It would be nice to see an Archaeologist work with a privy digger some
time....Video tape the event and broadcast it on the Discovery Channel.
That way the privy digger can learn first hand on how he destroys a
resource and at the same time learn how not to destroy it by following
proper excavation method...just a thought!

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Regina George
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 3:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: privy digger interpretive website

I agree entirely with Ryan Gray.  It's not so much the loss of valuable
whole bottles that we as archaeologists get angry about, it's the loss
of context for the entire feature.  Each time a privy digger goes to
work, another snapshot of someone's life is lost.

I think an educational website would be an excellent idea.  The ASC has
produced interpretive websites for several of our historical archaeology
excavations, and we have found that it's a great way to reach the
public.

I'd be willing to put together a grant application to fund the
development and production of such a site, and I'll also volunteer to be
involved in the process if someone else wants to take this on as a
cooperative project.

Any takers???

Regina George
Education Outreach Coordinator
Anthropological Studies Center
Sonoma State University
(707) 664-23
http://www.sonoma.edu/asc/



> You know, the Net is rife with the 'privy digger' web sites. Many of
> them have extensive how-to sections, which range considerably in terms

> of safety, ethics, and destructiveness. The most objectionable thing
> to me is that so many adopt the term 'urban archaeologists', which
> makes our lives as archaeologists more difficult. While it's
> technically legal and while our privydigger Eddie may have a nice
> website, and while he may be enthusiastic about history and a nice guy

> to boot, this does not mean we should legitimize it. Privy diggers
> like this take out all material at the same time, pick and choose what

> they want, and toss the rest. Information on faunal and floral
> remains, actual MNIs, stratigraphy, etc, gone. Forever.
>
> I think a hundred years from now, historical archaeologists will look
> back at our attitudes about this much like we look back at amateur
> archaeologists from a hundred years ago who excavated burial mounds
> with dynamite: why didn't professional archaeologists try to do more
> to protect sites? Why didn't they try to reach the public more to
> explain the difference between archaeology and treasure hunting? Why
> didn't they realize that these resources will be gone with no record
> for the future?
>
> So, anyone out there interested in putting together an urban
> archaeology web site aimed


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