Elizabeth M. Brumfiel, a professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, died earlier this month at the age of 66. She was a leading scholar of Aztec archaeology. For 20 years, she and her students conducted archaeological research in Xaltocan, Mexico, the capital of a small pre-Columbian kingdom.
Professor Brumfiel joined the Northwestern University faculty in 2003. Previously, she taught at Albion College in Michigan. She was the past president of the American Anthropological Association.
Dr. Brumfiel earned bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Michigan. She held a master’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.