Edward Baker Jelks (September 10, 1922 – December 22, 2021) was an American archaeologist trained as a prehistorian yet known for his contributions to historical archaeology and leadership roles in multiple anthropological organizations, including the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Society of Professional Archaeologists.
Early life
Born in Macon, Georgia on September 10, 1922, Jelks spent his early years (1923–1930) in the Hollywood, Florida area. He moved to Texas in 1930, where he made his home until moving to Illinois in 1968.
Education
Jelks entered the University of Texas at Austin in fall 1939. He began his academic career as a pre-med zoology major, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led Jelks to enlist. He joined the Navy Hospital Corp as Hospital Apprentice First Class and was stationed in Guadalcanal, where he helped to develop a field hospital for invading American troops. After contracting malaria, Jelks was sent to a Navy hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, where he applied for Officers Training. Jelks completed Officers School and was sent to Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State) to learn Japanese. The war ended shortly thereafter, and Jelks returned to the University of Texas to continue his education under the GI bill.
Jelks completed a Bachelor of Arts in English (his pre-war minor) and continued to work toward a Master of Arts (MA) in anthropology. There his coursework focused on North American archaeology and prehistory, specifically that of Texas. In 1950, Jelks, having fulfilled the requirements for the MA program except his thesis, was hired by Robert Stephenson as his assistant in the River Basin Surveys program. Jelks completed his thesis and received his MA in 1952.
Jelks later returned from archaeological fieldwork to the University of Texas at Austin and earned a Ph.D. in archaeology in 1965. Familiar with the direct historical approach, Jelks minored in history while completing his Ph.D., interested largely in the location of Spanish colonial sites in Texas. Jelks also directed the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas from 1958–1965.
Archaeological career
Jelks began his archaeological career in Texas directing the River Basin Surveys (1951–1965). He was hired by Robert Stephenson, and when Stephenson returned to the University of Michigan in 1951, Jelks took over his position as director of the River Basin Surveys program in Texas. The River Basin Survey conducted excavations at both prehistoric and historic sites throughout Texas.
One of Jelks' primary interests in Texas archaeology was the location of 17th and 18th-century villages of the southern Wichita tribes, as well as the location of Spanish colonial sites. Excavations at the Stansbury Site in Hill County, Texas led Jelks to conduct library research to identify trade goods that were found. This process, one of looking for documented historic sites and locating them in the field, began to characterize Jelks' research.
Between 1954 and 1956, Jelks worked at Jamestown, Virginia as John L. Cotter's assistant. This was where Jelks met J. C. "Pinky" Harrington, a leader in the development of a methodology for historical archaeology. During the summer of 1955, Jelks was sent to conduct excavations at the Yorktown Battlefield.
After completing his Ph.D., Jelks was offered a position teaching the archaeology of Texas in the newly created anthropology department at Southern Methodist University. Jelks was hired as an associate professor, a position he held from September 1965 to 1968, and he taught both Texas prehistory and a graduate seminar in historical archaeology.
While teaching at Southern Methodist University, Jelks spent his summers working as an archaeologist for Parks Canada, excavating British artifacts of the early to mid-19th century at Signal Hill, Newfoundland. He began this project in summer 1965 and returned in summer 1966.