Likewise in the state of Michigan we have some so called Professional's
that give the Science's a bad name. I personally know a lot of amateur
Archaeologist's that are interconnected thru a State Chartered Society
Called the Michigan Archaeology Society with Many Chapter's throughout
the state and with each Chapter doing excellent work not only with
historic , but with prehistoric as well with years of fieldwork under
their belts. The Society program that our state has keeps the Pro and
the amateur working side by side on many project's under strict
guidelines and at site's that are selected on a need basis only. I think
it would be nice for you to look at other state's Archaeology programs
before making a blanket statement that all amateurs are
Pot hunter's ,grave robber's and Treasure Hunter's.
Kris Oswald
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron
May
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 1:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: French and Indian War Graves & NY Looting merged at last
In a message dated 6/7/2006 8:36:21 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/06/07/news/doc44864d99ede073058078
64.txt
Ok, I read those latest articles and the most telling evidence is the
fact
they used a "front end loader" to cut a swath through the cemetery. To
their
credit, the burials have been pedestalled in place, but has anyone seen
their
field notes, drawings, and photographs? Moreover, the photos I did see
did not
reveal a standard excavation grid. The soil was just heaped outside the
dig
area, not in piles under a shaker screen, which looks more like a
looter's
pit than an archaeology project. I guess we ought to wait to hear from
the New
York SHPO, assuming they would share their findings with us and not
their
state attorney general.
I think the point here is that we all have known interested amateurs who
want to make discoveries on their own and become famous before they die,
so
venture out collecting and pot-holing on weekends. In states with weaker
laws,
where land owners allow collecting, and where amateurs get hired as
property
managers, it is easier for the untrained to justify collecting and
digging.
Heck, most of the people who went through field school with me over the
years
probably went out collecting at some point in their lives. We even had a
discussion a few months back that smoked-out federal employees (one a
land manager)
who are hobby collectors and diggers. We have to draw a line in the
sand as
to how we distinguish a professional and am amateur. Beyond academia,
there
is the Register of Professional Archaeologists and that has been the
line I
have drawn in the sand. I am very sorry to learn that American history
has been
compromised by a mechanical front-end loader and two adventurers who
could
not wait to bring-in professional archaeologists to investigate this
very
important site in a proper manner.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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