Martin,
I you're English is fine, but as you didn't provide us the original
question in French I "read into" your translation some things I shouldn't
have! For example, I completely missed that you were talking about
cult/religious behaviors specifically (I assumed you made a typo of the
word cultural by dropping the "r"!).
As most everyone is probably off at WAC right now, its unusually quiet out
there! Maybe NOW its Martin Byers' turn to say something -- what are your
thoughts on "excavating a religion"???
Marcia-Anne Dobres
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On Sun, 10 Jan 1999 15:51:39, Martin Menu <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Dear Marcia-Anne,
>
>
>Thanks much for having make critical observations about my Englih level (I
>was such a dunce at school, and I pay it today). Apologies. In France,
>when you are not in a business school, [and here, archaeology is nearly
>not a job, and absolutely not a business], there is no teaching in
>English, German or anything else.
>
>
>I endorse your translation of my translation in spite of three comments :
>
>
> a.. I wanted to think about the range of archaeological
>reconstruction/understanding/interpreting. In French, the expression is "
>dans quelle mesure ". Archaological materials can afford us informations
>about material aspects of ancient lifeways. But one of the aims of
>archaeology is to reconstruct/understand/interpret social manifestations
>in their diversity and not only their materials aspects.
> b.. That's why it's not " ancient lifways " but one special aspect of it
>: the protohistoric religion and worship. In French, the word is " cultuel
>", the adjective of " culte ", and I translated it " cultual ". The
>problem is that 'You can't excavate a religion'.
> c.. In that sense, is protohistoric archaeology, as she is " textless ",
>convicted to understand only " practices " and gestures ? How can
>anthropology studies help it ?
>
>Greetings.
>
>Martin from Paris.
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