Iain Stuart wrote:
>
> Mail*Link(r) SMTP               Ethnicity-a reply
>
> This has been a very interesting thread.
>
> One difficulty is that we are so familar with the material culture we excavate
> that it is difficult to remember that it may not have the meanings we assume
> it does. This is particularlly true for 19th and 20th century sites.
 
 
 
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> As an antidote I suggest some living archaeology in our own context to look at
> the diversity of meanings ascribed to material culture.
>
> I have no really good ideas for a methdology to overcome this in the field
> however the use of the historical record as a way of building contexts (a form
> of Thick Description) seems to be one way to go.
>
> Rather than cite Binford and Bordes I think Henry Glassie's approach to
> material culture is worth revisiting. "Folk housing in Middle Virginia" is a
> very interesting book for both what it says about the houses and the
> analytical approach.
>
> A former out of touch bureaucrat
> University of Sydney
>