Jesse D. Jennings (July 7, 1909- August 13, 1997) was born in Oklahoma and grew up in New Mexico. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago began archaeological excavations in the Midwest and Southeast in 1929. After working several jobs for the National Park Service, including superintendent of Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, Georgia, Jennings joined the faculty at the University of Utah, where he taught and conducted archaeological investigations from 1948 until his retirement in 1986.
The Jennings, Jesse D. archaeological video collection (1957-1988) consists of two sents of videos produced by prominent University of Utah archaeologist and anthropologist Jesse Jennings: the archeological survey of Glen Canyon before it was flooded by Glen Canyon dam (1957-1959), and a recording of his popular course "Tabletop Archaeology" (1988). All of the items have been digitized and are available for viewing on DVD.
The materials are arranged chronologically.
Audio-visual materials can be fragile and require specialized equipment to play back. For this reason, access to audio-visual materials is provided through digital copies, and it might take longer to provide access to items that are not yet digitized. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Jesse D. Jennings archaeological video collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Multimedia Archivist.
"Tabletop archaeology" donated by Don Fowler in 2002.
Processed by Roy Webb in 1988, Molly Creel in 2010, and Cristine Baggery in 2012.
The Glen Canyon archaeological survey films were created by the University of Utah Department of Anthropology, the University of Utah Audiovisual Bureau (defunct) and the National Park Service. They highlight the process and progress of the University of Utah's role in the National Park Service grant-funded emergency archeological survey and excavation of Glen Canyon and its vicinity between 1957 and 1960 in preparation for the flooding of Lake Powell in September 1963.
The films feature footage shot along the Colorado and Escalante Rivers from before the creation of Lake Powell and show footage of the excavation of notable Anasazi ruin sites such as "Defiance House" and the now submerged "Loper Ruin." University of Utah archaeologist Jesse Jennings describes the extent of the project and the actions taken by scientists both in the field and in the University of Utah's archeology lab. Jennings narrates the films but appears in front of the camera only at the beginning of part 3.
In these educational films by Jesse D. Jennings demonstrates "tabletop archaeology," the creation and excavation of miniature archaeological sites that simulate real digs. Jennings gives an overview of tabletop archeology and demonstrates how the tiny sites are made and used.
One of Jennings' most popular courses, this particular course was a one week intensive demonstration of field archology conducted at the University of Nevada, Reno in January 1989 at the request of Don Fowler, a professor in the Department of Anthropology. Jennings' narration of the exercise was filmed by his son, David, who edited the final version.