This discussion (debate) goes way back in the history of the field. There
was a debate on the issue in Volume 1 if the Newsletter of the Society for
Industrial Archaeology between several people [see under Schuyler,
"Industrial Archaeology as a Subfield of Historical Archaeology 1972 SIA
Newsletter Vol. 1, No 6, p. 8] although I do not recall all the
participants. It was in part the same debate as this one on our list.
I took the position that Industrial Archaeology was a subfield of general
Historical Archaeology and as such was the archaeology of the Industrial
Revolution and the period of ca. 1800 to the present. It should cover both
the instruments of industry (machinery, factories, canals, railroads, mills
etc) but also all other aspects of culture (e.g. workers housing, urban
neighborhoods and even farms in the industrial era) - both, not one or the
other.
However, I think I and others lost this debate and have gone on to just
call such holistic industrial period archaeology, Historical Archaeology.
Many do seem to want to keep the term IA to refer to the specific elements
of industrialization and they have a point that most archaeologists are not
experts on dams, canals, big gears etc. etc. Also most industrial
archaeologists (based on publishing) are not archaeologists (diggers). One
of the points in the old debate is that some of us (e.g. Ed Rutsch) wanted
to get industrial archaeologists digging not just describing above ground
features or just clearing them for a better view.
The key issue is that the two parts of the industrial picture (the
instrumentation and the general socio-cultural context) must not get
separated if we are to understand this period of the Modern World. I always
liked the late Kenneth Hudson in that he mixed such different elements of
the industrial past in his books.
Bob Schuyler
At 11:05 AM 9/28/2006, you wrote:
>One additional brief side remark; why is it that we are content to
>allow specialists to study the bumps and nicks in cow bones, the
>chemistry of glazes, and, heaven forbid, the details of sewing kits,
>but if someone is interested in big, heavy, hot metal, or gears and
>cogs, that is not allowable as archaeology?
>Patrick E. Martin
>Professor of Archaeology
>Department of Social Sciences
>Michigan Technological University
>Houghton, MI 49931
>phone 906-487-2070,email [log in to unmask]
>www.industrialarchaeology.net
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]
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