Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Visitors, Scholars
Arthur M. Miller, Cliff Dwelling Excavator 1923
Arthur McQuiston Miller (1861-1929)

---

TAGS: Arthur M. Miller Visitor, Dr. Arthur M. Miller, Arthur McQuiston Miller, Professor Miller, Indian Cliff Dwelling, excavations, archaeology, rock shelters, Dr. William D. Funkhouser, Victor K. Dodge, University of Kentucky

---

ARTHUR M. MILLER Visitor, Cliff Dwelling Excavator 1923

Arthur M. Miller was neither an archaeologist nor an anthropologist, but a geology professor at the University of Kentucky in the 1920s who had a keen interest in the archaeological aspects of early Native American rock shelters. He and two others, from dissimilar occupations but sharing an interest in Indian burial and dwelling sites, came to Pine Mountain Settlement School on April 24, 1923, to take control of an archaeological excavation of a site on the School’s property.

Known as the Indian Cliff Dwelling, the site was a rock overhang located near the School’s entrance. When a student discovered ancient bones of human skeletons, Miss Katherine Pettit, the School’s co-founder and co-director, sent for Dr. William D. Funkhouser at the University of Kentucky, having heard his recent talk to the Women’s Club of Lexington advocating for responsible and careful archaeological exploration. Funkhouser, a professor of zoology, agreed to do a proper excavation of the site along with his colleague, Dr. Miller and Victor K. Dodge, a businessman.

While in the Pine Mountain area, Professor Miller examined a number of rockhouses nearby in order to “determine what they might offer in the way of fields for archaeological investigation,” according to an unidentified news report of the work of the three university professors. The article adds that Miller also looked at what he described as a “cave sink in the Mississippian limestone, where it had been pushed up by faulting so as to form a steep bluff on the western face of Pine Mountain about three miles southwest of the school.”

The three scientists not only spent time unearthing four complete skeletons, other bones and assorted artifacts but also interacted with the School’s students and staff. According to an article reporting on the excavation in the Lexington Herald, May 6, 1923, the party was impressed by the School’s students, mission and accomplishments. “While at the Pine Mountain school Professors Miller and Funkhouser delivered talks to the students, the former on the mode of formation of Pine mountain and on meteorites and the latter on birds, snakes, and Egypt.”

Dr. Funkhouser described his work at Pine Mountain in a short summary found in the important work, Ancient Life in Kentucky: A Brief Presentation of the Paleontological Succession in Kentucky Coupled with a Systematic Outline of the Archaeology of the Commonwealth, co-edited with William S. Webb in 1928 and considered a seminal work on Kentucky archaeology.

ARTHUR M. MILLER Visitor: Background

Arthur McQuiston Miller was born on August 6, 1861, in Eaton, Ohio. He was the son of Robert and Margaret Ann (McQuiston) Miller.

In the early 1880s, Dr. Arthur M. Miller first attended College of Wooster, then transferred to Princeton University from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884 and a Master of Arts degree in 1887. After Princeton, he worked as a professor at Wilson College, then studied abroad for a year at the University of Munich.

Dr. Miller joined the faculty at Kentucky State College (now the University of Kentucky) in 1892 as a professor of geology and zoology. By 1907, he was the head of the geological, zoological, and entomological departments at Kentucky and from 1908 to 1917 he served as the school’s first dean of arts and sciences. He retired from Kentucky State College in 1925 and retired to Asheville, North Carolina.

**********

Dr. Arthur McQuiston Miller died in Palatka, Florida, On October 28, 1929, at the age of 68. He is interred at Mound Hill Union Cemetery in Eaton, Ohio, the town in which he was born.

In 1940, the National Science building was renamed Miller Hall in honor of Dr. Arthur M. Miller, head of the geology department and former dean of the College of Art and Sciences.

---

See Also:
INDIAN CLIFF Ancient Relics Discovered By Mountain Girl (Newspaper Article)

INDIAN Cliff Dwelling

NOTES of the Pine Mountain Settlement School, November 1926

VICTOR K. DODGE Visitor – Biography

WILLIAM D. FUNKHOUSER Visitor – Biography

Title	Arthur M. Miller
Alt. Title	Dr. Arthur M. Miller ; Arthur McQuiston Miller ; Professor Miller ; A. M. Miller ;
Identifier	https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=68913
Creator	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Alt. Creator	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt
Subject Keyword	Arthur M. Miller ; Dr. Arthur M. Miller ; Arthur McQuiston Miller ; Professor Miller ; Indian Cliff Dwelling ; excavations ; archaeology ; rock shelters ; Dr. William D. Funkhouser ; Victor K. Dodge ; University of Kentucky ;
Subject LCSH	Miller, Arthur McQuiston — 1861-1929. Pine Mountain (Ky.) Settlement School — History. Harlan County (Ky.) — History. Education — Kentucky — Harlan County. Rural schools — Kentucky — History. Indians of North America — Kentucky — Antiquities. Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern.
Date	2019-08-02 aae
Publisher	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Contributor	n/a; or specify
Type	Collections ; text ; image ;
Format	Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet.
Source	Series 09: Biography – VIsitors, Scholars
Language	English
Relation	Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: Biography – VIsitors, Scholars.
Coverage Temporal	1861 – 1929
Coverage Spatial	Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Lexington, KY ; Eaton, OH ; Wooster, OH ; Princeton, NJ ; Chambersburg, PA ; Munich, Germany ; Asheville, NC ; Palatka, FL ;
Rights	Any display, publication or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Donor	n/a
Description	Core documents, correspondence, writings and administrative papers created by or addressed to Arthur M. Miller ; clippings, photographs, publications, illustrations by or about Arthur M. Miller.
Acquisition	n/d
Citation	“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Processed By	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;
Last Updated	2023-07-08 aae ;
Bibliography	[NOTE: Dr. Arthur M. Miller produced many publications. The following selections are a few of which pertain to Kentucky.] Miller, Arthur M. Q. Evidence of Former Connection between the Eastern and Western Coal Fields Across Central Kentucky. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified, 1908. Print. Miller, Arthur M. Q. The Geology of Kentucky: A Classified Compend of State Reports and Other Publications, with Critical Comment Based on Original Investigations. Frankfort: Dept. of geology and forestry, 1919. Print. Miller, Arthur M. Q. Geology of the Georgetown Quadrangle. Frankfort, Ky: publisher not identified, 1913. Print. Miller, Arthur M. Q. The Lead and Zinc Bearing Rocks of Central Kentucky: With Notes on the Mineral Veins. Louisville: Printed by the G.G. Fetter Co, 1905. Print. Miller, Arthur M. Q. Table of Geological Formations for Kentucky. Lexington, Ky: University Book Store, 1917. Print.
Sources	Sources “A.M. Miller.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._M._Miller. (Concerning background for A. M. Miller; accessed 2019-08-02.) Internet resource. “Arthur M. Miller.” INDIAN CLIFF ANCIENT RELICS… ; INDIAN CLIFF DWELLING ; Series 09: Biography. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet resource. The Kentucky Kernel, September 20, 1940, p. 1 (concerning renaming of National Science Building). Publisher: Student Body of the University of Kentucky. (Accessed 2019-08-02.) Internet resource.