A Brief History of the Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary

During the early 1960s, largely as a result of the "baby boom" of the 1940s, large numbers of students of college age surfaced. They demanded a wider scope for higher education in Canada. The period saw not only the expansion of facilities in already established universities, but also the creation of many new institutions, among them the University of Calgary.

During the early 1960s, the number of full-time professionals practicing and teaching anthropological archaeology in Canada could be counted on the fingers of two hands. The centre of gravity was the National Museum of Canada in Ottawa; of the three to four research archaeologists there, Dr. James V. Wright and Dr. George MacDonald offered occasional instruction at nearby universities. As for other universities, Dr. J. Norman Emerson held a full-time position at the University of Toronto, as did Dr. William J. Mayer-Oakes at the University of British Columbia. Mayer-Oakes was then able to devote part of his valuable time to archaeology while Dr. Richard G. Forbis of the Glenbow Foundation served as sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta, Calgary Branch.