18th October 2011, 01:26 PM
Wax Wrote:I think as archaeologists we are missing the point " Romano British", Viking, Saxon, Medieval etc are all handy ( though inaccurate) labels that give the general public a quick way in to grasping what period we are talking about. As archaeologists we find the phrases almost meaningless. However the general public have through the education system and the use of the phrases in the media, come to understand them as a chronological sequence that might have more significance to them than BP or BC/AD. Not ideal and leading to many misunderstandings but still away for the average man in the street to get a handle on the past.
Then surely its our duty to teach better (or batter the media industry over the head until they listen - e.g. one day they'll stop using meaningless Richter scale quotes and use the measured wave magnitude)