Scholar and Author. Curator of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of Colorado at Boulder (tenure: 1953-1986). Also served during the same time period as Assistant Professor of Natural History at the University of Colorado Museum. Wheat contributed to Mogollon and Anasazi, Plains Paleo-indian, and African Paleolithic archaeology. Also made contributions to the study of Southwestern Native American weaving. Served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II (1941-1945). Received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley in 1937, and the MA and PhD degrees from the University of Arizona (1949 and 1953).  Among his publications are “The Gift of the Spiderwoman: Southwestern Textiles-The Navajo Tradition” (1984), “Crooked Ridge Village” (1954),  and, “The Addicks Dam Site: An Archaeological Survey” (1953). Contributed to various professional and scientific periodicals, including Scientific American. Cremated with ashes scattered in the Yellow Jacket Canyon near Cortez, Colorado. (bio by: GravesScribe)