Jean Carl Harrington (October 25, 1901 – April 19, 1998) was an American archaeologist best known for his work at Jamestown, Virginia and his contributions to the methodology of historical archaeology.
[2] While studying at the University of Chicago, Harrington received the nickname "Pinky" for his red hair and the bright shade of pink he turned when exposed to the sun.
This led Harrington's family to relocate to a series of small Michigan towns, including Scottville, Ypsilanti, Vasser, and Albion, during his youth.
[2] Named "Most Likely to Keep Busy" by his high school annual, Harrington, following his graduation, completed a two-year pre-engineering program at Albion College while working a series of jobs.
To meet this requirement, Harrington spent the summer of 1923 with the School for American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, creating measured plan drawings of Spanish mission churches.
[2] While at the University of Chicago, Harrington joined an expedition conducting a site survey across the Yucatán Peninsula, funded by the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
[2] Harrington's background in both architecture and archaeology made him a prime candidate to mediate conflicts that had developed between archaeologists and architects during the National Park Service's excavations at Jamestown, Virginia.
Approached by the National Park Service in 1936, Harrington was reluctant to take the position, noting that he was not interested in working for the government or in excavating a site that, archaeologically speaking, was quite young.
[2] While working at Jamestown, Harrington married Virginia Hall Sutton, the first female Ranger ever hired by the National Park Service.
[2] In addition, Harrington's article "Dating Stem Fragments of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Clay Tobacco Pipes," published by the Archaeological Society of Virginia in 1954 (Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 9(1):10-14), presented a series of histograms that showed bore diameters of pipe stems decreasing over time.
[4] In, 1952 Harrington received the Citation for Distinguished Service from the United States Secretary of the Interior, an award usually given to high-ranking government officials or as a posthumous recognition of major contributions.