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Fri, 19 Jan 2001 13:16:28 -0500 |
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Just to stick another fly in the ointment, re James Brothers's
comments on plantation archaeology: back in the early 1980s, when my
former student Mac Goodwin proposed looking at plantations
(particularly sugar plantations) as industrial sites and as
industrial feature systems, he was nearly hooted out of the room by
the people doing Big House archaeology (not many were even doing
slave quarter sites at that time). I think Mac's dissertation in the
end showed the need for such an approach to the interpretation of
plantations--to incorporate the workplace study with the study of the
home lives of all the occupants of the plantation. But, sad to say,
he's never published that dissertation!
It strikes me as another instance of having to juggle parts and
wholes, of the need and desire for multiscalar approaches coming
face-to-face with the realities of funding and sheer practicality.
I'd love to see Mr. Brothers's vision realized in all our projects,
and I'd love not to have to wince so painfully when I read his query,
"where's the analysis?"
--
Mary C Beaudry
Associate Professor
Department of Archaeology
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215 USA
tel. 617-358-1650
fax 617-353-6800
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