# Chester Gorman

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**Chester F. Gorman** (March 11, 1938 – June 7, 1981) was an [American anthropologist](/source/American_Anthropologist) and archaeologist.

Born in [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland,_California), he grew up on his parents' dairy farm in [Elk Grove](/source/Elk_Grove,_California). He studied at the [Sacramento State University](/source/Sacramento_State_University) and the [University of Hawaiʻi](/source/University_of_Hawai%CA%BBi), where he also got his MA and his PhD.

Chester Gorman worked mostly in Southeast Asia. Among the most significant sites he worked are [Ban Chiang](/source/Ban_Chiang) in northeast Thailand and [Spirit Cave](/source/Spirit_Cave,_Thailand) in northwest Thailand, one of the major [Hoabinhian](/source/Hoabinhian) sites. While surveying for sites in northeast Thailand with [Wilhelm Solheim](/source/Wilhelm_Solheim) between 1963-1964, Gorman also discovered the site of Non Nok Tha.[1]

Gorman excavated [Spirit Cave](/source/Spirit_Cave,_Thailand) (Tham Phii Man) once in 1966 for his dissertation research, and again in 1971.[2] He also excavated Banyan Valley Cave (Tham Sai) in 1972 and Steep Cliff Cave (Tham Phaa Can) in 1973.

He died of cancer at age 43 in [Sacramento](/source/Sacramento,_California).

## Publication record

- Solheim II, Wilhelm G. and Gorman, Chester F. 1966. Archaeological Salvage Program; Northeastern Thailand-First Season. [Journal of the Siam Society](/source/Journal_of_the_Siam_Society) 54(2): pages 111-210.
- Gorman, Chester F. 1969. Hoabinhian: a pebble-tool complex with early plant associations in Southeast Asia. Science 163: pages 671-673.
- Gorman, Chester F. 1970. Excavations at Spirit Cave, North Thailand: some interim interpretations. [Asian Perspectives](/source/Asian_Perspectives) 13: pages 79-107.
- Gorman, Chester. 1970. Hoabinhian: a pebble-tool complex with early plant associations in South-East Asia. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 35: pages 355-358.
- Gorman, Chester. 1971. The Hoabinhian and after: subsistence patterns in Southeast Asia during the late Pleistocene and early Recent periods. World Archaeology 2(3): pages 300-320.
- Gorman, Chester F. 1971. Prehistoric research in northern Thailand: a cultural-chronographic sequence from the late Pleistocene through to the early recent period. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaiʻi.
- Gorman, Chester and Charoenwongsa, Pisit. 1972. Inundation of archaeological sites. In Ecological reconnaissance of the Quae Yai Hydroelectric Scheme, pages 131–145. Institute of Technology, Bangkok.
- Gorman, Chester F. and Handman-Xifaras, M.E. 1974. Modeles a priori et préhistoire de la Thailande: a-propos des débuts de l'agriculture en Asie du Sud-Est. Études rurales 53-56: 41-71.
- Gorman, Chester and Charoenwongsa, Pisit. 1976. Ban Chiang: a mosaic of impressions from the first two years. Expedition 18(4): pages 14-26.
- Gorman, Chester. 1977. A priori models and Thai prehistory: a reconsideration of the beginnings of agriculture in Southeastern Asia. In Origins of Agriculture, edited by C. A. Reed, pages 321–355. Mouton: The Hague.
- Gorman, C.F. and Charoenwongsa, P. 1978. From Domestication to Urbanization: A Southeast Asian View of Chronology, Configuration and Change. Paper Presented at the Symposium on the Origin of Agriculture and Technology: West or East? Aarhus, Denmark: pages 1-64.
- Gorman, Chester. 1979. Converging views on S. E. Asian prehistory: from Son-Vi to Dong-son. (Summary in Vietnamese.) Khao Ko Hoc 4: 81-82.
- White, Joyce C. and Gorman, Chester F. 2004. Patterns in "Amorphous" Industries: The Hoabinhian Viewed through a Lithic Reduction Sequence. In Southeast Asian Archaeology: Wilhelm G. Solheim II Festschrift, edited by V. Paz, pages 411–441. The University of the Philippines Press: Diliman, Quezon City.

## Further reading

- Chester Gorman Dies at 43. 1981. Journal of the Siam Society 69: page 268.
- Rainey, Froelich. 1981. Chester Gorman. Expedition 23(4): page 2.
- Solheim II, Wilhelm G. 1982. [Obituary: Chester F. Gorman, 1938-1981](https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/55272014658A24A8242596BD2901526E/S0002731600063721a.pdf/chester-f-gorman-19381981.pdf). American Antiquity 47(4): pages 795-797.
- Bayard, Donn and Charoenwongsa, Pisit. 1982-1983. Chet Gorman: An Appreciation 11 March 1938 – 7 June 1981. Asian Perspectives 15(1): pages 1-12.

## References

1. Solheim II, Wilhelm G. & Gorman, Chester F. (1966). ["Archaeological Salvage Program; Northeastern Thailand-First Season"](http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1961/JSS_054_2b_SolheimOGorman_ArchaeologicalSalvageProgramNortheasternThailand.pdf). *Journal of the Siam Society*. **54** (2): 111–210.

1. White, Joyce (2004). ["Comment on dates from a resin-coated sherd from Spirit Cave, Thailand"](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9436727&fileId=S0003598X00093029). *Antiquity*. **78** (299): 184–187. [doi:10.1017/S0003598X00093029](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00093029). [S2CID 130127443](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:130127443)

## Sources

- [MSU eMuseum](https://web.archive.org/web/20060831072055/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/fghij/gorman_chester.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chester Gorman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Gorman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Gorman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.