Robin:
        Thanks for the response!  I figured everyone was away on vacation or
chipping ice off their excavations.
        I've always said that the trick to learning something is not knowing what
to do, but knowing what -not- to do, and this is very much like negative
evidence.  This is one of the things that frustrates me about archaeology
and most people I've worked with don't have a clue how to deal with
negative evidence.  Once the researcher realizes it exists then whole new
doors are opened and so much more can be observed (if it is not recognized
then we just get the nail and window glass counts that plague CRM reports).
        I have long been fascinated by the deterioration of old structures and
have taken limited looks at what is left of a house after it burns
(fortunately my local fire dept likes to burn down old houses -
unfortunately they are usually the oldest and most interesting ones they
can find).  I would love to be able to put this info together some day so
that other people could see the value in such realizations.
        I'll put out a search for the Cameron and Tomka book you recommend, and
perhaps the Mills diss.  I think I'll get some responses (the ones I have
so far think that the question was fantastic).  I have it out on ARCH-L and
HISTARCH as well as DESIGN-L which is full of people who love to watch
houses "de-construct"  I hope to get more responses when things return to
normal - if not I'll re-post.
        If you could also point me in the right direction to find the nails stuff
by Amy Young, I would very much appreciate that, also.
 
        Thanks, and a happy holidays to you!
 
        Dan W.
 
   ________________________________________________
                                       Don't forget to check out
DAN WEISKOTTEN'S HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY HOME PAGE at:
                  http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/weiskotten.html
 
 
      Since I'm STILL desperate for work in the Richmond/Penninsula area,
 take a look at my resume at http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/resume.html
 or my more detailed CV at http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/dansvita.html
 
                     also note that I have a new e-mail address:
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