On Jul 23, 2009, at 2:26 PM, Anna Lunn wrote:

> ..... We can't escape the fact that (much of) the American public does
> not understand what we do, why we do it, or what it means to them.
I most definitely do not feel that this is true. I have done digs with  
2000 people a day watching as we labored in the hot July and August  
sun with wonderful print and TV coverage and masses of volunteers and  
well-wishers. Virtually each day press releases and interviews were  
done that explained in soundbites what we'd found that day and what it  
meant. We circulated sign-up sheets asking if what they saw was a good  
thing and would they like to see more and the only folks who didn't  
sign were a bunch of rag-tag bottle hunters who attempted to rob the  
site while we were digging it. Needless to say, they were booted off  
unceremoniously. I've also done digs and surveys in the middle of the  
proverbial nowhere and had folks in full support of what we were  
doing, once it was explained. The common thread was that what we were  
doing was felt to be worthwhile.

Very occasionally there will be pothunting types who will trot out the  
usual litany of archaeologists as elitists who collect stuff and put  
it in museums where it is never seen again. The successful riposte is  
what Iain Banks had in a previous post.

> The way
> to change this is through education and better public outreach, but  
> who has
> the budget and time to take on such a daunting task?

The short answer is that all of us in the profession are the ones who  
do that one person at a time. That is a skill that should be obviously  
as an elephant sitting in a teacup but seems to have been missed by  
some. If one treats people well and explains what one is doing, the  
support is practically inbuilt. There will of course be people who  
cannot be reached and one needs to recognize that and let it be.

Lyle Browning, RPA