Ruth Bunzel

Ruth Bunzel
Born(1898-04-18)April 18, 1898
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 1990(1990-01-14) (aged 91)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materBarnard College; Columbia University
Known forAnthropological study of Native American culture
Scientific career
FieldsAnthropologist; Ethnographer
InstitutionsBarnard College; Columbia University
Thesis The Pueblo Potter: A Study of Creative Imagination in Primitive Art (1929)
Academic advisorsFranz Boas; Ruth Benedict

Ruth Leah Bunzel (née Bernheim) (18 April 1898 – 14 January 1990) was an American anthropologist, known for studying creativity and art among the Zuni people (A:Shiwi), researching the Mayas in Guatemala, and conducting a comparative study of alcoholism in Guatemala and Mexico. Bunzel was the first American anthropologist to conduct substantial research in Guatemala. Her doctoral dissertation, The Pueblo Potter (1929) was a study of the creative process of art in anthropology and Bunzel was one of the first anthropologists to study the creative process.