3/21/2002 8:03:23 PM, Ron May <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>
>
>  Date:   Thu, 21 Mar 2002 20:03:23 -0500
>  From:   Ron May <[log in to unmask]>
>  Subject:Re: being Southern - an Appalachian caution!
>  To:     [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>  But Audrey, do you have a strong opinion on the subject? While I welcome
>  soapbox lectures on a light level, I do not think your tone is appropriate
>  in a room full of 820+ professionals.
>

Audrey has presented this info at the SHA conference and has an excellent paper upcoming in Historical Archaeology. Her serious and
well thought out comments were a welcome relief from the nonsense about grits that came before. Perhaps there should be a Histarch light
as well....

My opinion.

Carl Steen

>
>  Admitedly, my knowledge of Appalacia is limited to undergraduate courses in
>  Folk Lore field work and history that I took back in the 1960s. I am unaware
>  of the wealth of literature that you so clearly have reviewed. Of course,
>  how many of us have read that level of literature on other regions outside
>
>  their own expertise? We come in here for light exchanges of ideas, such as
>  discussing southern food types or sharing knowledge on architectural styles.
>
>
>  I particularly enjoyed an exchange several months back concerning
>  architectural concealments in buildings that were intended to ward off
>
>  ghosts, "witches," and general evil spirits. Last year I presented a paper
>  on the topic of a continuum of pre-christian pagan behaviors in
>  architectural sites. Some people in America still practice pagan rituals for
>  a variety of reasons, including warding their homes with old shoes,
>
>  scissors, knives, bent coins, etc. and these features have been found in
>  structures built as late as the 1920s. If we do not share knowledge of these
>  features, we probably will not recognize them for what they mean.
>
>  If you feel so strongly about Appalachia being denigrated, then I suggest
>
>  you present a paper on the topic and leave this room to light discussion. My
>  opinion, of course.
>
>  Ron May
>  Legacy 106, Inc.