{{Short description|American archaeologist}} '''D. L. True''' (August 31, 1923 – June 20, 2001) was an archaeologist who worked in [[California]], particularly [[San Diego County]], and in northern [[Chile]].
Born in [[San Pedro, Los Angeles, California|San Pedro]], California, son of a lumberyard foreman, True worked in a shipyard and served as an aerial-gunnery instructor for the [[United States Army Air Corps|U.S. Army Air Corps]] during World War II. After the war he established a small avocado ranch in [[Pauma Valley]], an inland area in northern San Diego County, also working as a school bus driver.
True became interested in and thoroughly familiar with the archaeological remains of the Pauma region's prehistoric cultures. Under the mentorship of [[Clement Woodward Meighan|Clement W. Meighan]], he enrolled in anthropology at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], where he was cited by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the dozen top graduates in 1961.<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,895372-2,00.html "Top of the Heap"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. June 16, 1961.</ref> He went on to receive his doctorate from UCLA in 1966, with a dissertation entitled "Archaeological Differentiation of Shoshonean and Yuman Speaking Groups in Southern California". He served on the anthropology faculty of the [[University of California, Davis]], from 1965 until his retirement.
True was instrumental in defining the [[Pauma Complex|Pauma]], [[San Luis Rey Complex|San Luis Rey]], and [[Cuyamaca Complex|Cuyamaca]] complexes and in elucidating their roles in regional prehistory. Together with [[Claude Nelson Warren|Claude N. Warren]], he also helped to clarify understanding of the early [[San Dieguito complex|San Dieguito]] and [[La Jolla complex|La Jolla]] complexes.<ref>Waugh, Georgie, and Mark E. Basgall (editors). 2008. ''Avocados to Millingstones: Papers in Honor of D. L. True''. Monographs in California and Great Basin Anthropology No. 5. California State University, Sacramento.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:True, Delbert Leroy}} [[Category:Archaeologists of California]] [[Category:1923 births]] [[Category:2001 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American archaeologists]]