I did my MA in Historical Archaeology of the Modern World (1492-present)...in 
England.  Stop bashing Americans.  Can we drop this now please??  It's becoming 
offensive on a personal level.




________________________________
From: geoff carver <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, December 14, 2010 1:35:35 PM
Subject: Re: Pompeii skeletons reveal secrets of Roman family life

Are you now going to decide who is or who is not an historical
archaeologist? Here in Germany I'm told I'm not an archaeologist because my
training did not include Latin. I tell many of my colleagues they're not
archaeologists because they can't use a theodolite, write a soil description
or draw a Harris Matrix. I'm an historical archaeologist when I work in
urban contexts, which can and do date from WW2 to Roman cellars, all within
a single site. Am I supposed to excavate part of the site to some random
cut-off date of 1492 that has absolutely no relevance here, then give the
excavation over to someone else to do the earlier bits?
The definition you put over is an American definition. Period. Sorry. Here
there is no qualitative change after 1400. If "The Modern Period is set off
qualitatively from the rest of human history and prehistory," what is the
defining factor? Moveable type? The Protestant Reformation? The Viking
voyages to the New World? Marco Polo? Columbus?

-----Original Message-----

The definition I put forth is not an "American" 
definition. It is a definition based on cultural evolution which is 
global. Post-Medieval Archaeology is an integral part of our 
specialization, for example, but Etruscan archaeology is not.