Archaeology, Sexism, and Scandal: The Long-Suppressed Story of One Woman's Discoveries and the Man Who Stole Credit for Them

by Alan Kaiser

The 1931 excavation season at Olynthus, Greece, ushered a sea change in how archaeologists study material culture—and was the nexus of one of the most egregious (and underreported) cases of plagiarism in the history of classical archaeology. Alan Kaiser draws on the private scrapbook that budding archaeologist Mary Ross Ellingson compiled during that dig, as well as her personal correspondence and materials from major university archives, to paint a fascinating picture of gender, power, and archaeology in the early twentieth century.

Using Ellingson’s photographs and letters as a guide, Kaiser brings alive the excavations led by David Robinson and recounts how the unearthing of private homes—rather than public spaces—emerged as a means to examine the day-to-day of ancient life in Greece. But as Archaeology, Sexism, and Scandal clearly demonstrates, a darker story lurks beneath the smiling faces and humorous one where Robinson stole Ellingson’s words and insights for his own, and where fellow academics were complicit in the theft.

Genres: Nonfiction, Archaeology, History, Feminism

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book makes me believe in ghosts.

During fall semester of 2003, Alan Kaiser found a scrapbook and number of letters abandoned in an office at the University of Evansville. What he found was an untold tale of how one archaeologist's work (Ellingson) was plagiarized by another (Robinson).

From what I read about Ellingson, she was never described as a mean, spiteful person set on revenge. She seemed resigned to accept the devaluation of her work. But I still imagine her smiling in a Mona Lisa way that her work has been properly attributed to her now. I can see her looking over Kaiser's shoulder, goaded him to do a great deal of research about the dig in Olynthus, the key players, their subsequent scholarship (theses, dissertations, and publications) and how their careers unfolded in the decades following their time together in the early 1930s. Kaiser is a scholar of Roman antiquities, notably of Roman urban streets. However, he was possessed to tell this story in a careful, well-researched way. For that I am grateful.

The core tale can be reduced to this: David Robinson, an established male scholar, published Mary Ross Ellingson's master's thesis as his own work. I was shocked to see the side-by-side passages of Robinson's book and Ellingson's master's thesis. One would hope that this type of appropriation of another's work was rare. However, Kaiser's attempts to publish this story led to rejection after rejection after rejection.

I actually yelled and threw my pen across the room after reading this explanation from an editor rejecting a scholarly article Kaiser submitted about this act of plagiarism:

"what you are dealing with here is part of the unwritten history of classical archaeology. Best to leave it unwritten."

Robinson supervised forty-one theses and seventy-four dissertations in the field of archaeology, and many of his former students are now tenured professors and journal editors. They don't want to "clean house" on the misdeeds of their discipline. Fortunately, Kaiser shows the courage to write the wrong, to give Ellingson the proper credit for her detailed scholarship on terracotta figures from the Olynthus site (not far from Saloniki).

I have a degree of empathy for Ellingson. I once wrote a research paper in a Shakespeare graduate seminar where I applied Immanual Levinas' theories to the status of "bastards" in several of Shakespeare's plays. A few months later, I went to a lecture series on campus where my professor presented a paper on the same topic. After he finished, I went to the podium and glowered at him. Without my even saying a word about why I approached the podium, my professor said, "Oh, I had an acknowledgement to you in my paper, but I had to cut my paper for time." There were a half dozen graduate students from that same class who heard me present on that same topic the semester prior. In the graduate carrels, they acknowledged his debt to me. But he had all the power, so he presented his ideas as strictly his own.

But I digress. My point is that systemic exploitation in various university departments will not stop unless people speak up. I applaud Kaiser for using his skills as a researcher and writer to unearth this story. I also applaud him for replacing Ellingson's memorial tree on the campus of the University of Evansville. I live in the same town. I need to go pay my respects to Ellingson for her detailed work on terracotta figures and for the hard work, intelligence, grace and dignity that she exhibited throughout her life.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. I was initially very interested in the topic but did not particularly like the author's writing style. Although, it became clear in the final chapters that his writing style was necessary for the goals of the book. The amount of resources this book provides for individuals and scholars interested in the history of women in archaeology is staggering. I definitely recommend it.

[Stephanie Ann Marcotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Kaiser provides excellent context and statistics in the form of a relatable story. As a man writing unbiasedly about women in archaeology makes him honest. As a scholar pursuing a story despite several obstacles makes him an exceptional archaeologist. I appreciate this story and the manner in which it is told. it inspires me and I am grateful to have read it.

[Virginia Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account on several topics. The day to day on a site in the 1930s, the changing opportunities for women in archaeology and academia, and plagiarism. Some of it is very dry thus only a three.

[Pax Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish there were more scholars willing to dig into the depths to bring women's contributions to archaeology to light. Thus should be a must read for every introduction to the history of archaeology.

[Julia Hendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unfortunate title -- there in fact was no scandal since no one admitted to or acknowledged the plagiarism that is at the heart of the case -- but a well researched effort on the part of the author to determine whether or not David Robinson, the classical archaeologist who directed the excavations at Olynthos, Greece, in the 20s and 30s, published the research of his students as his own work. Kaiser spends most time on Mary Ross Ellingson and demonstrates conclusively that Robinson published whole chunks of her thesis as his own writing in one volume of the Excavations of Olynthos series. That Ellingson knew this seems probable based on letters Kaiser found in the archives but she never apparently did anything about it. Kaiser embeds Ellingson's story in a larger history of the Olynthos excavations, which were ground breaking explorations of houses, and the Johns Hopkins' graduate students who worked under Robinson's direction, including Ellingson. He also provides a useful overview of educational, training, and employment opportunities for women of Ellingson's generation.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. The author did a wonderful job detailing who Mary Ross Ellingson and all the major players were as well as the breadth and scope of the archaeological dig. However, my favorite part was probably the end, which reviewed how this book came to be and why it's important. I did think there were a few damp spots such as the awkward asides about how much Dr. Kaiser enjoyed reading the papers, but overall it was a great, informative, and socially important read. I look forward to buying it.

[Sarah Adler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insight into the large-scale plagiarism male archaeologists have committed against female archaeologists throughout the 20th century on the mere basis of institutionalised sexism - and a fascinating tale of the wall of silence and resistance one meets when trying to shake the foundations of a conservative science.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting! You can kind of tell that the author is more used to writing academic papers than general audience books, but it was still eminently readable for someone with not background in archaeology.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, albeit written a bit dryly, about the plagiarism of famed early 20th century archaeologist David Robinson, known for his 14-volumes on the excavations at Olynthus. The book clearly documents that he lifted 95% of the volume on terracottas from the masters thesis of his graduate student, Mary Ross Ellingson, and catches the correspondence between the two in which she claims the work as her own. The (male) author telling the story is at times too forgiving (e.g., maybe the Christmas card he sent in 1952, a portrait of himself seated with the volume open on his lap, was his form of apology to Ellingson) and at times overly naive (e.g., being dubious about a report that Robinson scoffed at the notion that a woman scholar could publish a report under her own name given that he was encouraging of women scholars’ publications in his letters to them… as is the same person couldn’t have changed his mind over time or couldn’t say one thing to a woman’s face and another behind her back), but he gets credit for his tenacity in fighting publishers and conservative scholars to get the story out. And kudos to the Library of Congress for, 90 years later, adding her as author (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/q...).

[Tom Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While specifically about how one woman’s work was plagiarized by her professor, it is representative of the treatment of even scholarly women in general, and not just in the 1930s. I thought the saddest part was how the author’s attempts to get articles about it in the professional journals were all rejected, even by female editors, some of them even saying they thought it best to keep “the unwritten history unwritten.”

As it turns out, Mary Ross Ellingson is buried in the same cemetery as my in laws In Evansville, Indiana.

[Mills College Library]

930.1092 K134 2015

[Noel Emmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good I read most of it in one sitting.