| This chronology provides an account of Jim's accomplishments, positions and key events in his life's work. For a list of his many books and articles over the years, see our summary of his work and publications. |
| 1930 | Born in Cumberland, Maryland, Feb. 8; only son of John Harold Deetz and Catherine Fanto Deetz. |
| 1948 | Graduated from Fort Hill High School, Cumberland, Maryland. |
| 1948-1950 | Attending Harvard University. |
| 1951 | Enlisted in the United States Air Force, Jan. 11. |
| 1953 | Married in Pierre, South Dakota, to Eleanore Joanne Kelley, Nov. 17. |
| 1954 | Eldest son, James Christian Deetz born. |
| 1955 | Honorable discharge from the Armed Forces, Jan. 10. |
| 1956 | Eldest daughter, Antonia Deetz born. |
| 1957 | B.A., Harvard University (cum laude). Joseph Dayton Deetz born. |
| 1957-1960 | Teaching Fellow, Anthropology, Harvard. University. |
| 1958 | Archaeologist, Smithsonian Institution, River Basin Survey. |
| 1958-1959 | Harvard Graduate Fellowship. |
| 1959 | M.A. in Anthropology, Harvard University. Kristen (Cricket) Deetz born. |
| 1959-1960 | Archaeologist, Plimoth Plantation. |
| 1960 | National Science Cooperative Fellowship (Harvard). Ph.D. in Anthropology, Harvard University. John Eric Deetz born. |
| 1960-1961 | Instructor in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). |
| 1961-1965 | Assistant Professor, Anthropology, UCSB. |
| 1962 | William Geoffrey Deetz born. |
| 1963 | Joshua Andrew Deetz born. |
| 1964 | Cynthia (Cindy) Deetz born. |
| 1965-1967 | Advisory Panel, National Science Foundation. |
| 1965-1966 | Associate Professor, Anthropology, UCSB. Visiting Associate Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University. Research Fellow in North American Anthropology, Harvard University. |
| 1966-1967 | Professor, Anthropology, UCSB. |
| 1967-1968 | Professor, Anthropology, Brown University. |
| 1967-1978 | Assistant Director of Plimoth Plantation. |
| 1971-1972 | Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Fellowship. |
| 1972-1974 | Society for American Archaeology, Executive Committee. President-Elect, Society for Historical Archaeology. |
| 1974 | President, Society for Historical Archaeology. |
| 1975 | Kelley Deetz born. |
| 1975-1976 | Society for Historical Archaeology, Executive Committee. |
| 1976 | Hartman Hunawa Deetz born (grandson, adopted). |
| 1977-1978 | Eminent Scholar, Department of Anthropology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. |
| 1978-1994 | Professor, Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley (UCB). |
| 1979-1987 | Director, Lowie Museum of Anthropology, UCB. |
| 1981 | Consultant, Southside Historical Sites, Inc., Williamsburg, Virginia. |
| 1982-1995 | Director of Field Programs, Flowerdew Hundred Foundation, Hopewell, Virginia and the University of California, Berkeley. |
| 1982-2000 | Flowerdew Hundred Foundation, Member, Board of Directors. |
| 1983 | Separated from first wife. |
| 1984, Fall | Visiting Professor of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa. |
| 1988-1991 | Honorary Visiting Professor, University of Cape Town. |
| 1988-1991 | Director, Human Sciences Research Council, Eastern Cape Historical Archaeology Project, South Africa. |
| 1988 | Overseas Research Fellow, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa. |
| 1988-1989 | Director, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Summer Institute in the Archaeology of European Expansion 1550-1700, Flowerdew Hundred, Virginia. |
| 1990 | Overseas Research Fellow, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa. |
| 1990-1993 | Honorary Research Associate, Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa. |
| 1991 | Director, NEH Summer Institute on the Emergence of Modern America, Flowerdew Hundred, Virginia. Consultant, Historical Interpretation at Vergelegen, Cape, South Africa, for Anglo-American Farms. |
| 1992 | Publication of festschrift, The Art and Mystery of Historical Archaeology: Essays in Honor of James Deetz, edited by Anne Elizabeth Yentsch and Mary C. Beaudry (CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida). |
| 1993-1994 | Visiting Professor of New World Studies, University of Virginia. |
| 1994 | James Mooney Award for Flowerdew Hundred: The Archaeology of a Virginia Plantation, 1619-1864 (University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1993). Award presented in recognition of distinguished anthropological scholarship on the South and Southerners. Distinguished Book Award of the Society of Colonial Wars, New York, for Flowerdew Hundred. |
| 1994-2000 | Harrison Professor of Historical Archaeology, University of Virginia. |
| 1994-2000 | Plimoth Plantation, Trustee. |
| 1995-2000 | Jamestown Rediscovery Archaeological Advisory Board. |
| 1995 | Virginia Heritage Award, presented each year by the Directors of the Prince George County Heritage Fair to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the heritage and well being of the Commonwealth. Publication of a second festschrift, The Written and the Wrought: Complementary Sources in Historical Archaeology. Essays in Honor of James Deetz, ed. by Mary Ellin D'Agostino, Elizabeth Prine, Eleanor Casella and Margot Winer, Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers, Volume No. 79, Berkeley, California. |
| 1997 | J.C. Harrington Medal in Historical Archaeology. Selection based on outstanding contributions to the field in theory, field research and teaching. Presented by the Society for Historical Archaeology, at its 30th Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Corpus Christi, Texas, January 10, 1997. Divorced from Eleanore Joanne Kelley. Married in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Patricia Elena Scott, June 6. |
| 1999 | The Hornblower Award. An annual award, presented to James Deetz in November 1999. The award is to honor those persons who have made significant contributions toward the development and success of Plimoth Plantation and whose dedication to Plimoth Plantation embodies the spirit of their founder Henry Hornblower II. |
| 2000 | Harriette Merrifield Forbes Award, Association for Gravestone Studies, Massachussetts, in recognition of his pioneering work with Edwin S. Dethlefsen in gravestone studies. Died at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia, Nov. 25, 2000. Buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Westernport, Maryland. |
| In his extensive studies of mortuary practices and grave art over time, Jim delighted in the creativity of individuals in crafting epitaphs, from the more humorous, such as "I told you I was sick," to the following, eloquent passage: As now you are, so once was I. As now I am, soon you will be Prepare for death, and follow me. |