I would have liked to have shown support at the meeting, but could not make it.
Good work Everybody - keep it up!
I think the public is actually fairly open to the concept of archaeology and local history. Indeed I take the ability to enthuse people about heritage (The Big Concept) as fundamental to calling myself an archaeologist.
If we are failing to connect then i lay some blame at the feet of business managers, Yupies and Commercial Recruitment, and mourn the diminishing of free thinking, fringe and alternative outlooks........
What the Public do not know is how the process works and how changes to planning polices and funding Cut...what actually happens, how much it costs...and all too often what the consequences and results are (expecting active participants in archaeological societies and so on). We must persuade Them to support Us in pressuring Our 'Professional' Bodies to ultimately take firm stances at governmental levels.
And of course, to protect their own Local Heritage when it is under threat, with more direct means and actions.
In this regard INFORMATION must be our weapon - and here Commercial Operations may cause problems...I might want to argue that my local unit is damaging a site purely because they are massively under budgeted - but how to get that information, how to vet it and where to put it?
I think we are going to need some kind of semi-formal information sharing - and this might be somewhat subversive from some perspectives...So What?Bite Me......we can certainly step up the 'info war' here.
And - We must persuade the public that they benefit from Our Expertise, not just the archaeology itself...
To quote a Legend "your past is my past"
We are not Temporal Waste Contamination Removers...We are real intermediaries to the ancestors, and I personally consider some aspects truly shamanistic, part of a line of physical connection to the deep past. At our best, this is what we can be...and only a fool could not see the inherent power therein.
We must also remember deep and enduring Truths, about Time, our Ancestors and what we are now....
We must individually Meditate, Deeply and Sincerely, upon these fundamentals, before we can purport our selves to society and the public with anything approaching credibility.
We must look at the world as it was, as it could be - and as it is NOW. The Pain and Joy of the World must be reconciled within our own lives - failure to do so prevents authentic action in any sphere of life.
Archaeology may not be the most pressing concern in our lives, or for society. Failure to accept that will only result in Archaeologists who are skewed from Reality - inauthentic and unable to connect with the social wave.
Heritage, Connection and Belonging are deep Spiritual topics - our species is hard-wired to seek and respond to these cues - we react emotionally and bodily to them - this is the passion that has driven archaeologists
There is no slogan or campaign message here - but something more important...
Good work Everybody - keep it up!
I think the public is actually fairly open to the concept of archaeology and local history. Indeed I take the ability to enthuse people about heritage (The Big Concept) as fundamental to calling myself an archaeologist.
If we are failing to connect then i lay some blame at the feet of business managers, Yupies and Commercial Recruitment, and mourn the diminishing of free thinking, fringe and alternative outlooks........
What the Public do not know is how the process works and how changes to planning polices and funding Cut...what actually happens, how much it costs...and all too often what the consequences and results are (expecting active participants in archaeological societies and so on). We must persuade Them to support Us in pressuring Our 'Professional' Bodies to ultimately take firm stances at governmental levels.
And of course, to protect their own Local Heritage when it is under threat, with more direct means and actions.
In this regard INFORMATION must be our weapon - and here Commercial Operations may cause problems...I might want to argue that my local unit is damaging a site purely because they are massively under budgeted - but how to get that information, how to vet it and where to put it?
I think we are going to need some kind of semi-formal information sharing - and this might be somewhat subversive from some perspectives...So What?Bite Me......we can certainly step up the 'info war' here.
And - We must persuade the public that they benefit from Our Expertise, not just the archaeology itself...
To quote a Legend "your past is my past"
We are not Temporal Waste Contamination Removers...We are real intermediaries to the ancestors, and I personally consider some aspects truly shamanistic, part of a line of physical connection to the deep past. At our best, this is what we can be...and only a fool could not see the inherent power therein.
We must also remember deep and enduring Truths, about Time, our Ancestors and what we are now....
We must individually Meditate, Deeply and Sincerely, upon these fundamentals, before we can purport our selves to society and the public with anything approaching credibility.
We must look at the world as it was, as it could be - and as it is NOW. The Pain and Joy of the World must be reconciled within our own lives - failure to do so prevents authentic action in any sphere of life.
Archaeology may not be the most pressing concern in our lives, or for society. Failure to accept that will only result in Archaeologists who are skewed from Reality - inauthentic and unable to connect with the social wave.
Heritage, Connection and Belonging are deep Spiritual topics - our species is hard-wired to seek and respond to these cues - we react emotionally and bodily to them - this is the passion that has driven archaeologists
There is no slogan or campaign message here - but something more important...