Actually, several members of the New Mexico Historical Bottle Club do not fit the typical stereotype. Two are Ph.D. holders, and one is such a good researcher that he and I have co-authored a book on a Coca-Cola bottling company that had branches in both Arizona and New Mexico. One club member has done serious bottle identification/research for archaeologists in Northern New Mexico. Many of them are very knowledgeable about bottles and history. They are also good, law-abiding citizens.
While I am trying to bring knowledge about collectors to archaeologists, I also spend quite a bit of time trying to explain why WE do what we do. Most collectors do not understand what we are about any more than most of us understand collectors. Much of the literature that we use was written either by or for collectors (the Toulouse book, for example was written for his many collector friends).
Bill
>>> Rich Lundin <[log in to unmask]> 9/29/2008 3:57 pm >>>
Bill:
That is absolutely ridiculous. Such legalistic, IRB academic garbage will
lose the trust of valuable informants. When I did my thesis work with the
last decendents of a VERY EPHEMERAL 1880's gold processing site, I was told
flatly that they would not sign an IRB consent form BUT would talk with me
informally. I took that opportunity and was glad that I did as they were
last living memories of Seymour Arizona and died the next year. I have
found in my contacts with bottle hunters that they are VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE of
bottle types, history and dates. My experience is that, if asked, they are
willing and careful participants in professional\avocational historic site
investigations along with metal detectorists, whom I have used on several
occasions for Class I archaeogeophysical surveys-their work is invaluable in
determining which archaeogeophysical and archaeochemical methods to use on a
particular site.
Keep up your contacts with these people and you will both benefit. Claudia
and I will gladly join you and your bottle seeking groups and convert them
into avocational archaeologists with local archaeological societies such as
the AAS-that is where the REAL FUN is and the pot lucks on
professional\avocational digs are GREAT!
Sincerely,
Richard J. Lundin BA, MA, RPA, ISAP
Consulting Historical Archaeologist & Remote Sensing Specialist
(Archaeogeophysics)
Director, Wondjina Research Institute
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lockhart, Bill" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 1:56 PM
Subject: More about bottle digging
> Hi All,
>
> I received the following in response to my informal observation of the New
> Mexico bottle dig:
>
> I really wonder what New Mexico State University's Institutional Review
> Board (IRB) would think of your impromptu reporting/faux ethnography
> exercise? Did you disclose your intentions to these folks? Did you get
> informed consent from them? Your university should take appropriate
> remedial action if you did not.
>
> My reply was:
>
> Of course, I informed everyone present about exactly what I was doing and
> why I was asking questions. They agree with me that it would be very
> helpful if archaeologists knew what collectors were doing and thinking and
> vice versa.
>
> Everything was also done in a public setting. Observations of public
> settings is open to any interpretation, anyway.
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
> Bill Lockhart
> Associate Professor of Sociology
> New Mexico State University
> Alamogordo, NM
> (575) 439-3732
>
>
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