Friends and colleagues: Archaeologists today sometimes apply their craft
to exploring very recent historical events. An unusual example of this is
the archaeological testing at the claimed 1947 crash site of an
extraterrestrial spacecraft near Roswell, New Mexico. In the latest Audio
Interview featured by our public education website, The Archaeology
Channel (www.archaeologychannel.org), we asked University of New Mexico
archaeologist Dr. Bill Doleman, who directed the Roswell fieldwork, to
share with us his experience in "extraterrestrial archaeology."
On November 22, 2002, the SCI FI Channel aired a two-hour documentary that
depicted archaeologists investigating the purported crash site.
Archaeological excavations under Dr. Doleman were carried out under
contract with the SCI FI Channel. Although in this case the client (the
SCI FI Channel) and the subject (extraterrestrial visitors) are both
unusual, archaeology under contract is by far the most common form of
archaeological work in the United States and in many parts of the world
today. The shift in emphasis over the past three decades from purely
research-oriented to contract archaeology has greatly expanded financial
support for archaeological work, but has also highlighted issues about
information-sharing and ethical standards. In this interview, we explore
with Bill Doleman how this project came about, what his team found and how
it has been portrayed, and how it illustrates the practice of contract
archaeology today.
This and other programs are available on TAC for your use and enjoyment.
If you feel that this project is a worthy endeavor, please participate in
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Richard M. Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
President and Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
http://www.archaeologychannel.org
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