Linda brings up a very good and important point.  My understanding of it is
that most historical archaeologists, at least, use stratigraphic
excavation. Although Nels Nelson was among the first American
Archaeologists to use stratigraphic (as opposed to arbitrary) level
excavation, I have the impression that it did not really catch on among
prehistorians--particularly those working in areas where the soil changes
*are* particularly hard to see. Willey and Sabloff suggest that sites in
"eastern North America" are of this ilk, so perhaps the local schools of
archaeology in your area opted out of the stratigraphic revolution...
Mary Ellin D'Agostino
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At 04:19 PM 6/10/98 -0500, Linda Derry wrote:
 
>I've been puzzled over a similar issue here in the Southeastern U.S.
>Recently, I sponsored a skills workshop in urban archaeology in Alabama.  We
>had several speakers.  Every skill presented was appreciated with great
>enthusiasm, except one.  We had  Edward Harris  (himself) come and teach us
>about using the "Harris Matrix."  My thought was that this was a useful
>vehicle to help record and understand the complex stratigraphy  we find in
>urban settings.  Unfortunately, most  of the archaeologists
>present seemed unconvinced.  The primary problem appeared not to be his
>presentation, but the fact that most of them opened up sites in arbitrary
>levels.   Since then, I began to realize that I had grown up
>(archaeologically speaking) in  a very different tradition than my
>colleagues.  This horrified me.  We had been talking apples and oranges all
>along .  My
>reality about what lays beneath the soil is completely different than
>theirs.  Suddenly, I was being ridiculed for seeing soil layers that in
>their minds were impossible to see - except in profile.    And, I sincerely
>believed as Dr. Harris so bluntly put it that day that  "if you can't see
>the layers
>as you dig them, you shouldn't be excavating, then should you? "  (got to
>love him!)
>
>So, my question is, what's going on here?   How, widespread is this
>alternative point of view in the U.S.    Dig first, figure it out later in
>the profile.   (I was taught that this was something we Americans
>outgrew).  Or have I led a sheltered life and I'm actually holding the
>alternative view?  ( hey, even the sane person  can begin to question his
>saneness when living in a mental ward.)
>
>Anyway, I'm concerned that regionalization of archaeologists - or
>"inbreeding" between pairs of graduate schools - has created some VERY
>different  excavation approaches  - and the differences are not related to
>research designs but to very different basic understandings  about the very
>nature of the resource.   But we are all pretending the differences don't
>exist.  Anybody have a comment on this.?
>
>Finally,  Let me add that I am very sincere in this posting, so please don't
>abuse me too badly.
>
>
>Linda Derry ([log in to unmask])
>Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
>Alabama Historical Commission
>
>
********************************
*  Mary Ellin D'Agostino       *
*  [log in to unmask]   *
*  Department of Anthropology  *
*  University of California    *
*  Berkeley, CA 94720-3710     *
********************************