>Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:12:03 -0500
>From: "Robert L. Schuyler" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Archaeological Toys Discussion
>
>I think this discussion has been very informative and has drawn in a lot 
>of members of HISTARCH which is good. I especially want to thank Mary 
>Beaudry and Ron May for their bibliography lists which will be helpful to 
>all of us. It looks like we are all starting to run out of toys.
>
>My comments on Mary's original comment (in which she made some very good 
>general points), was not meant as a "slam-down" but tried to point out 
>that her critical comments did not really fit the HISTARCH discussion very 
>well.
>
>Finally, I have always considered all of archaeology to be 
>"interpretative" (actually all of science is interpretative) and hopefully such
>interpretations are arrived at through a critical process using all sources.
>
>An interesting point about patterns such as that found at the 
>synagogue-use site in Boston. We are not nearly at that stage of analysis 
>on the site that generated my original question but as we are doing the 
>field work and archival work side by side we asked the students what type 
>of social unit may have occupied the house based on a superficial look at 
>the archaeological materials as they came out of the ground. They assumed 
>it was a family with children involving both girls and boys (marbles and 
>one iron toy gun = boys, doll parts and jacks = girls) and this turned out 
>to be correct but what is more interesting is that if these correlations 
>are valid, there was only one girl (a daughter) and three or more boys 
>(sons) but the one girl was much more visible in the archaeological record.
>
>I will NOT ask a question about dolls (at least not yet - perhaps after 
>SHA) involving such issues as: if and when adults have and use dolls, what 
>are all those very small dolls about, recycling of doll parts, curation of 
>dolls in a family, "dolls" = girls cf. figures (e.g. "action figures") 
>more likely boys, etc. etc. etc. in the early and mid-20th century. I will 
>wait on this one until next year.
>
>                                                                 Bob Schuyler
>
>
>
>
>At 09:28 PM 11/1/2005, you wrote:
>>Thanks, I can always count on a slam-down.  mcb
>
>Robert L. Schuyler
>University of Pennsylvania Museum
>3260 South Street
>Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
>
>Tel: (215) 898-6965
>Fax: (215) 898-0657
>[log in to unmask]

Robert L. Schuyler
University of Pennsylvania Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324

Tel: (215) 898-6965
Fax: (215) 898-0657
[log in to unmask]