5th September 2011, 02:12 PM
P Prentice Wrote:i am not denying material remains at all. my admittedly facetious conceit was aimed at Jack but i will always see archaeology as interpretation rather than knowing
Nah, some archaeologists are fond of interpretation without evidence (or ignoring the evidence). Knowing can be approached by amassing evidence.............but the answers often hide in the tiny details....which are often ignored as they don't fit with Mr T's current interpretation of...say.....Neolithic Britain...etc.
But in any science there is no real 'knowing' anyway......only questions.
The best you can hope for is a theory 'that it would be obtuse to think otherwise' (can't remember where the quote is from though)
But, its much easier to disprove a possible interpretation....leaving fewer possibles and stepping closer to knowing.