George C. Frison was born in 1924. He grew up on his family’s ranch near Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Frison rode the range ranching cattle and sheep, and sometimes came across interesting artifacts, which he carefully recorded and collected. He found the artifacts so fascinating that he made the unusual decision to give up ranching at the age of thirty-seven. He enrolled at the University of Wyoming and soon thereafter moved to Michigan, where he received a Ph.D. in Anthropology.
In 1967, he returned to the University of Wyoming as the head of the newly formed Department of Anthropology. At UW, Professor Frison was known for his careful, analytical research and his wry sense of humor. He parlayed his experience with domestic and wild animals into his studies of the hunting practices of the Paleo Indians of the Northern Plains.
Frison was also Wyoming’s first State Archaeologist. He is remembered as a leader in the field of archaeology in Wyoming and the West.
See the George C. Frison papers at UW’s American Heritage Center for more information.