Following up on Ron and Geoff's last emails: (but first, my apologies,
but I can't resist plugging the our National Anthropological Archives
which Ron referenced, which is rich in historical documents, field notes
and all things anthropological, which is at:
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/)

As another example of seasonal, cultural requirements, our ethnology
curator and linguist, Ives Goddard, translated and presented a Meskwaki
traditional story, "The Married Couple: the Man Whose Wife Was Wooed By
a Bear," by Alfred Kiyana (Meskwaki), at our department's noon lecture
series.  He gave the talk in January a few years ago, out of respect for
Meskwaki tradition, since it's a tale that can only be told in winter,
when certain spirits are asleep.  But I try to keep in mind that many of
these traditions, like this one, are still very much alive today, even
though we don't always encounter them all that often in historical
archaeology--although this can depend on where and with whom you happen
to be working.  It's interesting to note the different reactions on the
list to European-derived traditions (like shoes in walls) vs. other
cultural traditions.  Evidence of sympathetic magic at historic
sites...wouldn't that be an interesting SHA session? 

Laurie


Laurie E. Burgess
Associate Chair
Department of Anthropology
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
10th and Constitution Avenue NW
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 112
Washington, DC 20013-7012