(Historic) Daris Swindler

Daris Swindler and C. Loring Brace

Daris R. Swindler (13 August 1925 – 6 December 2007) was a professor of anthropology, a forensic anthropologist, and a primate anatomy expert who taught for more than thirty years at the University of Washington. He was one of the world’s foremost authorities on living and fossil primate teeth. His authored texts were considered to be standard references.

Although cited for many years as a skeptic regarding the existence of an undocumented bipedal American ape, Swindler remained open to the possibility and was numbered among the few acknowledged experts willing to examine purported evidence.

Swindler was one of the scientists who assessed the Skookum Cast, collected during a September 2000 BFRO expedition in Skamania County, WA. In his opinion, the cast represented a genuine record of a giant hairy bipedal primate.

Obituary by Loren Coleman

Sadly word has just reached Cryptomundo of the death a month ago of a figure important to the investigation of the Skookum Cast.

University of Washington professor emeritus of anthropology, World War II veteran, consummate teacher, and beloved father, husband and friend of cryptozoology, Daris R. Swindler, 82, died suddenly in Spokane, Washington, on December 6, 2007, of cancer.

Though a longtime skeptic of Sasquatch, Swindler was one of the few experts willing to examine physical evidence cited in support of the unknown hominoids’ existence. Swindler’s opinion regarding Bigfoot changed after the September 22, 2000, discovery of the so-called Skookum Body Cast (an impression left in a mud pit by a purported Bigfoot said to be gathering fruit from a food trap).

Daris Swindler was present at the Discovery Channel taping of June 2002, when anthropological experts from mainstream academics and musuems examined the Skookum Cast. After making a detailed examination of the cast, Swindler concluded that no animal other than a Bigfoot could have left the impression. His opinion was in agreement with other anthropologists (such as Jeff Meldrum, shown below with the cast) who were present at the examination and taping. That session later was screened as part of the June 2003 broadcast of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.

Swindler (August 13, 1925 – December 6, 2007) was known foremost as an American anthropologist. Born Daris Ray Swindler in Morgantown, West Virginia, Swindler later served Naval convoy duty in World War II, working on tankers in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Swindler went on to study anthropology at the West Virginia University and the University of Pennsylvania. He would teach human anatomy at Cornell University Medical College (now known as Weill Medical College of Cornell University) and at the University of South Carolina. In 1968, he came to the University of Washington to teach anthropology, and settled in Edmonds in 1981.

Swindler’s family said his ability to influence his students was undoubtedly his greatest achievement.

“He just really adored students,” said Swindler’s wife, Kathryn Rantala Swindler.

Up until a week before his death, Swindler was critiquing papers sent to him from students all over the world, said son Bruce Swindler.

Bruce Swindler remembers sitting in on one of his father’s lectures and being amazed at his ability to capture the audience’s attention.

“He would just stand up and intrigue everybody in the audience,” he said.

A long-time professor at the University of Washington, he was generally acknowledged as a leading primate expert, having specialized in the study of fossilized teeth. His book An Atlas of Primate Gross Anatomy is a standard work in the field. He authored other works in the field, as well, in papers and books.

Swindler taveled the world for his work, such as conducting archaeological digs in Egypt and Pakistan, and traveling to Easter Island to study early settlement patterns of the first inhabitants. Swindler consulted with medical examiners, first peoples and archaeologists; participated in digs in Egypt, China, Pakistan and Easter Island; did field work in Cyprus for Physicians for Human Rights.

After retiring from teaching, Swindler wrote three books on anthropology. In 2007, he recounted his earlier experiences during a six-month expedition to New Britain, Melanesia, in a lively book, New Britain Diary, 1954; An Anthropologist’s Journal.

Daris Swindler lectured widely on Lewis and Clark, mountain men and fur trade and consulted regarding Sasquatch, always open to evaluating physical evidence. He was a man of scientific accomplishment, yet open and approachable.

He received many honors in his life, notably the Alexander Von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award from Germany; the Washington Governor’s Writer’s Day Award; the Senior Award for the Visiting Scholar Exchange from China; election as Vice President of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and President of the Dental Anthropology Association.

Swindler assisted police in many criminal cases, notably the searches for serial killers Gary Ridgway (a.k.a. the Green River Killer) and Ted Bundy.

Swindler loved to fish for salmon off Alki Point in West Seattle and to crab off the Dungeness Spit in Sequim. Swindler was also a talented swing dancer, according to his wife Kathryn Swindler.

Dr. Daris Swindler, an adored anthropologist and friend to many, is greatly missed by members of the cryptozoology, hominology, Sasquatch studies, and Bigfoot searching communities. We send out our deepest condolences to his wife, Kathryn, his children: Gary, Darece, Linda (Venters), Dana, Bruce, Geoffrey and Jason Swindler; his beloved grandchildren and friends worldwide. Also our thoughts go to his surviving second wife, Jean Swindler. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Carolyn Swindler.

A Memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday January 26th, at Bethel Lutheran Church of Shoreline, Washington State, at 17418 8th Ave. NE. Remembrances may be made in the form of contributions to “The Daris R. Swindler Fellowship, University of Washington” Prof. M. Kahn, Dept. of Anthropology, Box 353100, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195.

Sources include Legacy.com, NewsSource, Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Chapter Two, “Strange Cast of Skookum” in Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America.

by Loren Coleman on January 2, 2008