Carl E. Guthe

Carl Eugen Guthe (June 1, 1893 – July 24, 1974) was an American academic and anthropologist.

Early life and education Guthe was born in Kearney, Nebraska, in 1893, son of Karl Eugen Guthe, Professor of Physics and Dean of the Graduate Department of the University of Michigan, and Clara Belle née Ware of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Within a year his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, when his father took a position at the University of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1914, then went on to receive two degrees in anthropology from Harvard University – an M.A. in 1915 and a Ph.D. in 1917.

He was a founding member of the department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan as well as its first chair.

Carl Guthe headed an archaeological expedition to the Philippines from 1922 to 1925, which was used to create the Philippine Collection at the Museum of Anthropology. He went to several locations in the Philippines to look for archaeological evidence. There are 485 sites represented in the total collection, 120 caves, 134 burial grounds and 231 graves. These excavations relied on the work and information of Filipino residents, although Guthe himself didn't consider their perspectives important to the artifacts excavated. Alfred Kidder Guthe (1920–1983) specialised in the archaeology of the US eastern seaboard, and became director of the Frank H. McClung Museum in Tennessee.

Death and legacy

Carl Guthe died in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1974, at the age of 81. His contribution of Philippine artifacts remains significant within the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology collection.