Cross, Dorothy, 1906-1972

Dorothy Cross Jensen (October 21, 1906 – February 26, 1972) was an American anthropologist, archaeologist, and public educator. Her research transformed both the fields of Middle Eastern archaeology and New Jersey prehistory. In 1936, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Oriental Studies and Anthropology. She served as an assistant curator at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, contributing to the Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra excavations in Iraq under Professor Ephraim A Speiser. Using this research, she published The Pottery of Tepe Gawra, which became a foundational document in the field of Middle Eastern ceramics. Her dissertation Moveable Property in Nuzi Documents is described as a "classic" in her field. Committed to public education, Cross served as State Archaeologist for the New Jersey State Museum, in which she was involved for 43 years. She was also a professor at Hunter College, where she served as a Divisional Chairman of the Department of Anthropology.