Frederick Eggan[1] was a North American anthropologist in the 20th century and part of the anthropology department at the University of Chicago.
In a paper titled “Among the Anthropologist,” Eggan answers a question posed by Margaret Mead: “Shouldn’t we all be branches of one human science?”[3] Eggan states that anthropology should center on man and his works, while providing a spectrum of specialized fields which interlock with those of the social and behavioral sciences.
Fred was an active member in the discipline of anthropology at a critical time when new technologies and methods were being invented for archeological purposes.
He was also employed as a [5] professor of psychology, sociology, and history at Wentworth Junior College and Military Academy in Missouri before he obtained his PhD.
[9] He was also awarded the Weatherhead Resident Scholar in 1979 by the School for Advanced Research for his work entitled “The Great Basic Background of Hopi Culture History.
[11] Eggan’s research has been primarily focused on “Native American kinship and social systems”, making use of [12] archeological, linguistic, and general ethnographic evidence.
His most important contribution to archeology, and possibly anthropology in general, was his [7] demonstrations how the variations currently observed in the Pueblo social structures are related to cultural adaptations to ecological niches.
Eggan's time spent studying the Cheyenne and Arapaho served as a basis for one of his most famous works, “Social Anthropology and the Method of Controlled Comparison.” [7] He demonstrated how it was possible for the Cheyenne to change from a predominantly agricultural based lineage type kinship system to a system that was predominantly nomadic involving a heavy dependence on hunting and gathering in bands to increase their efficiency.