Durango resident James Judge, an accomplished archaeologist and former Fort Lewis College professor, died in his home on Dec. 1.
Judge was remembered by his family, friends and colleagues as a bright, analytical and witty person, but a modest man who left an impact on the Durango community, FLC, University of New Mexico alumni and archaeology across the U.S.
He is distinguished for his leadership in the surveying and archaeological research performed in Chaco Canyon, or Chaco Culture National Historical Park. He wrote more than 50 books, chaired the National Park Service’s National Coalition for Applied Preservation Technology and served by governor appointment on the Four Corners Heritage Council, among other accomplishments.
“Jim was an extraordinary archaeologist. He was an expert on Chaco Canyon and spent much of his career with the National Park Service,” his stepson, David Gilford, said in an interview with The Durango Herald. “Until his retirement he was a professor at Fort Lewis College in Durango. Fellow board members Archaeological Conservancy describe him as being a brilliant scholar, always curious and eager to discuss the latest developments in archaeology.”
Bob Conrad, a friend of Judge, said he traveled domestically and internationally with Judge and his late wife Bliss Bruen. The couple were engaged community members in Durango; Judge was involved and dedicated to Animas High School “since the beginning,” and he made donations to FLC and was a passionate figure in Durango.
Judge would take people on tours of Chaco Canyon for fundraisers, silent auctions and other events that benefited Durango-area nonprofits, he said.
He dedicated a large part of his archaeological career to studying the ruins and culture of the Anasazi people and other Indigenous peoples who at one time or another called the Chaco area home.
Thomas Windes said he got to know Judge through the Chaco Project, in surveying Chaco Canyon together.
Judge became the chief research archaeologist and then director of the Chaco Project.
Windes said Judge’s leadership and approach to archaeology modernized archaeological research methods.
Judge took a different approach to archaeology, Windes said, moving the scientific practice of archaeology forward from the 1930s. Judge created models for a more efficient surveying process, which reduced surveying efforts (that could take up to years) by predicting the layouts of houses and other structures before they were excavated.
“Jim enabled us to look beyond the typical archaeology of just digging and collecting artifacts and writing up the report and so forth,” he said. “We really looked at a long-term understanding of how the Chaco (population) changed through the time to end up with these incredible, complex buildings.”
Judge’s obituary, written by Gilford, said Judge’s research studied how climate change and drought might be why Anasazi people abruptly disappeared from the Chaco region, and Judge’s research included a “network of broad roads linking major Chacoan pueblos with remote outlier settlements, and the discovery that a spiral chiseled by the Anasazi into the face of a boulder near the summit of Fajada Butte is a solstice marker.”
The “Sun Dagger” spiral and its cultural and astronomical importance was originally discovered by Anna Sofaer, who along with other authors wrote a number of texts on the subject, some of which Judge contributed to as an editor.
Gilford said he was 10 years old when his mother started seeing Judge. Judge, being the first college professor Gilford had spent any real amount of time around, showed him the beauty of the natural world, he said.
“Getting to see my stepfather be in front of a room of college students, and them paying rapt attention as he was showing photos of excavations,” he said, remembering the days of film, slides and projectors.
He said when he’d go out with the family, Judge’s college students, who were waiting tables or working other regular jobs, would greet Judge, and it was apparent they respected him.
“Without a doubt, he was an extremely important person in my life. I learned a lot about what he knew and how he dealt with things in archaeology,” said Windes, Judge’s friend and coworker. “... He was a friend all the time. So I was really sorry to see him pass. His impact in archaeology was major. He didn't get a lot of credit. But I think from this perspective and what he brought to the game, very, very important.”
Judge is survived by his brother Ned; his children Jay, Shana and Mike; his stepsons David and Sam Gilford; and 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
His son Mike is an actor, animator, writer, producer and director, most well-known for his animated television series “Beavis and Butt-Head” and “King of the Hill,” the 1999 feature-length comedy film “Office Space” and the 2006 comedy “Idiocracy.”
“Jim was very proud of all his children and their accomplishments,” Gilford said. “They shared a dry sense of humor, sometimes understated but always sharp and attuned to life’s absurdities.”
A life celebration will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Vallecito Room in the Student Union at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive.
cburney@durangoherald.com
This article has been updated to credit artist and researcher Anna Sofaer with the discovery and initial research of the “Sun Dagger” spiral and its cultural and astronomical importance to the Chaco people.
