Having just heard Ian Hodder and Ruth Tringham speak last night in
Berkeley, I have to comment. Archaeological "truths" are not just under
the ground waiting for some excavator to uncover and write into a
report. They involve endless decisions, judgements, guesses, in our
choices in reporting what we've found. All the reflexive archaeologists
have done is made this very human,very subjective, sometimes political,
often flawed decisionmaking process transparent.  True, most projects
don't have the resources or energy to do what has been done at Catal
Hoyuk to explore the ways in which archaeological interpretations are
reached. But to ignore this process, and the pitfalls it creates, is
dangerous.

Mitch Allen
Left Coast Press, Inc.
1630 N. Main St, #400
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925 935-3380 phone and fax
www.LCoastPress.com
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