W. Raymond Wood, A Celebration

Abstract

In 2004 the late Stanley A. Ahler and I organized and co-chaired a Symposium in Honor of W. Raymond Wood at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Montreal, Canada. We subsequently edited a volume published by University of Utah Press in 2007 that stems from this conference, is dedicated to Ray Wood, and is entitled, Plains Village Archaeology: Bison-hunting Farmers in the Central and Northern Plains. The Montreal symposium covered other facets too of Ray's storied career without addressing all of them. Stimulated by this symposium, three contributions that reflect on Ray's life and his impact on the profession of anthropology, and on the authors themselves, follow this, the merest of introductions to Ray and a backdrop for these three papers. As both a former editor of this journal and one who has been privileged to have had Ray as a mentor throughout my professional career, I regard the papers by R. Bruce McMillan, C. Vance Haynes, and Teresita Majewski as exemplary writings. These three are long-time friends and colleagues of Ray who also have had laudatory careers. Each provides a unique yet complementary perspective: Bruce McMillan on Ray as the consummate interdisciplinary scholar and innovative organizer of Quaternary research whose programs in various guises continue to this day; Vance Haynes' personal tribute to Rayon making research productive and too much fun not to do; and Terry Majewski on Ray's vision and impact on historical studies in archaeology, the methodological foundations of historical archaeology as a discipline unto itself, but most essential the timeless qualities Ray brings to teaching. Plains scholars should peruse and return to these three papers periodically whenever they want a sense of how one person can make a difference to our profession and more importantly to people generally. Ray Wood embodies Plains archaeology and anthropology at their best. Certainly what has attracted me and countless others extends well beyond his scholarship, enviable though it is. Rather it is the unvarnished joy Ray has in living, respect for others, and his self-deprecating and entirely genuine sense of humor that draws people in. Once there, there is no escape. With Ray, you don't become a passing acquaintance but a friend for life.