Bruce D. Smith

Bruce D. Smith (born 1946) is an American archaeologist and curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History who primarily focuses on the interaction of humans with their environment, especially the origins of agriculture in eastern North America agricultural complex.

Early life and education Smith was born in Iowa City, Iowa, the youngest of three brothers, and grew up in Highland Park, Michigan. His father was a history professor at Wayne State University and his mother was a librarian. He graduated from Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1964, where his parents had sent him for his senior year to strengthen his study habits. His college degrees are all from the University of Michigan: BA 1968, MA 1971, PhD 1973. His first field excavation was as an undergraduate in southeast Missouri, studying the Mississippian culture. Smith was an assistant professor of anthropology at Loyola University Chicago (1973–1974) and University of Georgia (1974–1977) before beginning his 37+ year career at the Smithsonian. This work began in the early 1980s with a cigar box full of seeds that had been stored in the attic of the Smithsonian.

Honors Smith has published nine books and over 120 articles and received these awards and honors: 1972 Horace H. Rackham Prize Fellowship, University of Michigan 1986 Regent's Publication Program Fellow for 1987, Smithsonian Institution 1987 Robert L. Stigler Jr. Lectures in Archaeology, University of Arkansas 1988 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship 1990 W. S. Webb Lecture in Archaeology, University of Kentucky 1993 Presidential Recognition Award, Society for American Archaeology 1995 Special Achievement Award, Society for American Archaeology 1996 James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association. Rivers of Change selected as the best book in any field of history prior to A.D. 1000 1997 Book Award, Society for American Archaeology. The Emergence of Agriculture selected as the best book in archaeology written for a general audience 1997 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2002 Brittingham Visiting Scholar, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2003 Elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences 2005 R. Fryxell Award and Medal for Interdisciplinary Research, Society for American Archaeology 2006 Distinguished Lecturer, 2006, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky 2007 NMNH 2006 Science Achievement Award 2010 Presidential Recognition Award, Society for American Archaeology. 2011 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Selected works