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Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1948.
Explorations
- Caral site in Peru identified by Paul Kosok.
Excavations
- Excavations at Nippur sponsored by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago begin directed by Richard C. Haines.
- Excavations at Kültepe in Turkey resume.
Publications
- Archaeological Institute of America begins publishing the magazine Archaeology.
- Walter W. Taylor publishes A Study of Archeology, a work that carries on from his 1943 PhD dissertation to Harvard University faculty.
Finds
- November - First torc from Snettisham Hoard discovered near King's Lynn, England.
- Therizinosaurus is discovered in Mongolia and is thought to be a very large turtle for several years.
Awards
- Maud Cunnington made CBE for services to archaeology, the first woman archaeologist to receive the honour.
Miscellaneous
- M. M. Postan of Cambridge convenes an influential meeting of archaeologists and historians to discuss the possibilities of excavating medieval peasant houses in England.
- A Roman mosaic pavement from Brantingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire (England) is stolen.
Births
- July 13 - Richard Avent, British archaeologist, conservationist and civil servant (d. 2006)
Deaths
- September 2 - Sylvanus G. Morley, American Mayanist (born 1883).