Editor's Corner
SAA, of course, has its origins in Americanist archaeology. I mean this
in both the intellectual, as well as the more obvious geographical sense. Our
early society was focused mostly upon research in North America, but through
time, it became more inclusive, reaching out to colleagues in Latin America,
Europe, and other parts of the world. Intellectually, however, and despite the
changes that have swept through how we conceptualize archaeology, we remain a
strongly Americanist organization. There is nothing wrong with this of course,
but it is good to be reminded that our perspective, no matter how diverse it
has become, is only part of a much larger archaeological world. In this issue,
Peter White of the University of Sydney, writes about his experience at the
recently concluded World Archaeology Congress 4 (WAC4), which was held in South
Africa. I hope his piece will serve as a reminder to us of that world. I have a
hunch that many SAA members may well find the activities of the WAC to be of
limited interest, and possibly even irrelevant, to their own concerns. Part of
this stems, I'm sure, from the perception that WAC is political, and that it
thrives on controversy. But politics are part of our lives, and it is important
that we accept this and learn from it regardless of our personal beliefs. One
of the most important things Peter reminds us of is that WAC is the closest
thing out there to a truly world congress of archaeology, and that maybe, just
maybe, there is something new and interesting to learn when scholars from very
different backgrounds and lives meet to talk about their shared
passion--archaeology. Look for other perspectives on WAC4 in upcoming issues of
the Bulletin.
ROPA is dead--long live the Register! No, ROPA has not somehow vanished, but it
has in a sense changed its name. It asks to be referred to as the Register, and
thus, the only time you'll see the acronym ROPA in the Bulletin, as well
as SAA-wide, is in a historical sense. We've changed their logo for their
column, but their activity remains the same--registering archaeologists who
subscribe to and agree to adhere to a strict code of ethics.