William Rathje
William L. Rathje | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1, 1945 |
| Died | May 24, 2012 (aged 66) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (PhD) |
| Known for | - Tucson Garbage Project - Founding the field of garbology |
| Notable work | - Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage (1992) |
| Title | - Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona - Consulting Professor, Stanford University |
| Awards | - AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology, Anthropology, Garbology |
| Institutions | University of Arizona, Stanford University |
William Laurens Rathje (July 1, 1945 – May 24, 2012) was an American archaeologist. He was professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment with the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, and was consulting professor of anthropological sciences at Stanford University. He was the longtime director of the Tucson Garbage Project, which studied trends in discards by field research in Tucson, Arizona, and in landfills elsewhere, pioneering the field now known as garbology. His work included behavioural archaeology.