ok, thurs thne.
-----Original Message-----
From: Holland, Jeff
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 3:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Old Timer Introductions
Hey everyone,
I joined up recently at the suggestion of a collegue with whom I was working on a project involving the well-known "Underground Railroad" tunnels (aka storm drains). Some of the recent discussion on that issue has given me some good ideas. Although I'm not a folklorist, I am interested in the persistence of rumors related to such mysterious features and how the historical facts become almost irrelevant to the discussion for most people. In other words, the features take on symbolic meanings for the community, making them of more interest to understanding the emergence of cultural landmarks and historical touchstones than to understanding their actual historical use.
By way of introduction, my background is more in history than archaeology, having gotten my masters in history at William & Mary, while studying historical archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg under the tutelage of Marley Brown and George Miller. After a brief stint as a field archaeologist at Colonial Williamsburg I left the profession for a while and pursued teaching high school. While in the process of getting my teaching certificate, I took a part time job doing historical research for a CRM firm. This turned into a full-time gig which I have been at for 15 years now. I am no longer directly involved in doing the nuts and bolts archaeology, historical or otherwise, but contribute as best I can to the proverbial "larger picture." I have tried to get in on some field work in the past, but that would have required a pay cut (I'd have to be a field tech), so I passed ;-). Most of my time is spent developing boring contexts that no one will read for CRM reports, passing the time until something interesting comes along, which it occasionally does. So the lengthy discussions of bottle glass and ceramics on the list don't excite me much, but I enjoy the broader discussions and the beating of dead horses. :-)
Regarding the development of databases that could be accessed for information on bottles, ceramics and such: I don't know who would want to do it, but in the field of music, there are enormous databases and resources that are non-commerical and are developed and maintainted by the members. the bandwidth is usually paid for by a fanatic or stolen from a university, but in some cases is actually legitimately obtained from a school or corporation. surely some institution could come up with the measly contribution necessary for such a site. And all those bottle collectors will maintain it for free!
Jeff
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Jeffrey L. Holland
Senior Historian
TRC
Atlanta, Georgia
[log in to unmask]
770-270-1192
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