[2] Wheat served as the president of the Society for American Archaeology between 1966 and 1967 and was the first curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum, holding the position for thirty-five years.
Joe Ben Wheat died of heart complications June 12, 1997, at the age of 81 and his ashes were scattered at his prized excavation site in Yellow Jacket Canyon.
[1][3] As a child, Wheat often explored the sand dunes near his home, looking for arrowheads and potsherds, sparking an early interest in archaeology.
His frequent exposure to textiles such as the Navajo saddle blankets sold in his father's store and used by members of the Van Horn community similarly inspired a fascination with weaving that later grew into a passion.
[3] In 1941 he joined the United States Army Air Forces and served four years of duty, during which time he became Master Sergeant.
[4] After the war, Wheat briefly studied at the Kansas City Art Institute to develop the skills necessary to illustrate archaeological field reports.
[3] Shortly after graduating in 1953 he was hired as the first curator of anthropology by the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, a role he held for the remainder of his career.
Wheat recognized that the pottery was probably dated AD 500-750 and accepted the offer, which would allow him to study early pit-house sites of the Mesa Verde region.
[1] He examined hundreds of chemical tests on yarns and visited many museums to study thousands of 19th century textiles,[7] with the goal of establishing "a key for southwestern textiles identification based on the traits that distinguish the Pueblo, Navajo, and Spanish American blanket weaving traditions and provide a better way of identifying and dating pieces of unknown origin.” The years of research resulted in the "groundbreaking" publication of "Blanket Weavings in the Southwest" which was released six years after his death with editorial help by Ann Hedlund, a respected textile scholar and protégée of Wheat.