Bill Liebekencht writes:

        " I think Ned is right.  If you can not identify what you are
finding when you
> find it (not in the lab) then how will you know when an artifact is out of
> position.  Ceramics and glass make up the majority of the artifacts we
> find
> and if you can not make an informed identification on-site it could cost
> you
> time and your interpretation."
>
        I have to agree. Out of position or out of context. However, we
often find ourselves dealing with contexts that are unfamiliar. I recall
meeting an archeologist who was excavatingan urban site on the east coast
(dated around the 1870s, if I recall) who knew the glass, the ceramics, etc.
but nevertheless found several metal objects that made absolutely no sense
to him at all. Had he not had an African American on the site with him, he'd
have never guessed they were early iterations of the "hot comb".

        John Dendy
        Archeologist
        Dynamac Corporation