Greetings everyone,
This morning I received this link to an excellent article in The Economist
about archaeological ethics. The link is below:
>http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1056932
I think the article is very good, but I am a bit mystified by one statement
by Nicholas Saunders (anthropologist, University College, London). He
remarked to the reporter the following:
>For example, the investigation of first-world-war
>battlefields (which have yet to receive much attention
>from professional archaeologists) offers a chance to develop
>new approaches in which the interests of all parties are
>taken into account. Such battlefields are unique, notes
>Dr Saunders, because they provide an opportunity to perform
>archaeological investigations within the context of an
>abundance of historical documents‹personal letters, diaries,
>maps, photographs and military records. ³We have an opportunity
>here to create a new kind of archaeology‹to make it
>anthropologically informed from the beginning,² he says.
Unless I'm mistaken, someone should call up Dr. Saunders and inform him or
her that that "new kind" of archaeology has been done for forty years in the
UK and in the USA. I know how newspapers can misconstrue quotes, perhaps
Mr. Saunders meant that battlefield archaeology as the "new kind" of
archaeology, but that sub-area has been around for more than 10 years as
well.
As I mentioned above, the article is excellent. I also think the content
the Economist's reporter covered is very important. This is a small
question I thought I would direct to this list.
Regards,
Tim Scarlett
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Timothy James Scarlett
Incipient Assistant Professor of Archaeology
Program in Industrial History and Archaeology
Department of Social Sciences
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295 USA
Tel (906) 487-2113 Fax (906) 487-2468 Internet [log in to unmask]
MTU Website: http://www.industrialarchaeology.net
SHA Website: http://www.sha.org SIA Website: http://www.sia-web.org
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"Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer, sex raises
some pretty good questions."
-Woody Allen, New Your Herald Tribune, 1975
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