Dr. William M. Denevan

William Maxfield Denevan was born in San Diego in 1931. He has B.A, M.A., and Ph.D degrees in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. He is Professor Emeritus of Geography and also Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests are in the historical ecology of the native peoples of the Americas. Field work has primarily been conducted in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela, especially in western Amazonia and the Central Andes. Innovative research includes prehistoric earthworks, the size of the Indian population in 1492, causes of terrace abandonment, tropical deforestation, and the “pristine myth” of environmental impacts prior too European arrival. Previous honors include elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.