The ethics of archaeology : philosophical perceptives on archaeological practice.

The question of ethics and their role in archaeology has stimulated one of the discipline's liveliest debates. In this collection of essays, an international team of archaeologists, anthropologists and philosophers explore the ethical issues archaeology needs to address. Marrying the skills and expertise of practitioners from different disciplines, the collection produces interesting insights into many of the ethical dilemmas facing archaeology today. Topics discussed include relations with indigenous peoples; the professional standards and responsibilities of researchers; the role of ethical codes; the notion of value in archaeology; concepts of stewardship and custodianship; the meaning and moral implications of 'heritage'; the question of who 'owns' the past or the interpretation of it; the trade in antiquities; the repatriation of skeletal material; and treatment of the dead. This important collection is essential reading for all those working in the field of archaeology, be they scholar or practitioner. • Explores one of the most engaging debates in archaeology, that of the role of ethics in archaeological research • Takes an interdisciplinary approach which embraces archaeology, anthropology and philosophy • An international team of specialists in their fields offers interesting insights into the issues generated by the current debat

Mill on logic

Working within the broad lines of general consensus that mark out the core features of John Stuart Mill’s (1806–1873) logic, as set forth in his A System of Logic (1843–1872), this chapter provides an introduction to Mill’s logical theory by reviewing his position on the relationship between induction and deduction, and the role of general premises and principles in reasoning. Locating induction, understood as a kind of analogical reasoning from particulars to particulars, as the basic form of inference that is both free-standing and the sole load-bearing structure in Mill’s logic, the foundations of Mill’s logical system are briefly inspected. Several naturalistic features are identified, including its subject matter, human reasoning, its empiricism, which requires that only particular, experiential claims can function as basic reasons, and its ultimate foundations in ‘spontaneous’ inference. The chapter concludes by comparing Mill’s naturalized logic to Russell’s (1907) regressive method for identifying the premises of mathematics

The ‘constitutive thought’ of regret

In this paper I defend and develop Bernard Williams’ claim that the ‘constitutive thought’ of regret is ‘something like “how much better if it had been otherwise”’. An introductory section on cognitivist theories of emotion is followed by a detailed investigation of the concept of ‘agent-regret’ and of the ways in which the ‘constitutive thought’ might be articulated in different situations in which agents acknowledge casual responsibility for bringing about undesirable outcomes. Among problematic cases discussed are those in which agents have caused harm through no fault of their own, or have been constrained to choose the lesser of two evils or to act against their moral values. R. Jay Wallace’s ‘bourgeois predicament’ and related cases, in which we recognize that our present advantages have flowed from regrettable antecedents, further show that regret is often not a simple emotion, and it is argued that conflicted regrets are sometimes unavoidable. Finally, the paper looks at Descartes’ account of regret as a form of sadness engendered by the recollection of irrecoverable happy experiences, to which the ‘constitutive thought’ does not readily apply. It is suggested that what Descartes is discussing is a different genre of emotion for which ‘nostalgia’ might be a better name

Consolidation, reconstruction and the interpretation of megalithic monuments

Megalithic monuments are visible and enduring marks upon the landscape. From this it follows that the archaeologist who excavates one cannot simply close the project by backfilling the trenches and returning the site to arable or pasture: the preservation and consolidation of the monument itself must be addressed. This obligation raises major ethical and practical issues, above all as to what form the preservation should take, and how far archaeologists or others are justified in intervening and modifying the extant remains. Then there is the further issue of visitor access. It is generally recognised that archaeologists have a responsibility to convey the results of their researches to the wider audience. It is, after all, on behalf of the public that most of their work is undertaken, and much of it is funded by national or local government institutions. For many kinds of site, archaeologists may discharge their public obligation by explaining (in print or in person) the importance and significance of the work that they have done. Where a visible and enduring monument is concerned, however, the responsibility extends much further, and includes arrangements for public presentation and visitor access

Modelling prehistoric populations: the case of Neolithic Brittany

The study of prehistoric demography draws inevitably on evidence both imperfect and incomplete, yet is essential for a satisfactory understanding of past communities. It is particularly valuable in addressing controversial questions such as the nature of early farming communities in western Europe, in the period between the adoption of domestic plants and animals and the establishment, centuries or millennia later, of permanent villages and regular field systems. In this article the demography of prehistoric Brittany is considered in light of evidence presented by monumental tombs and stone settings, artifact distributions, palaeoenvironmental determinations, and domestic remains. Whereas the megalithic monuments of Brittany are well known and have been the focus of systematic research since the mid-19th century, relatively little attempt has been made to situate them in their demographic context. The results of this study reveal that while Brittany is, like every region, unique in terms of climate, soils, and social traditions, it shares several significant features of demographic patterning—notably its cyclical character—with other areas of Neolithic Europe. This study also demonstrates how incomplete data sources can be used in combination to provide new interpretations of prehistoric demographic patterning and to frame new research questions

Forgiveness and Identification

Philosophical discussion of forgiveness has mainly focused on cases in which victims and offenders are known to each other. But it commonly happens that a victim brings an offender under a definite description (e.g. ‘the boy who kicked his football through my window’) but does not know to which individual this applies. I explore some of the conceptual and moral issues raised by the phenomenon of forgiveness in circumstances in which identification is incomplete, tentative or even mistaken. Among the conclusions reached are that correct and precise identification of the offending individual is not essential for forgiveness to take place; that an offender can, under certain strict conditions, be said to be forgiven by proxy where the victim has misidentified the offender and ‘forgiven’ the wrong person; and that proxy forgiveness of this sort is not subject to the objections commonly levelled against ‘proxy’ or ‘third-party forgiveness.

A pattern of islands: the Neolithic monuments of north-west Brittany

Coastal distributions such as that of the Neolithic chambered tombs of Brittany raise important questions about prehistoric beliefs and understandings relating to sea and shoreline. Concepts of liminality come particularly to the fore where headlands and islands are selected as places for the disposal of human remains. The density of chambered tombs recorded by Du Châtellier on the islands of the Molène archipelago, with its rocks, inlets and small islands exposed and covered by the tides, provides a prominent example of this coastal emphasis. The analysis presented here includes assessment of the reliability of the Du Châtellier inventory and of the topographic changes resulting from sea-level rise. It is argued that the dramatic transformative effect of the tides on the shallow waters of this archipelago will have enhanced the liminality of the setting and may have endowed the islands with special mythological or symbolic associations that may explain the density of the monuments. Ethnographic accounts of coastal beliefs from North America and northern Europe provide additional indications of the likely symbolic importance of such shoreline settings for Breton Neolithic communities

On-line moisture measurement of rocks, using microwave techniques

Includes bibliographical references.On-line measurement of the moisture content of process streams in a mineral processing plant is vital for their efficient operation. Although many industrial moisture meters are available, most of these were designed to determine the moisture content of low density, fine grained, uniformly surfaced and low resistance materials. Consequently these meters operate poorly on mineral treatment plants as the measured material, rock, is dense, uneven and consists of mixtures of various minerals. A literature survey revealed that of the many methods available, only three techniques could be used for on-line moisture determination in mineral processing operations.These were microwave attenuation, phase and frequency techniques