Karl Butzer

Karl W. Butzer is an American environmental archaeologist. He was born in Germany in 1934. While he was still a child, his family emigrated, first to England, and then to Canada. He obtained a master's degree in astronomy from McGill University and a doctorate in physical geography from the University of Bonn in Germany.

From 1959 through 1966 he taught at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. This was followed by a stint at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. Next, he taught at the University of Chicago until 1984. After that, he went to the University of Texas at Austin.

Honors

* Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
* Fryxell Medal of the Society of American Archaeology
* 1986: Archaeological Geology Award
* 2002: Preston E. James Eminent Latin Americanist Career Award
* 1996: member, National Academy of Sciences
* Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Selected publications

* 1988 "Cattle and Sheep from Old to New Spain: Historical Antecedents," "Annals of the Association of American Geographers" 78: 29-56.
* 1964 "Environment and Archaeology: An Ecological Approach to Prehistory".
*1993 "The Classical Tradition of Agronomic Science: Perspectives on Carolingian Agriculture and Agronomy," In: P.L. Butzer and D. Lohrmann (eds.), "Science in Western and eastern Civilization in Carolingian Times", pp. 539-596.(ed.) 1978 "Dimensions of Human Geography: Essays on Some Familiar and Neglected Themes."