17th February 2009, 11:59 AM
Hello all,
Apologies if I somewhat diverted this thread by posting quotes from a website which describe other Pagan approaches. I am not overly concerned with the divisions, I was trying to draw attention of some of the problems inherent in this consultation. There is no group which represents all the strands of opinion among Pagans, just as there is not one among archaeologists.
If pagan group A favours retention and study of human material, pagan group B favours reburial, pagan group C favours no excavation at all and pagan group D is against the idea of the academic study of the past; what mechanism can be used to choose between them? We cannot respect everyone's spiritual beliefs as they are conflicting. We cannot assess how closely one group's ritual is paralelled in the past, as the origin of knowledge of this ritual is supernatural.
"Despite what I read on this site, I have met many academics who agree our request is not unreasonable. Perhaps this site is unrepresentative of the wider archaeological community. I can't help thinking that a great chance is being missed here."
I'm sure that there are a number of symphathetic academics, I have been taught be one or two in the past. I do think that this site is representative of the wider archaeological community; meaning not academics. Probably particularly Kevin Leahy's letter, Steven's posts and our host's 'atoms and dust' metaphysics. I feel that it is a mistake for a society to allow spiritual beliefs, however sincerely held, to be privilidged over the advancement of scientific knowledge and ultimately the advancement of knowledge about the human condition.
Apologies if I somewhat diverted this thread by posting quotes from a website which describe other Pagan approaches. I am not overly concerned with the divisions, I was trying to draw attention of some of the problems inherent in this consultation. There is no group which represents all the strands of opinion among Pagans, just as there is not one among archaeologists.
If pagan group A favours retention and study of human material, pagan group B favours reburial, pagan group C favours no excavation at all and pagan group D is against the idea of the academic study of the past; what mechanism can be used to choose between them? We cannot respect everyone's spiritual beliefs as they are conflicting. We cannot assess how closely one group's ritual is paralelled in the past, as the origin of knowledge of this ritual is supernatural.
"Despite what I read on this site, I have met many academics who agree our request is not unreasonable. Perhaps this site is unrepresentative of the wider archaeological community. I can't help thinking that a great chance is being missed here."
I'm sure that there are a number of symphathetic academics, I have been taught be one or two in the past. I do think that this site is representative of the wider archaeological community; meaning not academics. Probably particularly Kevin Leahy's letter, Steven's posts and our host's 'atoms and dust' metaphysics. I feel that it is a mistake for a society to allow spiritual beliefs, however sincerely held, to be privilidged over the advancement of scientific knowledge and ultimately the advancement of knowledge about the human condition.