Bob Schuyler wrote
 
>Where you are, by the way, is a good place to
>study historical archaeology.
 
I know he means VCU, in reply to the question from the freshman who hadn't
met Dr. Mouer yet (and imagine what a thrill that will be!), but it strikes
me that maybe that applies generally as well...
 
Also, since I'm feeling the need to de-lurk for a moment, I want to
contribute to the science-humanist thread with a quick story of personal
enlightenment.  The most liberating statement any teacher ever made to me was
that I didn't have to be a scientist in order to be an archaeologist.  This
was in my first year or two of grad school, after a steady undergrad diet of
the New Archaeology's positivism and the general lot of Binfordian excess,
and it was like being plunged into cold water on a hot day.  This did not
mean I didn't have to be rigorous and thorough and careful and able to
construct solid arguments, but it did mean I didn't have to figure out a
grand new hypothesis-laden research design for every can scatter I might
stumble across.  The same guy who told me this also said we should all strive
to create a more scientific humanism and a more humanistic science.
 
Thats enough for the first day of spring
 
                 Larry McKee