I think one reason for expanding one's horizons is that even from 1788
Australia was very much part of a "global network" (I was going to say world
system but that is a very loaded term). The discussion on "white granite" is
a case in point where key issues concerning ceramic production and marketing
have been touched on (although not explained).

Another case is Australia's fortifications which in many cases have been
treated as follies, or expressions of colonial pretension yet when seen from
the perspective of The Empire are expressions of a complex debate about the
nature of military threats to the Empire and the debate about the role of
sea power. Thus an action in Canada may have an outcome in Auckland.

There are also global cultural movements which I think archaeology has yet
to explore, the Cult of Domesticity is common to both the USA and to the
British Empire and also seems to have occurred in places such as France and
Sweden. There are obvious ideological and material dimensions to
Domesticity, but who knows what lies under the surface and how the ideology
was expressed in each community.

The difficulty as Tim says is how one keeps up with the local literature as
well as all the world literature. Through various Electronic Index's I think
it is possible to find out who has written what (reading it is another
problem) but I think the answer has to lie in the area of team work and
multi-disciplinary work.

yours

Dr Iain Stuart
Principal, Archaeology and Heritage Management
HLA-Envirosciences Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 726
Pymble, NSW 2073
Australia

Ph.  61 2 99884422
Fax  61 2 99884441