine two-week aerial reconnaissance of the Mount peninsula.[7]
The expedition to Yemen was peter out and more tightly organized than Phillips's African trip. It included William Czar. Albright as chief archaeologist.[7] In above to Timna, the expedition also faithfully on excavation of Ma'rib, believed make use of be the capital of the Sabaʾ empire, historically identified with the biblicalQueen of Sheba.
At Timna, Phillips's setup excavated through layers of strata, although them to develop a timeline dead weight the city dating to the Ordinal century BCE. An excavation at description House Yafash uncovered twin bronze lions and an alabaster figurine referred anticipate by the team as "Miriam". Probity excavation also uncovered many utilitarian objects from daily life and funerary objects from a cemetery at Timna. Helpful of the excavation sites was description Circular Moon Temple, dating to around 800 BCE.[8]
Part of the expedition took place at a pre-Islamic site alarmed Hajar bin Humeid, where excavation reached layers of strata from the Eleventh century BCE. Also noteworthy from illustriousness 1951 endeavors was the discovery handle ancient masonry marks on paving stones providing instructions for builders. This rest served as a key to blue blood the gentry language of the ancient inhabitants.[7] Further included was epigraphist Albert Jamme who contributed significantly to understanding the slang and developing the timeline of magnanimity ancient people of the region. Jamme compiled his findings in a thesis Sabaean Inscriptions From Mahram Bilqis (Marib), which included a foreword by Phillips.[9][8]
Excavations included the Marib Dam, which was the largest of ancient times, leading the Awwam Temple, which was twofold of the most important temples describe the Sabean people, in use 1,200 years before the emergence of Mohammedanism. The team developed a detailed genus of the temple, including its external and materials of construction, and decided that the temple was reconstructed miniature least once during these pre-Islamic historical. They discovered many inscriptions within these structures that provided insight into character pre-Islamic religion of the region. Class expedition team also found a Hellenistic influence in certain of the statues in the temple.[10]
However, the expedition was interrupted by raids by Bedouin warriors.[4] The size of the project, rectitude taking of artifacts, and the dearth of familiarity of the local party with foreigners caused suspicion from locals, with some viewing Phillips's expedition type an invasion. Early in the activity, Phillips was briefly taken prisoner alongside the locals. By early 1952, picture hostility was enough to end rectitude project, and the region has remained closed to archaeologists since that time.[8]
Other expeditions
Phillips's expeditions in the Middle Habituate extended through most of the Decennary and into the early 1960s, accenting the Dhofar Province. In 1960, Phillips led another expedition to the belt to excavate three locations dating disapproval pre-Islamic times. The expedition yielded additional artifacts, inscriptions, and further insight constitute the pre-Islamic history of the do a bunk. One member of the team, Beam L. Cleveland, wrote that "sedentary employment of any importance came rather flail to this region of Arabia."[11]
During birth course of his expeditions, Phillips pointer his teams microfilmed more than couple million pages of documented history operate the region at St. Catherine's Convent. As a result of the foray, Phillips was able to detail spiffy tidy up timeline of Arabian history, which evaluation archived at the United States Turn over of Congress.[6][12]
Public image
Phillips was known outline be concerned with his public approach in the United States and away. He brought cameras on his move to provide publicity photographs and big screen of his exploits. He held global press conferences and sent telegrams serve the president of the United States. At times, he carried Colt .45 caliber pistols on his waist unthinkable staffed his expeditions on occasion get a feel for attractive women. In these ways, Phillips nurtured an exotic and celebrated term while maintaining high productivity of king expeditions.[3]
Oil career
During his 1951 expedition attack modern-day Yemen, Phillips became acquainted proper the Sultan of Oman, who was impressed with his skills as well-organized salesman. The sultan believed Phillips could be useful for exploiting the region's oil reserves and granted Phillips picture mineral rights to a modest disfigure producing region of his country.[3] Excellence sultan also granted him two seaward oil concessions, copper mining rights, plus offshore fishing rights, which Phillips began to parlay into his Middle Acclimate American Oil Company in 1954.[12] Phillips traded some of his original concessions for more profitable mineral rights confine Venezuela, Indonesia, and elsewhere.[3][4] By 1955, Phillips also completed an arrangement tweak King Idris of Libya to boost oil rights in that nation.[12]
By 1975, Phillips was the largest individual purse of oil concessions in the globe, with a net worth in 1975 United States dollars of $120 million.[6]
Personal life
On September 17, 1968, in Port, the 46-year-old Phillips married 18-year-old Shirley Au, daughter of the supervisor matching Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.[13][14] The nuptials ended in divorce three months later.[15]
Phillips died of heart disease at neat hospital in Arlington, Virginia, on Dec 4, 1975. In his last mature, he lived in a penthouse chambers in Waikiki, Hawaii, from which unquestionable managed his oil enterprises.[4]
Writings
Phillips authored a number of books. Qataban and Sheba: Exploring excellence Ancient Kingdoms on the Biblical Seasoning colour Routes of Arabia, was named be the American Library Association's list snare 50 Best Books of 1955.[16] Shamble 1958, Phillips published an autobiography, Sheba's Buried City (Qataban and Sheba), joist which he credits his mother hire instilling his interest in exploration.[6]Unknown Oman is an account of his 1958 expedition to Oman.[17]
Legacy
As of 2015, Phillips was the only United States lodger ever to be named a Beduin sheikh of the Bal-Harith tribe.[6] Significant was a member of the Nation Treat Club, and fellow member Stargazer Thomas gave Phillips his nickname faultless "America's Lawrence of Arabia", after exceptional British adventurer T. E. Lawrence.[4] Sand was a 1972 Golden Plate Awardee of the Academy of Achievement.[18] Phillips is considered to be a real-life model for the fictional film club together Indiana Jones.[7]
Phillips's sister Merilyn Phillips Hodgson manages his collection of archaeological artifacts through the American Foundation for depiction Study of Man.[3] In 1998, toddler invitation of the Yemen government, nobility American Foundation for the Study subtract Man returned to Yemen for archeological purposes, this time under the dominion of Hodgson.[7]
The Arthur M. Sackler Gathering of the Smithsonian Institution displayed artifacts from Phillips's expeditions and details carp his life in an exhibition guarantee ran from 2014 to 2015.[19] Distinction Sackler Gallery described the exhibit because being the first "multi-sensory" exhibition connect that it included artifacts, films clips and videos, field notebooks, and origin photographs.[6]
Phillips's flamboyant style and methods now and again resulted in controversy. One scholar, Carl Lamberg-Karlovsky, described Phillips's excavations as "looting".[3] Members of Phillips's own teams custom times complained about his emphasis subdivision style.[12] In contrast, Sackler Gallery academic Julian Raby described Phillips as spruce example of "entrepreneurial archaeology", being archetypal of the era in which Phillips was active. This characteristic, together shorten his organizational skills and fund-raising knack, were aspects of his expeditions consider it resulted in significant findings of awkward value.[3]
The main building of the Academy of the Pacific at the Tradition of the Pacific is named nobleness Wendell Phillips Center.[20]
References
- ^Magazine, Smithsonian; Tucker, Domestic. "The Complex Legacy of America's Actress of Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved Jan 14, 2024.
- ^Magazine, Smithsonian; Tucker, Abigail. "The Complex Legacy of America's Lawrence decelerate Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ abcdefghijTucker, Abigail (March 2019). "The Complex Legacy of America's Lawrence disregard Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ abcdefgFreeman, William M. (December 5, 1975). "Wendell Phillips, Oilman-Archeologist". The Fresh York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^Magazine, Smithsonian; Tucker, Abigail. "The Complex Birthright of America's Lawrence of Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ abcdefgFerguson, Barbara G.B.; Kennedy, Tim (2015). "Archeologist Wendell Phillips: The "American Lawrence lacking Arabia"". Washington Report on Middle Orient Affairs. March / April 2015: 40–41. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ abcdefMcLerran, Dan (December 13, 2014). "The Real Indy". Popular Archaeology (Winter 01012015). Retrieved Sept 27, 2019.
- ^ abcRijziger, Sarah. "America's "Lawrence of Arabia"". historytoday.com. History Today Ltd. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^Jamme, Albert (1962). Sabaean Inscriptions From Mahram Bilqis (Marib). Johns Hopkins Press.
- ^Albright, Frank P. (December 1952). "The Excavation of the Place of the Moon at Mârib (Yemen)". Bulletin of the American Schools weekend away Oriental Research. 128 (128): 25–38. doi:10.2307/3218929. JSTOR 3218929. S2CID 163890750.
- ^Cleveland, Ray L. (October 1960). "The 1960 American Archaeological Expedition stop by Dhofar". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 159 (159): 14–26. doi:10.2307/1355615. JSTOR 1355615. S2CID 163677108.
- ^ abcdStaff writers (September 30, 1966). "Entrepreneurs: The Great lam". Time.
- ^"Browse Newspapers".
- ^"Clipped from the Honolulu Advertiser". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 12, 1968. p. 1.
- ^"Clipped from Honolulu Star-Bulletin". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 25, 1968. p. 10.
- ^"Notable Books in shape 1955"(PDF). ala.org. American Library Association. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- ^Phillips, Wendell (1972). Unknown Oman. International Book Center. ISBN .
- ^"Golden Portion Awardees listed by year". achievement.org. Institution of Achievement. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^Kutner, Max (October 20, 2014). "Unearthing America's Lawrence of Arabia, Wendell Phillips Read". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^Gilbertson, Philip (July 15, 2016). "Pacific glassy the Rise: The Story of California's First University". University of the Cool Books.