Um, Richard, are you really thinking about what  you are saying?  Bottle 
hunters rip through archaeological features with total abandon, tossing  aside 
broken artifacts as if they were stones or cow poop. All the bottle  excavation 
sites I have observed resembled bomb craters from combat zones. Most  of us 
signed codes of ethics against collaboration with people who loot  historical 
archaeology sites. And while collectors can be valuable sources of  information, 
we cannot allow the lure of oral history override our professional  need for 
preservation of historic contexts. Working with bottle collectors  before they 
assault a site is preferable. But even better would be to work them  into an 
archaeology lab, where their knowledge can contribute greatly to  
interpretation. I know of at least one good archaeologist in San Diego who  converted a 
bottle looter and made him a fairly good archaeologist. But really,  we need to 
keep this in perspective, because once gone the features cannot be  replaced.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
 
 
In a message dated 9/29/2008 4:10:08 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

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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