Interview with Mike Parker Pearson | Williams | Papers from the Institute of Archaeology

This post isn't exactly about the archaeology of death but I thought it would fit here nicely.

Here is a great interview with Mr. Parker Pearson. He talks about the importance of archaeology.
The interesting thing to me is his journey from Madagascar to a ten year study of Stonehenge and how answering questions inevitably leads to more questions. The shear scope of Stonehenge, how the site includes areas miles and miles distant from the henge itself. It makes me marvel how far humanity travels and communicates even in periods when you figure most people don't leave a small area.

His talk about how to communicate with the general public about archaeology is thought provoking as well. It's a problem that most of the sciences have, how to make the thing that you are studying interesting to people. When so many things effect that image negatively, things like budget, and even the physical space ideas inhabit. Professions like archaeology, and astronomy, don't impact people in their daily lives to the extent of medical science but, in my mind, are just as important. Most of the sciences, be they social or hard, impact humanity.

These journeys of discovery are important and vital.

Interview with Mike Parker Pearson | Williams | Papers from the Institute of Archaeology