Talk:Betty Meggers

Death
Can anyone find an obituary or other report of death ? --Racklever (talk) 07:24, 13 July 2012 (UTC)
 * ✅--Racklever (talk) 12:23, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

D. W. Lathrap
While the article mentions her conflicts with other archaeologists, none is actually named. I think Donald Lathrap should be named (Meggers is named in Lathrap's Wikipedia article). 73.222.96.76 (talk) 03:28, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

environmentalist archaeology
"Meggers was among the first to examine environmental influences on ancient societies and to frame culture as an adaptation by humans to the environment.[6][7]". Those two references are only to two works by Meggers, not to secondary sources claiming that Meggers was a pioneer. Actually, Trigger's book on the history of archaeological thought, published about the same time as the Meggers items, reviews environmental concepts in archaeology, going back long before Meggers was publishing. Also, Don Lathrap, Meggers's opponent in South American archaeology, was very big on environmental influences, having studied under the geographer Sauer. And what about Otis Mason and Ratzel (admittedly not specifically archaeologists, but both were concerned with environmental influences on ancient societies long before Meggers) or even Herodotus. And if Meggers is going to be labeled as one of the pioneers, then cite  Meggers, B.J., 1954: Environmental limitations on the development of culture, American anthropologist 56, 801–24. [Special:Contributions/73.222.96.76|73.222.96.76]] (talk) 03:52, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

Assertions of Meggers’ Theories Being Undermined overstated and unsourced
This sentence needs a direct source if it is to remain.

“In the early 21st century, new archeological finds have begun to overturn her conclusions.”

Other assertions questioning her theories are also overstated. The distance between Japan and Ecuador is not new information that would undermine an idea. I’m reading one of her books now and might make appropriate fact-based edits.