I'm saddened to hear of Bill Rathje's passing.  His "Rubbish! The Archaeology of Landfills" is one of the better-written crossover books in archaeology (works with both a scholarly and public appeal), and it remains a great introductory text.  It not only shows students that archaeology is fun, but is also an excellent, direct counter to their assumption that archaeology is pyramids, mummies (the landfill hotdogs notwithstanding!) and Indiana Jones.  I was privileged to hear Bill Rathje speak at Illinois State University, going on 20 years ago, and he was a fascinating speaker.  He was one of the greats.

D. Babson.


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Doug Wilson
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 3:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bill Rathje

Mentors are important.  One of my mentors, one who had a profound influence
on my life was Bill Rathje, who passed away May 24th in Tucson.  Bill had a
significant effect on the field of archaeology, stretching the boundaries
of what archaeologists do and the questions they address.  After a
successful career as a Mayanist, he developed the field of modern material
culture studies in archaeology.  The University of Arizona has a nice
summary of Bill’s accomplishments http://uanews.org/node/47560.  To me,
however, Bill was an energetic mentor.  He was a perfectionist that threw
himself fully into his projects.  This was of tremendous value to me as one
of his graduate students.  I remember a particularly excruciating 6-month
period when I drafted a proposal to the National Science Foundation to
explore household hazardous wastes.  I would present Bill with my best
graduate student writing, trying to address the somewhat mysterious (to me)
proposal requirements of the NSF’s Environmental and Water Quality
Engineering directorate, and Bill would quickly return it to me covered in
red ink.  After a few iterations of this, I would think I was getting
better because there was less red ink, but then the next draft would
“bleed” as much or more than the first.  While frustrating, this process
was exceptionally useful to me and ultimately paid off in a funded grant.
It led to more funding from the Bay Area of Governments and the
Environmental Protection Agency, among others.  Working with Bill on grants
immensely helped my writing, but also taught me how important the grants
process was to scholarship.  Working through reports and articles with Bill
showed me how attention to detail and clear and effective writing was a
critical skill in archaeology, one that has served me well in CRM, the
National Park Service, and in mentoring my own students at Portland State
University.
Bill was also acutely aware of the media and the good that positive media
had on developing an understanding of what scientists really do.  Bill was
a master in front of a television camera.  He taught me how to develop and
present the “sound bites” that would forward one’s research objectives
while countering the bizarre twists that reporters sometimes develop,
particularly acute when anthropology students are doing such nontraditional
things as poking through modern garbage or drilling holes in landfills.


Bill could be very persuasive in front of a lecture hall, or in a
boardroom.  He had no problem expressing why garbology was a valid science
and how archaeology could contribute to the modern world.  He was a
charmer, and could tell incredibly funny jokes and stories.  He loved to
talk and socialize.  While he was by no means a perfect man, his strengths
outweighed his weaknesses.  In sum, Bill had a surprising influence on me.
While I have had other mentors in my life, there was no one quite like Bill
Rathje. RIP Bill!


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Douglas C. Wilson, Ph.D., Director
Northwest Cultural Resources Institute
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
612 East Reserve Street
Vancouver, Washington 98661
Phone: (360) 816-6251
Cell: (360) 921-5241
Fax:  (360) 816-6363