In response to Dan Mouer's comments on government archaeologists: I think we all have "little time" for such sweeping statements that condemn people in a category of employment. Is there any one who doesn't know an academic archaeologist who has coasted for years on the lectures he/she prepared in their youth? Or a contractor who has allowed commercial interests to over-ride heritage concerns? That does not mean that all people in those areas are without merit. Likewise, there are numerous archaeologists in federal, state and provincial offices in US and Canada who do innovative and exciting work, and who actively promote the development of archaeology within their jurisdiction. Bashing the civil service is something that should be left for simplistic journalists (oops, I feel a sweeping statement creeping in). Rob Ferguson Project Archaeologist, Parks Canada