Robert John Braidwood

Robert John Braidwood ( born July 29, 1907 in Detroit, Michigan, † January 15, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American Near Eastern archaeologist. He worked mainly in Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Braidwood, a descendant of Scottish immigrants, graduated from the University of Michigan architecture and first worked in 1929 a few months in an architect's office. Given the collapse of the construction market in the world economic crisis, Braidwood but decided to return to university to study anthropology and Oriental history. He graduated from these subjects in 1932 with B. A. and 1933, with M. A. and was hired shortly thereafter by the University of Chicago Oriental Institute for a multi-year excavation campaign in the Amuq level. During these excavations conducted by James Henry Breasted Braidwood also met his wife Linda Schreiber Braidwood, with whom he entertained a sixty -year working and living community.

1943 Braidwood acquired his PhD at the University of Chicago and was from that time until his death, a highly respected professor and later Emeritus this university.

Braidwood was a strong supporter interdisciplinary archaeological research one, he was also in 1947 one of the pioneers of radiocarbon dating ( C14 dating). As of 1947, Braidwood dedicated to the project Jarmo in northern Iraq.

Bob and Linda Braidwood died advanced in years at a distance of a few hours of pneumonia. That Braidwood or his teacher Breasted were the inspiration for the movie character of Indiana Jones, is sometimes claimed, but is considered unlikely.