About Anna Hadwick Gayton
Lived 1899 – 1977 (aged 77). Anna Hadwick Gayton was an American folklorist, anthropologist, textile historian, professor, curator and editorial assistant.
Anna Hadwick Gayton (September 20, 1899 – September 18, 1977)
Personal life and education Gayton was born on September 20, 1899, in Santa Cruz, California. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. degree in 1923 and M.A. degree in 1924.
During her studies, she served as an editorial assistant to the journal American Anthropologist. She would again hold this role again between 1932 and 1934 and also held a similar role between 1934 and 1939 with Yale University Publications in Anthropology.
Gayton died on September 18, 1977, aged 77. She was also a National Research Council Fellow from 1929 to 1930, continuing the ethnographic research on the Yokuts and Western Mono peoples that she had started during her time as a research assistant.
Folklore During the 1930s, Gayton became active in the American Folklore Society (AFS). She was reviews editor of the Journal of American Folklore from 1935 to 1940 and associate editor from 1940 to 1943. She would serve as the chair of the AFS's Committee on Research in Folklore from 1945 to 1948, as Vice President of the AFS in 1947 and president in 1950.
During this period, Gayton had commenced a study of the Feast of the Holy Spirit among Azorean Portuguese of California, aided by a Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to her in 1947.
She has been hailed as a "pioneer advocate of comparative folklore studies".
Academia and curating In 1948, Gayton joined the staff of the Department of Decorative Art at the University of California, Berkeley. The main focus of her research became Peruvian textiles in the university's collections, work begun by her predecessor in the Department of Decorative Art, Lila M O'Neale.
Gayton continued this research into ancient Peruvian costume as the (unpaid) curator of textiles at Berkeley's Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology (now Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology). She was particularly associated with ancient materials collected by the archaeologists Max Uhle and Charlotte Uhle.
In 1965, toward the end of her career, Gayton worked as the Vice President of the Institute of Andean Studies. She retired from teaching the same year.
Selected publications Gayton, Anna Hadwick (1927). The Uhle Collections from Nievería. Berkeley (Calif.): University of California Press. OCLC 882742385.
Gayton, A. H; Kroeber, A. L; Uhle, Max (1927). The Uhle pottery collections from Nazca. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. OCLC 3096352.
Gayton, A. H. (1935). "Areal Affiliations of California Folktales". American Anthropologist. 37 (4): 582–599. ISSN 0002-7294.
Gayton, A. H. (1935). "The Orpheus Myth in North America." The Journal of American Folklore. 48 (189): 263-293. doi:10.2307/535272.
Gayton, A. H. (1942). "English Ballads and Indian Myths". The Journal of American Folklore. 55 (217): 121–125. doi:10.2307/535249. ISSN 0021-8715.
Gayton, A. H. (1945). "Yokuts and Western Mono Social Organization". American Anthropologist. 47 (3): 409–426. ISSN 0002-7294.
Gayton, A. H. (1946). "Culture-Environment Integration: External References in Yokuts Life". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 2 (3): 252–268. ISSN 0038-4801.
Gayton, Anna Hadwick (1948). Yokuts and Western mono ethnography /A. H. Gayton. Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press. OCLC 600867859.
Gayton, A. H. (1948). "The "Festa da Serreta" at Gustine". Western Folklore. 7 (3): 251–265. doi:10.2307/1497549. ISSN 0043-373X
Gayton, A. H. (1948). "Folklore and Anthropology". Utah Humanities Review. 2: 26–31.
Gayton, A. H. (1951). "Perspectives in Folklore". The Journal of American Folklore. 64 (252): 147–150. doi:10.2307/536632. ISSN 0021-8715.
Gayton, A. H. (1955). "A New Type of Ancient Peruvian Shirt". American Antiquity. 20 (3): 263–270. doi:10.2307/277003. ISSN 0002-7316.
Gayton, A. H. (1961). "Early Paracas Style Textiles From Yauca, Peru". Archaeology. 14 (2): 117–121. ISSN 0003-8113.
Riesenberg, Saul H.; Gayton, A. H. (1952). "Caroline Island Belt Weaving". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 8 (3): 342–375. ISSN 0038-4801.
Rogers, Barbara Thrall; Gayton, A. H. (1944). "Twenty-Seven Chukchansi Yokuts Myths". The Journal of American Folklore. 57 (225): 190–207. doi:10.2307/535966. ISSN 0021-8715.
Stumer, Louis M.; Gayton, A. H. (1958). "A Horizontal-Necked Shirt from Marques, Peru". American Antiquity. 24 (2): 181–182. doi:10.2307/277480. ISSN 0002-7316.
Gayton, A. H. (1967). "Textiles from Hacha, Peru." Ñawpa Pacha. 5 (1): 1-13. doi:10.1179/naw.1967.5.1.001.
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Important facts
People in Anna Hadwick Gayton's life
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Anna Hadwick Gayton?
American anthropologist
When was Anna Hadwick Gayton born?
Anna Hadwick Gayton was born on 20 September 1899 in Santa Cruz.
When did Anna Hadwick Gayton die?
Anna Hadwick Gayton died on 18 September 1977.
What was Anna Hadwick Gayton's occupation?
Anna Hadwick Gayton was a folklorist, anthropologist, textile historian, professor, curator and editorial assistant.
What nationality was Anna Hadwick Gayton?
Anna Hadwick Gayton was American.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Anna Hadwick Gayton
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APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Anna Hadwick Gayton. https://biography.guide/anna-hadwick-gayton/
MLA: "Anna Hadwick Gayton." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/anna-hadwick-gayton/.
Chicago: "Anna Hadwick Gayton." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/anna-hadwick-gayton/.
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