Dorothy Cross

By Annabelle Sebastian

Image courtesy of the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ

Dorothy Cross (1906-1972) was an American anthropologist and educator that specialized in pre-contact Native American sites in New Jersey, and the first female New Jersey State Archaeologist.

Cross earned her Ph.D. in Oriental Studies and Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, with her dissertation focusing on Middle Eastern (Mesopotamian) archaeology. Following the start of World War II, Cross closed out her archaeological work in the Middle East and began focusing her efforts on studying pre-contact Delaware Valley Native Americans.

Cross began working for the New Jersey State Museum in 1929, where she worked with materials from ethnographic and archaeological collections, and she was named the archaeological adviser, or the New Jersey State Archaeologist, in 1939, a title she retained until her retirement in 1965. She also worked as the supervisor of the Works Project Administration (WPA)’s Indian Site Survey of New Jersey, and published the findings from this project in three separate books; two volumes of Archaeology of New Jersey (1941 & 1956), and New Jersey’s Indians (1953), which was intended for the public. The second volume of Archaeology of New Jersey focused on Abbott Farm, one of the most extensive and highly debated pre-contact Native American archaeological sites in all of New Jersey. Cross’s work at Abbott Farm and her subsequent publication earned her a national award from the Society of State and Local History. From 1959 to 1967, Cross worked for the National Parks Service as supervisor of the Tocks Island Reservoir Area excavations. Her work as an archaeologist brought knowledge and awareness to the vast history of Native American heritage in the New Jersey region.

Cross was also actively involved in several archaeological associations, including the Archaeological Society of New Jersey, where she served on the Executive Board, and the Eastern States Archaeological Federation, where she held numerous positions including secretary, editor, and program chairman. Cross was also a member of the New Jersey Academy of Science.

Outside of her work as an archaeologist, Cross was a professor first at Rutgers University, and later at Hunter College in Manhattan, where taught and served as Chairwoman of the Department of Anthropology. As Chairwoman, she oversaw the transition of archaeology as a part of the biology department to its own separate department with a graduate degree program.

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References:

Burstyn, Joan N. “Dorothy Cross”. Past and Promise, Lives of New Jersey Women, 1990. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54486196

“Dorothy Cross.” Abbott Marshlands. Accessed August 22, 2024. https://abbottmarshlands.org/cultural-history-and-archeology/dorothy-cross/. 

Lurie, Maxine N., and Marc Mappen. Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2004.

Suggested Citation:

Sebastian, Annabelle. “Dorothy Cross.” New Jersey Women’s History, Rowan University Libraries, 2024. https://njwomenshistory.org/biographies/dorothy-cross/.