Editor's Corner
Among other things, spring brings our
annual meeting, where we catch up with old friends,
make new ones, look for book bargains, and perhaps
most importantly, find out about the best of what's happening in
American archaeology. Nashville is shaping up to be one of our best and
most diverse meetings. If you're going, seriously try to attend the
Annual Business Meeting. While it's always tempting to head for the bar or
your room after a long day of papers and talk, hold off until 6:30 or so.
Why? It's simple: this is the one time that wethe members of
SAAcan convene as a collective to hear our officers and editors, to get a sense
of the future, honor those who have contributed to our success, and
mourn those who have passed on. As anthropologists, we all know the
importance of these communal rituals. For the functionalists among us,
the meeting will serve to promote group solidarity and transmit
tradition from elders to neophytes. For others, the meeting will symbolize
status and rank differences among the membership and will be a
well-meaning demonstration of the status quo of
SAA power and authority relationships. Regardless of your theoretical
perspective, come to the meeting and celebrate
both our past and our future.