Mike, Ron et al:
I am not jaded and certainly understand the place of romance
and mystery in archaeology, anthropology and scholarship in general.
And yes, sometimes the truth can be stanger than fiction.
Assuming the facts are complete, as presented by Ron (e.g.
how old was he, what does he or does he not remember; were there
other newspapers in the area that went unnoted etc.) then the radio
could be:
(1) a spy artifact from WW II in San Deigo,
(2) a WW II sourvenir brough back in 1945 (perhaps someone
did not like the Nazi symbol that close to the events - got rid of
it),
(3) a radio purchased during the National Socialist Period
(ca. 1933 to 1940) before the war. [Did German radios have NS symbols
on them during this period? Considering the Nazi's powerful use of
symbols, I would not be surprised if they did, but am not sure.]
A German [Nazi?] radio, 1945 newspapers, and a German surname,
San Diego (naval base) etc. do NOT = a Nazi spy. It could be but it
ain't necessarily so.
I hope some of my colleagues on this list are never on a jury if
I am ever falsely accused of a crime - a prosecutor's dream.
Last night I saw part of a program on Public TV about the
incarceration of Japanese Americans (and in Canada) because they were
accused of being, or potentially being, spies and saboteurs. It focused
on the Supreme Court decision. Although this period in American history
did produce some very interesting historical archaeology [some one out
there might give us some of the sources and thus get us back to
historical archaeology], it also serves as a warning about erroneous
and circumstantial evidence.
In archaeology we are concerned with patterns (especially
context) but also with logic - does it make sense and is it the most
efficent explanation [Occam's Razor]- not just is it possible.
Could it be a spy radio - yes, it could. Are there other more
probable explanations - I think so.
Bob Schuyler*
* I am NOT inviting you all for drink at Mobile; actually I do not
drink unless it is forced on me by students.
At 01:19 AM 7/11/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>--Boundary_(ID_a2UKatQuWfrGgJrpFkbmVQ)
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>
>In a message dated 7/10/2001 2:44:44 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>
>> Remember the English fight for the King, the French for honor and the
>> Germans for the Fatherland, but the Americans fight for souvenirs.
>>
>> The radio was probably a WW II trophy brough back to CA rather than
>> part of a global Nazi spy ring.
>>
>>
>
>Bob - you're too jaded! Some far out possibilities really are true. Why are
>so many of us are in the field today? Not because we stayed up reading Louis
>Binford at bedtime - no, it was because we read books about lost treasure
>(often written by pothunters, I'm sure). For me it was Thor Hyerdahl's stuff
>- especially "Aku Aku" as he talked about potting caves on Easter Island! I
>didn't know any different, but it was glamorous sounding. Thats the spark
>that gets us started. It didn't really matter at the time whether the stuff
>was true or not, it was EXCITING because it might be true and sometimes the
>far out sounding stuff really is true. In the case of Ron's Nazi radio
>transmitter paraphenalia, it really could be true.
>
>I think too many of us get jaded - remember how many palenotologists pooh
>poohed the comet theory of dinosaur extinction because it sounded too much
>like science fiction, i.e. not conventional wisdom of the time?
>
>Mike Polk
>Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
>Ogden, Utah
>
>--Boundary_(ID_a2UKatQuWfrGgJrpFkbmVQ)
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>
><HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated
7/10/2001 2:44:44 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
><BR>[log in to unmask] writes:
><BR>
><BR>
><BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid;
MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Remember the
English fight for the King, the French for honor and the
><BR>Germans for the Fatherland, but the Americans fight for souvenirs.
><BR>
><BR>The radio was probably a WW II trophy brough back to CA rather than
><BR>part of a global Nazi spy ring.
><BR>
><BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial"
LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
><BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial"
LANG="0">
><BR>Bob - you're too jaded! Some far out possibilities really are
true. Why are
><BR>so many of us are in the field today? Not because we stayed up
reading Louis
><BR>Binford at bedtime - no, it was because we read books about lost treasure
><BR>(often written by pothunters, I'm sure). For me it was Thor
Hyerdahl's stuff
><BR>- especially "Aku Aku" as he talked about potting caves on Easter
Island! I
><BR>didn't know any different, but it was glamorous sounding. Thats the spark
><BR>that gets us started. It didn't really matter at the time
whether the stuff
><BR>was true or not, it was EXCITING because it might be true and
sometimes the
><BR>far out sounding stuff really is true. In the case of Ron's Nazi
radio
><BR>transmitter paraphenalia, it really could be true.
><BR>
><BR>I think too many of us get jaded - remember how many palenotologists pooh
><BR>poohed the comet theory of dinosaur extinction because it sounded too
much
><BR>like science fiction, i.e. not conventional wisdom of the time?
><BR>
><BR>Mike Polk
><BR>Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
><BR>Ogden, Utah </FONT></HTML>
>
>--Boundary_(ID_a2UKatQuWfrGgJrpFkbmVQ)--
>
>
Robert L. Schuyler
University of Pennsylvania Museum
33rd & Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
Tel: (215) 898-6965
Fax: (215) 898-0657
[log in to unmask]
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