Harriet Ann Boyd Hawes (October 11, 1871 – March 31, 1945) was a pioneering American archaeologist, nurse, relief worker, and professor.

[2] After attending the Prospect Hill School in Greenfield, she went on to graduate from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1892 with a degree in Classics (specializing in Greek).

She had originally intended on pursuing studies in England but she decided to go Greece based both on the brother of the archaeologist, Louis Dyer, and having heard Amelia Edwards speak while a student at Smith.

Her ability to speak fluent Greek, and her record of service with the Red Cross during the Greco-Turkish War a short while earlier, earned her a degree of goodwill from the local people that proved critical to the success of her work.

[7] Between 1901 and 1904, while on a leave of absence from Smith College, Harriet Boyd Hawes returned to Crete, where she discovered and excavated the Ancient Minoan settlement at Gournia on the northeastern coast of the island.

Hawes was the first woman to direct a major field project in Greece, her crew consisting of over 100 workers and she was the first archaeologist to discover and completely excavate an Early Bronze Age Minoan town site.

[4] After her return home, Boyd Hawes continued her support for the war effort by giving fund-raising lectures on behalf of the Smith College Relief Unit.

During one trip to Crete, she met Charles Henry Hawes, an English anthropologist and archaeologist who later became the associate-director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

[citation needed] A spoof article about her was published on February 7, 2025 by The Onion, titled “Pioneering Female Archaeologist In Google Doodle Bears Silent Witness To Man’s Search For ‘Zootopia’ Porn”.

[15] Adams, Amanda (2010), Ladies of the Field: Early Women Archaeologists and Their Search for Adventure, Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 978-1-55365-433-9 Allsebrook, Mary (2002), Born to Rebel.