Robert McCormick Adams, PhB’47, AM’52, PhD’56, the Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, died January 27 in Chula Vista, CA. He was 91. Adams joined the UChicago faculty in anthropology in 1955, eventually serving in several leadership positions: as dean of the Division of the Social Sciences, as provost of the University from 1982 to 1984, and twice as director of the Oriental Institute. A scholar of Near Eastern archaeology, he reshaped theories about ancient urban societies, pioneered the use of landscape archaeology methods, and left a lasting influence on the study of the Anthropocene. His many books include Land behind Baghdad: A History of Settlement on the Diyala Plains (1965) and two others on Mesopotamian settlement patterns. From 1984 to 1994, he was secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Survivors include a daughter, Megan Adams, LAB’73; two stepdaughters; and three grandchildren.

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