I recall the notion which circulated widely around 50 years ago that 
historical archaeology is a kind of ancestor worship (an idea arising, I 
think, from the work of Harrington and others on English colonial sites.).

ebj

On 6/30/2017 5:49 AM, Schuyler, Robert L wrote:
> P.S. Do not forget those who also define Anthropology as "the science of the obvious."  No idea who came up with that definition.
>
>
> Robert L. Schuyler
> University of Pennsylvania Museum
> 3260 South Street
> Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Karen Swope <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2017 1:21 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: looking for source for Deetz quote
>
> The quote is from page 1 of:
>
> Deetz, James
> 1991 Introduction: Archaeological Evidence of Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Encounters, pp. 1-9. In Historical Archaeology in Global Perspective, Lisa Falk, editor. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
>
> Exact wording: "Historical archaeology has several definitions. One of the more unfortunate ones--which is certainly not true but which should be mentioned--is that historical archaeology is the most expensive way in the world to learn something we already know. I am afraid that does happen more than it should, but it need not."
>
> Karen K. Swope, Ph.D.
> Principal Investigator, Historical Archaeology
> Statistical Research, Inc.
> 4425 Juan Tabo Blvd. NE, Ste 112
> Albuquerque, NM 87111-2681
> (505)323-8300
> (505)323-8314 FAX
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> Statistical Research, Inc., is a certified woman-owned small business that has provided Cultural Resource Management and Historic Preservation services since 1983.
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Barbara Voss
> Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:07 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: looking for source for Deetz quote
>
> Dear colleagues:
>
> I'm trying to track down the source of a quote often attributed to Jim Deetz -
>
> "Historical archaeology is the most expensive way in the world to learn something we already know."
>
> Wikipedia's Historical Archaeology page attributes this to Deetz 1991:1, but the webpage does not list a Deetz 1991 citation. Wikipedia lists a longer quote than the one I remember:
>
> "Historical archaeology has several definitions. One of the more unfortunate ones -- which is certainly not true... is that historical archaeology is the most expensive way in the world to learn something we already know."
>
> Google failed me, so I'm turning to something better - the HistArch hive-mind. Any leads?
>
> Thanks!
> Barb
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Barbara L. Voss, Associate Professor
> Department of Anthropology
> 450 Serra Mall, Bldg. 50, Main Quad
> Stanford University
> Stanford CA 94305-2034
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> https://web.stanford.edu/dept/anthropology/cgi-bin/web/?q=node/75
> https://stanford.academia.edu/BarbaraVoss