Editorial.

Editorial. * The repositioning of archaeology at Edinburgh has been ofexceptional interest, not just out of sentiment for the Abercromby Chair(Antiquity 80: 778-79), but because of the current signals for thesubject's future coming from a great university. Their newProfessor of Classical Archaeology 'Classical archaeology' is a term given to archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and and Head of the Subject Area ofArchaeology is to be Jim Crow Jim CrowNegro stereotype popularized by 19th-century minstrel shows. [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 138]See : Bigotry (currently of Newcastle), to whom we offerwarmest congratulations. Jim's research interests extend from Romanfrontiers and Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall,ancient Roman wall, 73.5 mi (118.3 km) long, across the narrow part of the island of Great Britain from Wallsend on the Tyne River to Bowness at the head of Solway Firth. It was mainly built from c.A.D. to late antiquity Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. AD 300 - 600) used by historians and other scholars to describe the interval between Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally between the decline of the western Roman Empire and medievalByzantium. The new professor is an experienced practising archaeologist,and, moreover, he comes out fighting: "Contrary to the anxietiesyou raised in the last issue" he writes, "this does notconstitute the end of archaeology at Edinburgh. As part of a programmeof restructuring, Archaeology will join the large School of History andClassics which will be renamed the 'School of History, Classics,and Archaeology' from September 2007. As the School's websiteannounces, the appointment of the new Chair 'promises welcomesynergies both within the existing School (especially in Classics andMedieval History) and with our new partners in Archaeology'. Thisappointment does not replace the existing Abercromby Chair inArchaeology, but represents a substantial investment in the subject thatis a clear token of the University's determination to ensure thatthe integration of Archaeology into its new School (which is alreadyhome to several colleagues with archaeological interests) is asuccessful one". He also reminds us that when Roger Mercer Roger Mercer is a British archaeologist whose work has concentrated on the Neolithic and Bronze Age of the British Isles.Between 1970 and 1973 he led the excavations at Carn Brea in Cornwall and then went on to direct the excavations at Hambledon Hill and Grimes Graves, a was at Edinburgh (seeAntiquity 80: 987-95) Classical Archaeology and Byzantine studies werepart of the normal fare offered to archaeology students. At that timeDavid Talbot-Rice, a Byzantinist, was not only a distinguished Professorof Art History in the University, but had excavated and published on theGreat Palace in Constantinople and had written the first book onByzantine glazed pottery. "It seems surprising" he chides me,"that your editorial can only reflect on the past achievements ofprehistorians, when today, in most successful Archaeology'departments', teaching and research can range from theorigins of early man to the archaeology of the twentieth century. Bycomparison with the 'big battalions' like History andGeography, Archaeology 'departments' remain relatively small,but the subject's strength remains its interdisciplinarity and thesynergies that can be created both within, and beyond, the new'schools' and faculties of today's universities". Why does Professor Crow put the word 'departments' inquotation marks quotation marksNoun, plthe punctuation marks used to begin and end a quotation, either `` and '' or ` and 'quotation marksnpl → comillas fpl , I wonder? I can see that words like'restructuring' and 'synergy' might deserve whatmodern editors call 'scare quotes', but Archaeologydepartments have been bidding for intellectual independence since the1960s, and should have shed their inverted commas inverted commasNoun, plsame as quotation marksinverted commasnpl (BRIT) → comillas fplinverted commasnpl (Brit by now. Researchthrives on discourse, but good discourse needs independent minds. As ourreaders will know, archaeology is a study of prodigious variety. Shouldwe not protect all our subject areas?--they will live longer than wewill. Furthermore, like mathematics in science, prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to has an axialrole in the study of the past. It is primus inter pares pri��mus in��ter pa��res?n. pl. pri��mi inter paresThe first among equals.[Latin pr , it is sine quanon [Latin, Without which not.] A description of a requisite or condition that is indispensable.In the law of torts, a causal connection exists between a particular act and an injury when the injury would not have arisen but , not rudis indigestaque moles or parcus deorum cultor (1). But reading between the lines Between the lines can refer to: The subtext of a letter, fictional work, conversation or other piece of communication Between The Lines (TV series), an early 1990s BBC television programme. , there is some hope that prehistorywill soon be back at Edinburgh as an independent discipline with a newAbercromby professor at its head, dedicated, as he wished, to theantiquities and civilisation of the Countries of Europe and the NearEast from the earliest times to the period at which the written historyof each country may be said to begin. No-one can deny the merits of aninterdisciplinary study of the past, but prehistory must be anindependent partner, especially in the city in which the term wasinvented by Daniel Wilson 156 years ago (2). * In 1978 Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a university publisher that is part of the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. External linksEdinburgh University Press published Time and Traditions,the first influential book to be written by Bruce Trigger who died on 1December 2006 aged 69. To quote the McGill University website, "Hisdeath came just two months after the October release of The Archaeologyof Bruce Trigger, in which 22 scholars paid tribute to Prof.Trigger's influence on generations of archaeologists. At the launchof the book, Prof. Trigger said: 'This last year has been one ofthe happiest of my life. First of all, I've been able to spend timewith my wife and family, which is always very pleasant. In June I wasmade Professor Emeritus and now this book, The Archaeology of BruceTrigger is evidence in print of my colleagues'appreciation'." The tributes in our In Memoriam (www.antiquity.ac.uk) remind us howimportant are those long, un-chronicled, unselfish hours that the bestacademics give to their students. Junko Habu, Professor in theAnthropology Department at Berkeley, California, remembers:"Although Bruce was not my main advisor, I learned so much from himduring my PhD study at McGill from 1988 to 1996 ... I could not thankhim enough for all the things he did for me". And for MatthewJohnson, Professor of Archaeology at Southampton, "Prof. Triggerwas a collegiate academic and a very kind man. When I visited McGill asa mere research student, he took several hours of his time to talk withme and I left his office laden down with offprints; he valuedothers' opinions and always engaged with them seriously andsympathetically however profound the difference of view was. I disagreedwith many of the things he wrote and said, but always came away fromreading his work provoked into a new way of thinking about a problem anda new challenge. There can be no higher praise for an academic." * It's a great shame that Trigger could not be present on 23October 2006, when a lively crowd of students and researchers gatheredin Cambridge, UK, to hear Colin Renfrew, Michael Schiffer and EzraZubrow reconstruct and evaluate their early pioneering involvement inthe 'New Archaeology', now more commonly known as'processualism'. Robin Dennell, Rob Foley, Paul Mellars andMarek Zvelebil were discussants. The videotape and full transcript areavailable on http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/personal-histories. The event wasconceived, organised and sponsored by oral historian Pare Smith. Here isher account of this remarkable Processualists' Reunion. "Graeme Barker began with a short overview, noting theincredible transformation which occurred in archaeology in the 1960s.'If you wish to know what it felt like for those of us livingthrough it,' he remarked, 'compare the 1963 edition ofBrothwell and Higgs's Science in Archaeology to the 1969 edition.There was a fantastic revolution in methods which underpins everythingthat we do today.' Colin Renfrew experienced the American New Archaeology as anexpansive attempt to answer the questions: What is the nature ofarchaeology, what are the theoretical underpinnings of this enterprise?'We were fortunate,' he stated, 'in having thephilosopher of science, R.B. Braithwaite, whose [1953] book, ScientificExplanation remains seminal'. In the Annus Mirabilis, 1968,Binford's New Perspectives in Archaeology, and David Clarke'sAnalytical Archaeology appeared. Renfrew considered post-processualism,with its philosophical questioning, to lie 'within the [same] broadchurch. It is schismatic schis��mat��ic?adj.Of, relating to, or engaging in schism.n.One who promotes or engages in schism.schis��mat , but broad churches have their schisms'. As an undergraduate at Harvard, Ezra Zubrow saw that the 'NewArchaeology was part of a general movement. There was the new maths, newbiology, new physics. We were democratizing archaeology and science! [Ateacher] said archaeology was about probity-value but I thought thatarchaeology could be done by anybody. It could be repeated; it could bereplicable! Culture could be analysed as a system!' Mike Schiffer, Binford's student at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los AngelesUCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University)UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX in 1967, evoked thefeelings of the late 1960s: 'enrolment was vastly expanding, newuniversities were built, the democratization de��moc��ra��tize?tr.v. de��moc��ra��tized, de��moc��ra��tiz��ing, de��moc��ra��tiz��esTo make democratic.de��moc of higher educationoccurred ... the Vietnam War Vietnam War,conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. was gearing up. I started out as achemistry major but did not want to become a pawn in the war machine.Binford provided a blueprint for engagement in society. As a lecturer,he was unique. He emphasized that independent causal processes couldgive raise to variability in the archaeological record which was animportant insight'. In discussion, Robin Dennell remembered the introduction ofintensive large-scale sieving and flotation, and for Marek Zvelebil,'the methodological innovations of the 1960s were revolutionary,making explorations of the past invariably in��var��i��a��ble?adj.Not changing or subject to change; constant.in��vari��a��bil more complex ... But did itactually advance our understanding of past societies?' Paul Mellarsresponded that 1960s archaeology emphasised accessible data:'technology, subsistence, food supply, demography, settlementpatterns, environment and particularly explanation of change.' RobFoley remembered how scientists and anthropologists were in uneasyalliance, but 'from about 1965 to 1975, [they] converged and workedvery powerfully together.' The lively question period was abruptlyinterrupted by a ringing phone. Binford calling? Sadly not. It was onlythe Building Syndicate reminding us that we had forgotten about thetime!" Many thanks to Pam Smith and we look forward to more reminiscenceson the archaeology of ourselves. Readers might also note MarkLake's article 'Whither Processualism?' which will befound in the review section of the current issue. * Anthony Thwaite, whose poem on wet sieving featured in ourSeptember issue, has brought out a charming anthology of archaeologicalpoetry entitled The Ruins of Time (Eland eland(ē`lənd), large, spiral-horned African antelope, genus Taurotragus, found in brush country or open forest at the edge of grasslands. Elands live in small herds and are primarily browsers rather than grazers. , London, October 2006, price 5[pounds sterling]). As a taster, I offer one of Anthony's owncontributions, Sigma, which will appeal to anyone pottering around theirgarage after a long winter: Unable to get on with anything, Throwing out papers, fiddling with piled mess, I pull a box of sherds out, stacked up here Among the whole accumulation, less Because I want to but because it's there-- A scattering of pottery I picked up Among the Libyan middens I knew once, And rake it over, chucking out here a cup-handle, broken, and a flaking rim: And, in among it all, there's suddenly This scrap that carries a graffito--[SIGMA] A sigma, a scratched ess; and try to tell Where it once fitted--as beginning or end, As some abbreviated syllable, Or sign of ownership, or just a scribble Made on a day in 450BC By someone else who messed about like this, Unable to get on with anything, But made his mark for someone else to see. Poetic readers may also know Jim Wiseman's 'The Musewithin us' and 'Poetic Visions of the Past' whichpresented some of his favourite poems in Archaealogy magazine; and thelyrical response it provoked in the same journal, including 'Whenthey find Atlantis' and 'Shall I compare thee to a backfill back��fill?n.Material used to refill an excavated area.tr.v. back��filled, back��fill��ing, back��fillsTo refill (an excavated area) with such material. pile?' (whatever that is) (www.archaeology.org/online/features/poetry). * One of the highlights of this year's TAG (TheoreticalArchaeology Group) at Exeter (UK) was the session led by Paul Lane onhistorical archaeology in Africa. A cohort of brilliant young speakersdemonstrated that theory is active there, and we look forward tobringing some of this work to readers in future issues. Historicalarchaeologists have been at pains to show that they are driven by apost-colonial type of inquiry--one that focuses on the country receivingStaffordshire whitewares, not the one making them. All the same, in ourown research community it is also clear that the theories ofinterpretation are largely those worked up in England and North Americarather than, say, Africa or India. Is there any way of squaring thiscircle? We wish to understand the past, we wish to share itsinterpretation, we aspire to no imperialism of thinking; and yet ...even post-modern archaeology assumes that there is a hierarchy ofunderstanding (however much it might want to keep that opinion toitself). A signal curiosity was provided by Greg Bailey's film Intransit, in which a group of archaeologists from Bristol and London'excavated' an old Ford Transit van. We all have strata in ourcars, especially mine, which is a travelling material archive of oldtickets, socks, earphones, homework, sweet-wrappers, the sweetsthemselves (in an advanced state of diagenesis diagenesisSum of all processes, chiefly chemical, that produce changes in a sediment after its deposition but before its final lithification. Usually, not all the minerals in a sediment are in chemical equilibrium, so changes in interstitial water composition or in ), mud and maps. Thestratification of the Transit van was not only rich and varied, butsubjected to archaeological recording rather more detailed and rigorousthan, say, the Sutton Hoo ship burial. I was particularly impressed bythe wheel arches, which remembered, in the micro-layers adhering to theunderside, the mud of the many regions through which the van hadtravelled. * Andrew Sherratt's memory (see Antiquity 80: 762-66) is beingmarked by the establishment of a trust fund to support young researchersfrom academic institutions anywhere in the world who are working in thefield of old world prehistory. Details of the fund can be found atwww.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/andrew-sherratt.html. (1) For those not familiar with the chit-chat in a Classicsdepartment, respectively 'a rough and unordered mass' (Ovid)and 'a grudging worshipper of the gods' (Horace). (2) In his Archeology and Pre-historic Annals of Scotland(Edinburgh, 1851). Martin Carver 1 March 2007