As archaeologists turn increasingly to the analysis of large, systematic databases, we need to confront an epistemological problem: How do we identify bad data, and what can we do about it? Economic historians and others are becoming consumers of archaeological data, and they are quick to jump on new databases. They seldom ask about the quality of the data, and this can result in sophisticated analyses of bad data. But, as we all know, “Garbage in, garbage out.” I blogged about this a couple of years ago in reference to Tertius Chandler’s list of city sizes through history, from both archaeo ..read more

Here is a very short video that describes how I first got into the science of archaeology: George had a database ..read more

In a remarkably bad short paper in the current SAA Archaeological Record, Ian Hodder makes a number of statements that equate to the claim that archaeology is bullshit (Hodder 2018). “Bullshit” is a term that refers to speech intended to persuade without regard for truth. Liars care about the truth and try to hide it; bullshitters don’t care whether their speech is true or false. Harry Frankfurt (1986, 2005) published the major works on bullshit, although antecedents can be found back to Plato and Orwell (1946 (1968)); see also Cohen (2002). Hodder’s first dubious claim is that “the most impo ..read more

Some of the most vivid memories from my undergraduate days at Brandeis University are of my Friday afternoon meetings with George Cowgill. I took classes with George, he supervised my senior honors thesis on Teotihuacan, and I had a part-time job doing computer work for him. This was my first real encounter with research. I fell in love with archaeology, and I was discovering that I might be able to contribute some new knowledge to the field. At those meetings, I would go over what I had been working on with George. He was always positive and encouraging, but also critical. He would acknowled ..read more

The public has a lot of interest in archaeology, and new finds and discoveries are often in the news. Sometimes the press reports outlandish, nonsense claims, and sometimes it reports rigorous and important claims. Many archaeologists ignore such press coverage (good and bad), and many of us engage with it. If there are elements of the press that distort archaeology, we may or may not want to deal with this. I often ask myself if it is worth the time and effort to try to correct some misleading claim going around social media and the internet. In a very real sense, this kind of thing can be v ..read more

New Tikal LiDAR map I am skeptical about the hype surrounding the recent press release from the National Geographic Society about the new findings of LiDAR survey in the Maya region of northern Guatemala. I have no reason to question the quality of the LiDAR survey, or its potentialusefulness for understanding aspects of ancient Maya society in this region. Rather, I question two aspects of the way these new findings have been portrayed, both in the NGS press release and in the journalism that has resulted from the find. (1) This is portrayed as revealing brand-new ideas, when in fac ..read more

Esther Pasztory I just read a strange and inflammatory paper by Esther Pasztory in the Mexican journal, Anales de Antropología (Pasztory 2017). Pasztory, a senior art historian and Teotihuacan scholar, raises questions about the scholarship and perhaps the ethics of two other top Teotihuacan scholars, René Millon (deceased) and George Cowgill. I have three main questions about this paper: 1. Did Millon really steal her ideas?  (the answer is, no). 2. Did Cowgill refuse to give her sufficient credit for her insights?  (the answer is, no). 3. Why would a reputable jou ..read more

What is the value of archaeology for individuals, institutions, and disciplines beyond archaeology itself? This is the topic of a recent article in The SAA Archaeological Record (Minnis et al. 2017), based on a workshop held at the Amerind Foundation in May 2017. If you have followed this blog at all, you will know this is a topic I am very concerned with. The blog has 43 entries for the keyword "Archaeology and other disciplines", and 17 entries for "Archaeology and the public." I've published a number of papers on this topic, including one I had forgotten about until tonight (see bibliograph ..read more

I saw a tweet a week or two ago about the upcoming TAG ("Theoretical Archaeology Group") conference. I made an offhand negative comment, which set off a series of negative tweets about me.  "Wow, not a single session I'd want to attend! Am I just out of it, or is "theoretical archaeology" out of it??? I tried to engage with my critics, but it just led to accusations that I am a troll and a bully. Finally I tweeted "I give up." So, I thought I would put down some of the reasons I dislike TAG, and some comments on social media. Social media first.  Here are a few things I dislike ..read more

I started this blog ten years ago with a quote from my father-in-law, James E. Heath: "If it's not published, it's not science." That seemed a good entry into issues of publishing in archaeology, a way to promote my own scientific perspective on archaeology. Dad Heath died this week, so I want to look at aspects of his career and life that have been influential in my own development as a scholar and scientist. James E. Heath My wife Cindy can be very traditional about things. When I asked her to marry me, her answer was a tentative yes. I had to ask her father for his blessing. I was ..read more