Tom Wheaton offered some opinions that I would like to diagree with-but friendly like. He thought archaeologists should not pretend to be historians. It seems to me that an archaeologist working in a historical period (whenever that happens to be in one's area) who is not in part a historian is not a very good archaeologist. Archaeologists are not mere antiquarians, they are classicists, anthropologists, historians etc. depending on their focus. I am lead to understand that archaeologists in Britain are given training in conservation as well as working closely with conservators. It would seem to me that American archaeologists could learn from this-as it is the archaeologist in the field who must often make important decisions. I have taken some prelimminary courses with the Getty which has made me aware of important strategies in conservation. It doesn't make me a conservatopr, but the information will reduce the harm I will do to important archaeological materials. In the practical world, it is crucial that archaeologists learn some basic conservation techniques apporpriate to the materials they may encounter.