Gary M. Feinman
American archaeologist
Gary M. Feinman (born 1951) is an American archaeologist, and the MacArthur Curator of Mesoamerican, Central American, and East Asian Anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He was a part of the Valley of Oaxaca Settlement Pattern Project which focused on the evolution of the Monte Albán state and shifts in settlement in the region over three millennia. The members of the Valley of Oaxaca Settlement Pattern Project and their colleagues have now walked over the largest contiguous archaeological survey region in the world, more than 8000 sq km.
Overall, Feinman has conducted research in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico for over 40 years, most recently in the lands of the communities Tlacolula, Mitla, Matatlán, and Ejutla. These studies mostly focused on household excavations at three sites (Ejutla, El Palmillo, and the Mitla Fortress). Most recently, he excavated at Lambityeco in collaboration with representatives of the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History. At Lambityeco, Feinman and colleagues have documented a large Classic-period ball court, which was not previously recorded during surface mapping of this site. The Field Museum of Natural History team also found the largest carved stone ever recovered at this site.
Since 1995 Feinman has also been conducting archaeological survey in coastal Shandong Province, China in conjunction with Shandong University. The coastal Shandong settlement pattern research, spearheaded by Feinman, Linda Nicholas (Field Museum), and Professor Fang Hui (Shandong University) has had a role in introducing this regional-scale systematic field methodology to Chinese archaeology.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Gary M. Feinman” as american archaeologist. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american archaeologist. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5525499. VIAF identifies the subject as 32138289. The Library of Congress control number is n87147226. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1951 and 1995.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gary M. Feinman”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gary M. Feinman primary sources, Gary M. Feinman archive and Gary research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gary M. Feinman”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gary M. Feinman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.