Archaeologist or looter?

[AntiqueMeds]

so the post question was Archeologist or Looter.

Archeology is basically the study of earlier cultures by examining physical artifacts of the cultures.

If you research the proprietors or contents of your bottles , then you are an archeologist.
If you write articles, blog , or make a web page describing your finds , then you are an archeologist.
If you discuss early methods used to make bottles, then you are an archeologist.
If you learn to interpret insurance maps to locate privies, then you are an archeologist.
If you educate a home owner about the history of their property and items found on it, then you are an archeologist.
If you ponder why someone threw their false teeth in the privy, then you are an archeologist.

Don't be too hard on archeologists, you might be one.

 

[cowseatmaize]

so the post question was Archeologist or Looter.

Great point that's being missed.
It kinda belongs on any of the number of threads about the topic.
Maybe this should be changed to "Steamship Arabia question?"

 

[ScottBSA]

Thanks for the terrific input here. I feel that I am an uncredentialed, research archaeologist. Before I retired from teaching I looked heavily into getting a master's degree in history from one of the three large universities near Kansas City. All of them required undergraduate degrees or at least a minor in history before one could even apply, and two of the colleges capped their enrollment at like 20 per year. With the advent of internet learning, I am sure someone out there wants my money and will exchange cash for college credits. I know a lot of us have intimate knowledge of a bottler, brewer, town, pharmacy, quack medicine company or what have you that would be worthy of a master's thesis.

Thanks again for the input and come to KC to see the Steamboat Arabia.

Scott

 

[Potlidboy]

ScottBSA.......Good luck on your foray...I'm sure you will bring integrity to your chosen path.[]

 

[reach44]

ORIGINAL: AntiqueMeds

so the post question was Archeologist or Looter.

Archeology is basically the study of earlier cultures by examining physical artifacts of the cultures.

If you research the proprietors or contents of your bottles , then you are an archeologist.
If you write articles, blog , or make a web page describing your finds , then you are an archeologist.
If you discuss early methods used to make bottles, then you are an archeologist.
If you learn to interpret insurance maps to locate privies, then you are an archeologist.
If you educate a home owner about the history of their property and items found on it, then you are an archeologist.
If you ponder why someone threw their false teeth in the privy, then you are an archeologist.

Don't be too hard on archeologists, you might be one.

You forgot part of the definition.
"If you are very handsome"

I meet all of these requirements. I guess I'm an archaeologist!! [sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif] []

 

[mctaggart67]

I have mixed feelings about the state of the archaeology business up here in Canada (and it is a business with a vested financial interest in preserving potential dig sites, in order to get government grants to undertake digs). I read many Canadian archaeology journals and am struck by two things: 1) there is some very good professional work being done to locate, preserve and understand our material history, and 2) many in the archaeological sector truly do not like what we bottle collectors do with respect to digging and selling. I'll pass over the irony in their condemnation of us for making money selling artifacts, despite their own financial interests in connection with the same artifacts.

What I do find irritating is their frequent dismissal of us bottle collectors as not having anything useful to impart toward the ends of locating, preserving and understanding our material history. Such rebukes verge on the childish. No matter that, ultimately archaeologists up here in Canada are staking out their territory by asserting their academic qualifications and professional credentials over our supposed lack of the same. One can read this as a tyranny of self-created privilege which runs like this: 1) we archaeologist believe that only the fully qualified and credentialed are capable of effectively dealing with material history, 2) we archaeologists are the only ones so qualified and credentialed, 3) therefore, only we archaeologists should be entitled to dig, research and assess, and 4) we archaeologists will make sure the law and our literature/publications reflect our viewpoint.

Essentially, they've created an ivory tower into which only their own are admitted. And like all ivory-tower dwellers, they look down upon the rest of us and self-servingly ignore what we plebeian amateurs have to offer. So much for building bridges among people! So much for employing such bridges as a means to attain greater understanding!

I've found this dismissiveness personally frustrating and consider it counterproductive to the very goals archaeologists claim as their professional purpose. An anecdote explains this. A few years ago, a local archaeological firm secured a government contract (grant $$$) to excavate in Calgary, Alberta's "East Village," a derelict part of town that was once the first permanently settled part of Calgary and which is now being redeveloped. The firm hit the proverbial jack-pot of early artifacts, including some great early local bottles, which I could see in the firm's workroom through a window. The firm's office happened to be in the same building as my wife's former place of work, so I routinely peeked through the window to gawk at the finds which were being catalogued. I asked if I could look at the bottles and share my research findings. I was met with, "Sorry, but that's just not possible" and so on. I explained that I have an MA in history and had undertaken intensive research into the people/companies behind many of the bottles they were cataloguing. Their reaction was pretty much the same, except now they emphasized that their primary job was to catalogue the bottles, pack them securely into coded bankers' boxes, and then ship them for permanent storage (yes, you read that correctly) in a warehouse facility in the provincial capital, Edmonton. What a great lose-lose situation! They didn't get any valuable historical info and I didn't get to see the bottles up close, even though the bottles were being saved on my behalf as a citizen of Alberta (in Canada, heritage protection/preservation is a provincial responsibility of law).

Now, I sound bitter, but I'm not. I just get on with enjoying my bottles and researching the history behind them and sharing the results with whomever wants to know what I learn, whether those people are high schoolers sitting in my classroom, fellow bottle collectors, or, yes, even archaeologists who want to venture beyond their ivory tower.

Anyhow, I say dig away, research away, tumble away, sell away, trade away, buy away, but above all, enjoy away. Looters? Sticks and stones, my friends!

 

[sandchip]

ORIGINAL: AntiqueMeds

so the post question was Archeologist or Looter.

Archeology is basically the study of earlier cultures by examining physical artifacts of the cultures.

If you research the proprietors or contents of your bottles , then you are an archeologist.
If you write articles, blog , or make a web page describing your finds , then you are an archeologist.
If you discuss early methods used to make bottles, then you are an archeologist.
If you learn to interpret insurance maps to locate privies, then you are an archeologist.
If you educate a home owner about the history of their property and items found on it, then you are an archeologist.
If you ponder why someone threw their false teeth in the privy, then you are an archeologist.

Don't be too hard on archeologists, you might be one.

Don't lump us amateur archaeologists in with the professionals. There's a world of difference, primarily being that when the money runs out on excavating a site, so do they, whereas we will continue digging to the very end. That being said, there's also a huge difference between amateur archaeologists and looters. Unfortunately, like the proverbial bad apple, the looters, whose motive is usually the same as metal thieves, give us all a bad name, because the media chooses to place us all in the same category, hence, restrictive laws passed by uninformed do-gooders in high places.

And no, not all professional archaeologists are bad. There are still a few, very few, who are still collector-friendly, who realize there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained by an alliance with us.

 

[justanolddigger]

And no, not all professional archaeologists are bad. There are still a few, very few, who are still collector-friendly, who realize there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained by an alliance with u

Well said, there is good & bad everywhere. My digging budding Tony & I just did a privy dig in a small Michigan town for their annual home tour. People buy tickets & get to go through houses, we pick a house & dig a privy while the tour is going on. Usually have about 300 people stop by & see what we are doing. Last year, the village was questioned about keeping records, so they hooked up with an archeological student who came & took notes about every pit we dug. She noted location, age, and all of the artifacts. Found the usual stuff, bottles, dishes, doll parts, lamp parts, she logged it all. It went very well, she accepted us & we accepted her. She even got to get dirty & dig a little and had a ball. I have no problem with them, as long as they have no problem with us, but the majority of archeologists do have a problem with us. I think we got along with her because she loved what she was doing as much as we loved digging.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

I thought about going into the archeology field as a young man. I decided rather to pick a profession that paid well and enjoy archeology as an amateur. No regrets yet.

 

[cacarpetbagger]

Looter? I have been called worse. The Arabia museum is a amazing and a tribute to what "amateurs " can contribute to preserving history.