20th October 2006, 11:07 AM
Ooh, this is interesting...
I'm with 1man on this in so far as the question needs clarification and definitions.
Personally though, despite the fact that I see archaeology as an extremely important part of modern life, I do not believe it to be essential and I believe that a large majority of the public would agree. It is not essential in the way that having clean water, having bins emptied, keeping streets clean and dog poo free, having clean hosptitals with doctors and nurses to work in them etc etc are (and even these 'essential' things do not exist in many palces in the world).
However, as Kelly said the knowledge of archaeology is vital to link past present and future. It seems to me that there is a gap between the importance that archaeologists place on archaeology (obviously) and how the public sees it. So somehow we have to bridge this gap so that archaeology is seen to play an important role in modern life.
I am currently researching the importance of archaeology and landscapes in the cognitive development of primary school aged children - so ask me the question again in 5 years time and I may have a different answer!
I'm with 1man on this in so far as the question needs clarification and definitions.
Personally though, despite the fact that I see archaeology as an extremely important part of modern life, I do not believe it to be essential and I believe that a large majority of the public would agree. It is not essential in the way that having clean water, having bins emptied, keeping streets clean and dog poo free, having clean hosptitals with doctors and nurses to work in them etc etc are (and even these 'essential' things do not exist in many palces in the world).
However, as Kelly said the knowledge of archaeology is vital to link past present and future. It seems to me that there is a gap between the importance that archaeologists place on archaeology (obviously) and how the public sees it. So somehow we have to bridge this gap so that archaeology is seen to play an important role in modern life.
I am currently researching the importance of archaeology and landscapes in the cognitive development of primary school aged children - so ask me the question again in 5 years time and I may have a different answer!