Recently there was a symposium at the Univ. of SC in honor of the 25th
anniversary of Peter Wood's Black Majority. Speakers included Charles Joyner,
Ira Berlin, Ted Rosengarden, Phillip Morgan, Daniel Littlefield, Peter Wood,
Gary Nash, Leland Ferguson and others--all eminent scholars of SC history and
slavery in general.

They all went out of their way to point out the potential of archaeology for
illuminating their work. They see it as the last frontier of data. They
mentioned Leland Ferguson's work over and over. Ted Rosengarden actually
borrowed  Martha Zierden's slides and data from Willtown and gave an
archaeology talk!

So at least in the field of slavery and African American history material
culture data is, apparently, appreciated. Perhaps one reason that historians
don't accept archaeological works is that they have their own fish to fry.
The ones who actually read what we are doing and care about the subjects we
discuss, appreciate it, I think, as the recent symposium at USC showed. But
again, I, for one,  am no more interested in, say, the English Civil War than
the person who spent their life writing the encyclopedic history of the
period would be in the daily lives of 19th century potters in Edgefield
County SC. I might read a little, and look at the pictures, but spend a
hundred dollars on the book? I don't think so. I have other books to buy and
read.

So we probably shouldn't whine about "historians" not appreciating us. Some
do, some don't. When we hit on something they can use many are interested.
And we should remember too that being a historian does not make a person
necessarily intelligent or open minded. The willfully ignorant will remain so
regardless of their discipline and all efforts to the contrary. As always, it
is their loss.

Speaking of relevance, several recent Historical Archaeology issues have hit
my shelves all but unread. Am I becoming a Historian too? Or are many of the
subjects that fascinate some of us so esoteric as to be irrelevant outside of
our tiny community? Again, this may contribute to the frustrations some
people express. Don't expect mass acclaim unless your work has mass appeal.

Carl Steen
humble proponent of interdisciplinary studies