Antonio J. Waring Jr.

Antonio Johnston Waring, Jr.
Born	August 17, 1915 Savannah, Georgia
Died	March 21, 1964
Occupation	Medical Doctor
Known for	Archaeology

Antonio Johnston Waring Jr. nicknamed "Tono" in the field of Archaeology was born August 17, 1915 and died on March 21, 1964. Though a doctor by profession (B.A. in English, 1938; M.D., 1942 Yale University), Waring was a lifetime enthusiast of archaeology. He had a successful pediatric practice in Savannah, Georgia, until 1962, when he retired to devote more time to his passion archaeology.

Biography

Waring, the son of Dr. Antonio Johnston Waring and Sue Cole Winburn, was born in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known for his work in pediatrics as well as his contributions to the field of archaeology. In archaeology, his main contributions were the publication of paper No.21 “Introduction to The Laws of the Creek Nation”, paper No.1 “A Prehistoric Ceremonial Complex in the Southeastern United States” and the founding of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex with Preston Holder.

Besides his own work in the field, Waring also assisted many archaeologists throughout Georgia. Some of the most important field work he participated in included excavations at the Kolomoki Mounds site in Early County, Georgia, directed by William H. Sears, and the Etowah site, under the lead of Lewis H. Larson. In 1948, Waring was named an Associate in Archaeology by the University of Georgia and helped the university submit an exhibit on “Southern Cult” art to the Bureau of American Ethnology. Later he worked with Lewis H. Larson at the Sapelo Island Shell Ring. Waring also carried out important coastal excavations at the Deptford site in 1937 and the Bilbo site in 1939. In 1947, he excavated the Refuge site in South Carolina near Savannah.

In Waring's years before college he was educated in Savannah, Georgia as well as in Washington, D.C. at St. Albans School. When Waring was 13 years-old he exhibited interest in archaeology and preformed an amateur ‘excavation’ of the Indian King’s Tomb site located near the outskirts of Savannah, GA. In 1934, the summer prior to his entrance into Yale University, Waring preformed another amateur excavation of Mound A at The Eulonia site in McIntosh County located in Eulonia, GA. This report, however, showed skills and care that Waring previously lacked in his earlier excavations.

Waring's Mid-life was marked by balancing his work and studies in the medical field, the field of Archaeology and his participation in the United States Army. In 1934 Waring entered Yale University, his father’s 1903 Alma mater, and began his studies as a major in English. In 1938 Waring received his B.A. from Yale University and continued medicine as a career path. During his years at Yale University Waring meet George Vaillant who, at the time, was a curator for The American Museum of Natural History. The late 1930s was a pivotal point in Waring life due to the Georgia archaeology revival. This revival, sparked by the excavations held in Macon Georgia by A.R. Kelly, is the time period in which Waring meet and became acquainted with other field archaeologist such as Gordon R. Willey, James A. Ford, and Joseph R. Caldwell. Waring worked on the Deptford site (East of Savannah, GA) in the Fall of 1937 under the instruction and encouragement of Preston Holder; another key archaeologist Waring would later work with long term. A year later in 1938 Waring became an assistant supervisor on the Irene site project in Chatham County. Waring’s main job on the Irene site was as supervisor to the work being done on the Mortuary Structure at the site. In 1941 the Irene site’s excavation findings and complications during the project were published. During the summer of 1939 Waring continued his work in Chatham County on the Bilbo site, proclaimed as his most thorough and complete work of a site due to his report on the site, paper No.10 “The Bilbo Site – Chatham, County, GA”. For the duration of the Bilbo site Waring was in charge of excavation and also produced an excellent stratigraphy of the site. Indications of fiber-tempered pottery were the most prevalent finds of the excavation. During the the 1940 Fifth Conference held in New Orlands Waring presented his material on the findings at the site. The site’s findings oddly went unpublished until 25 years later, the reason is unsure however it is seen as a fault on the part of The Bureau of American Ethnology in Washington. The site’s findings were considered for publication in 1948 by the University of Georgia, However the University did not produce the final publication for the site. After earning his M.D. at Yale University in 1942 Waring secured an internship through Johns Hopkins University in hospitals about the Baltimore area. In 1944 Waring participated in WWII through the United States Army Medical Corps as a first lieutenant. He later held the rank of Captain and served in the Army Typhus Commission in Egypt during 1945 and 1946. Waring’s time in Egypt allowed him to explore a small amount of the archaeology of the Nile region. After Waring returned from war he returned to Johns Hopkins for a short amount of time to then later work in the medical field of pediatrics in Savannah, GA. In 1947 Waring returned to the archaeological field and dug a series of test pits at a refuge site in Jasper County. His findings were published in 1960 under the title “The Refuge Site, Jasper County, South Carolina.” In 1948 Waring was named Associate in Archaeology by The University of Georgia. Also during that year The Smithsonian Institution named his a Collaborator, which was an honorary position he held until his death.

During the last fifteen years of his life, Waring focused most of his interest on the “shell rings” of Sapelo Island off the Georgia coast. The shell ring findings were published throughout the years of 1955-1960. Also during this time, Waring collaborated with Lewis H. Larson and University of Georgia in the excavation on the fiber tempered pottery Horizon. In 1962, Waring retired from medicine to dedicate himself to his life-passion of archaeology. Surprisingly, Waring was only professionally employed in archaeology after his retirement (except for his work under WPA auspices in the late 1930s). During the Spring and Summer of 1962 Waring worked as a field assistant to Robert S. Neitzel at the Fatherland site located near Natchez, Mississippi. He was then later employed by the Georgia Historical Commission in research and exhibit preparation on civil war site of Fort McAllister near Richmond Hill. Before Waring’s Death, due to cancer, on March 21, 1964 he wrote a paper on his excavation of the Indian King’s Mound in 1963 titled “The Indian King’s Tomb” to redeem the site that he poorly excavated as a young teen

Many of his papers, both published and unpublished during his life, continue to be important resources for Georgia archaeologists. Much of his archaeological work, brought together posthumously by Lewis Larson and Stephen Williams, was published in 1968 through the Peabody Museum of Harvard University (The Waring Papers). In later years, during the 1980s, Waring’s wife gave the rest of her late husband’s money and works to The University of West Georgia in Carrollton, GA.

In recognition of the pioneering contributions of Antonio Waring to Georgia archaeology, the archaeological laboratory of the University of West Georgia was constructed in 1991 and named in his honor in 1992. The Lab serves as a repository for nearly 5,000 cubic feet of artifacts and records from Georgia to this day.

Further reading

• Williams, Stephen, Ed. The Waring Papers. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1967.

References

• waring.westga.edu

Williams, Stephen (1968). The Waring Papers: The Collected Works of Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Peabody Museum Papers Vol. 58. The Peabody Museum, Harvard University. doi:10.1525/aa.1968.70.5.02a00700. ISBN 9780873651691.

External links

• Inventory to the Papers of Antonio J. Waring, Jr., National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution