Ned- You should post this to ARCA-L so we can see what the architectural historians have to say for themselves. Good architectural historians, in my experience, do ask the sort of questions you suggest should be asked. However, they are often scoped to fill out forms, and just fill out forms! Regards from someone who sometimes wears an arcitectural historian hat, John John P. McCarthy, RPA Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. 9001 Edmonston Road Greenbelt, MD 20770 301-220-1876 voc 410-446-5569 cell ------Original Message------ From: Ned Heite <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: June 28, 2000 1:19:09 PM GMT Subject: our scope Mike Polk wrote: > <snips happen> I >have always been a generalist and am attracted to the field of archaeology >and historical archaeology, in particular, because of its eclectic nature and >the fact that virtually anything and everything in this world has the >potential, in some way, to contribute to our attempt to better understand >history and human behavior. Mike is correct. While an architectural historian can describe a building, a mere architectural evaluation is a hollow vessel. The insights of archaeology can bring a building to life, even if it is still occupied. That's the standing part of the building, not just the back yard. Archaeological methods can, and should, be used to understand standing and occupied structures, especially places where historically important industrial processes are taking place. I grow tired of reading evaluations by architectural historians who haven't a clue about a building's real history or significance. A state transportation department commissioned a bridge survey by an architectural historian who never seemed to understand the function of bridges, or their place in the history of society. In most cases, the reader of this report will not get a clue as to why the bridge was built, why it was elaborated in a particular way, or why it was located in a particular spot. Any archaeologist worth his salt would have asked such questions, while they are not on the radar screen when an architectural historian tries to do the job. Ned Heite ([log in to unmask]) ******************************* For the ultimate time, I am not a tightwad!!! Maybe expenditure challenged, but not tight!!!!!! ******************************* ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup