Marietta Palmer Wetherill

Marietta Palmer Wetherill (October 5, 1876 – July 11, 1954) was an American amateur anthropologist and rancher. She studied the lives, traditions, and customs of the Navajo peoples. She was the wife of Richard Wetherill, who has received credit for "discovering" ancient sites associated with the Anasazi peoples. Marietta was the mother of seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

Early life and marriage Marietta Palmer was born on October 5, 1876, in Serena, Illinois. Her father, Sidney LaVerne Palmer, was a musician who spent time playing for John Philip Sousa. Her mother, Elizabeth Ann Hoag, attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where she met Sidney Palmer. Marietta, her parents, and her brother and sister were all musical. Marietta received some formal education at the Chicago School for Dramatic Art.

Marietta Palmer met Richard Wetherill, a rancher, guide, and amateur archaeologist, in the fall of 1895, when she stayed at his parents’ ranch near Mesa Verde. Sidney Palmer had hired Wetherill while the Palmers were attempting to see the Mesa Verde ruins. However, she was more interested in the traditions and daily lives of the living Navajo than searching for the graves of ancient peoples. She spoke the Navajo language fluently.

In addition to running the Wetherill household, Marietta spent much of her time exploring. She made friends with many of the Navajo women and men living in the area. She visited them, supplied them with food, and learned from them. They mutually assisted each other with their births and in other urgent medical situations; since there were no medical professionals in the area, this help could mean the difference between life and death. In return, the Navajos shared their stories with her. While Richard Wetherill and his brother's contributions to archaeology were celebrated despite their lack of formal training, Marietta's observations did not receive the same recognition. Her work with the Wetherill brothers on projects like the 1897 Grand Gulch Expedition and her prolonged involvement at Chaco Canyon positioned her as an informed and capable observer. For example, her documentation of the prehistoric road at Pueblo Alto, initially dismissed, was later confirmed in the 1960s and 1970s through field testing, highlighting the enduring relevance of her insights to Chacoan studies. The rediscovery and validation of her work had challenged historical biases and enriched contemporary understandings of Chaco Canyon's complex cultural and ecological systems.

Writings and collections Marietta left behind a collection of largely Navajo items: baskets, clothing, figurines, blankets and other textiles, and jewelry. These were donated, at her request, to the Maxwell Museum at the University of New Mexico. The Zimmerman Library at the University of Mexico and New Mexico Archives Online also hold a small collection of her drawings, documentation of various rituals, and several letters, as well as a “Pioneers Foundation Oral History Collection" comprising 78 oral history recordings by Marietta. Records of Marietta's life and work are also housed in the Wetherill Family Collection and Navajo Traders Collection in the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University. The Chaco Culture National Historical Park has a collection dedicated to Marietta's granddaughter, Marion Wetherill Shaffner, which also contains records regarding Marietta's life. Marietta had a large personal collection of pot and pitcher handles, which she believed were sent to the Smithsonian. However, because they were not donated under her name, this is impossible to verify.