The Mother of Indiana Jones
By Forrest Fenn
This article appeared in Anthropology
News, a monthly newspaper that is mailed to 4,800 subscribers. It
was written in response to an article written by Dr. Joe Watkins
"Salvaging our Ethics." (Anthropology News 41:3:26-27) It also
appeared in Ohio Archaeologist, Summer, 2000.
The mass media in this country well know the rules. When
an archaeological discovery is made, all but the most compelling stories
go to the bottom of the page, making room for what many Americans love
most, the sight of an ancient object that gives an exciting hint about
their past. How many times have the stories of Mesa Verde and Spiro
Mound been told? We always thirst for more.
For many decades our museums have purchased prehistoric artifacts or had
them donated by those with the far vision to know that otherwise our
public displays would stand in need. Good examples abound: the Field
Museum in Chicago, which houses the original private collection of
Marshall Field, and the wonderful collection of pre-Columbian gold and
jade objects that was purchased by Ray Diekemper and given to the Texas
Tech Museum over the objections of the curator.
Was the Chicago Art Institute correct in purchasing the most significant
Mimbres cave objects ever discovered, a ritual cache of brilliantly
colored and feathered snake and mountain lion fetishes and human
effigies? Of course they were! The Society of American Archaeology (SAA)
hates to see commercial traffic in archaeological material, yet one must
ask which is more important - the education of the public or the
perceived ethics of the SAA?
Professional archaeological societies have long looked for easy marks to
blame for the escalating interest in collecting artifacts, and their
editorials have accused collectors for many of the problems found in
their own science. United thinking in the collecting community
(collectors outnumber archaeologists by an estimated 250 to one) is that
this emphasis is inappropriate. Shadowy excuses mask what everyone knows
to be true: it is the written reports and photographs of both artifacts
in situ and museum displays that hone the tools of those who would
vandalize archaeological sites looking for what they have seen in print
or on exhibit.
The premise is that those looted objects are sold to collectors, which
promotes further looting. To a degree that is true, albeit a tertiary
reason. Nevertheless, it is our museums that make these items desirable.
At arrowhead shows across the country, the sale of books about
prehistoric artifacts is second in total sales, surpassed only by that
of stone tools. While no collector condones illegal excavations, they
all know that logic defies the tenet that prehistoric artifacts should
not be privately collected. If museums routinely purchase these items,
is it unethical for individuals to do the same? I don't think so.
Over 1400 people attended the important "Clovis and Beyond" conference
held last October (1999) in Santa Fe. The 62 speakers, selected for
being the best in their fields, included two members of the National
Academy of Science (NAS), the present President and three past
presidents of the SAA, and the heads of anthropology departments in
universities and museums across the Americas. When the conference was
over, Dr. Joe Watkins, who was also a speaker and Chair of the American
Anthropological Association Ethics Committee and member of the SAA
Ethics Committee, wrote an editorial in the Anthropology News (March
2000) titled, "Salvaging Our Ethics." He questioned whether he should
have attended the conference at all because it had been put on by me, a
collector and avocational archaeologist. He said I had been "accused" of
"mining artifacts" in a pre-contact pueblo that I own. For Dr. Watkins,
mining artifacts refers to the excavation of an archaeological site by
someone without a Ph.D. in archaeology. He asked the question. "How did
the collector get involved in the "Clovis and Beyond" conference in the
first place?" a question that speaks volumes about where the SAA seems
to be headed.
Since he called me by name, I feel compelled to examine the question. In
the organization of the conference, I represented the Museum of New
Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology. Other co-sponsors were the
Smithsonian Institution and the Center for the Study of the First
Americans at Oregon State University. Maybe Dr. Watkins' question should
be asked a little differently: "Why did the collector feel inclined to
originate and organize the meeting?" Where were all of the
archaeologists, and why did none of them see the need and step forward?"
The last such conference, from which the term "Clovis point" emerged,
was held in Santa Fe in 1941. In the ensuing years, giant steps have
been made in our knowledge of the peopling of the Americas, knowledge
that everyone agreed needed to be presented and discussed. Dr. Watkins
seemed to be saying, "We don't have time to do it, and I don't want you
to either". I am reminded of the Rolls Royce that pulled up to the Ritz
Plaza Hotel, and no one got out.
Because Dr Watkins listed Indiana University as his academic affiliation
for the conference, I thought it would be interesting to look at that
school's archaeological record. Ironically, the archaeology and
anthropology departments at Indiana University would not exist were it
not for the long-term vision and direct financial support of a single
individual, an artifact collector and amateur archaeologist Eli Lilly
(Griffin, 1971).
There was neither an archaeology program nor an anthropology department
at any of the colleges or universities in the state of Indiana until
Lilly became interested in collecting artifacts (Griffin, 1971), It is
important to emphasize that the same is true of many other states as
well. While Lilly insisted on anonymity throughout his life, it is now
useful to refer to him by name so the reader can understand the exact
nature of his contributions and the role he played in the development of
American archaeology, a particularly important point because his
contributions have been omitted from the formal "History of American
Archaeology" (Willey and Sabloff, (1974,1980).
In the summer of 1930, when Lilly visited the home of J.P. Dolan, a
lawyer and artifact collector in Syracuse, Indiana, he was struck by the
quality of workmanship of the artifacts that Dolan displayed in his
"Indian cabinet" (Griffin, 1971). The sight of Dolan's collection
stimulated Lilly's innate curiosity and a never-ending passion for
artifacts and "digging" archaeology. With the help of Thomas Hendricks,
an Indianapolis buyer of antiquities, Lilly began to acquire a personal
collection from both various other collectors and his own excavations.
He quickly amassed one of the most important collections in the United
States. This activity brought him into close association with numerous
artifact dealers, fellow collectors, and amateur archaeologists,
including Glenn A. Black.
In 1931, when Black led Lilly on a field trip to Angel Mounds (the
largest known Mississippian site in Indiana), Lilly was both impressed
with the vastness of the village and cemetery and was struck by Black's
self-taught knowledge and enthusiasm. Although Black never attended
college, like Lilly he was well read and had been collecting artifacts
for many years. Lilly realized that the only way archaeology was going
to advance would be if he funded a full-time person such as Glenn Black
to devote all of his efforts to archaeology. Lilly initiated efforts to
acquire the title to Angel Mounds. After federal, state, and local
governmental sources failed to acquire the site, Eli Lilly provided the
funds to purchase it. Black moved into a house on the site and, with
funding from Lilly, devoted the rest of his life to excavating it.
Dr. Watkins' position is particularly curious in the light of the fact
that he is currently seeking the directorship of the Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of Indiana, a position
endowed by a collector and untrained excavator.
The program at Indiana University began when Lilly endowed a fellowship
in anthropology in 1932. Black began teaching the archaeology course in
1944, and with many generous donations, a formal department of
anthropology was created in 1947. Lilly also funded archaeology
laboratories at the University of Chicago and Ohio State University and
endowed a fellowship at the University of Michigan. Its first recipient
was James B. Griffin, the "dean" of American archaeology. Lilly provided
full-time support for Griffin between 1932 and 1941, and continued to
fund his research efforts thereafter. It is interesting to note that the
lifelong support from this private collector was completely ignored in
the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology's 1997 "Tribute to James B.
Griffin." Griffin would have been the first to admit that he would not
have had a career without the support of Eli Lilly, who also funded 11
presidents of the SAA: A.V. Kidder (1937-1939), Will C. Mckern (1940
-1941), Glenn A. Black (1941-1942), Carl E. Guthe (1945 -1946), Frank
H.H. Roberts, Jr. (1950 -1951), James B. Griffin (1951-1952), William A.
Ritchie (1956 -1957), George I. Quimby (1957-1958), James A. Ford (1963
-1964), Albert C. Spalding (1964 -1965), and Richard "Scotty" MacNeish
(1971-1972). Dr. Watkins seems to be saying that these distinguished
archaeologists were unethical for associating with and accepting the
money and leadership services of a collector - that Eli Lilly's money
was tainted.
Scotty MacNeish, a participant in the "Clovis and Beyond" conference and
the most recent recipient of the SAA's Fryxell Award, wrote in a letter
to James B. Griffin on December 14, 1970, "Mr. Lilly's interest in
archaeology, particularly in the Midwest, and continued support of it
were responsible for many, if not most of the advances that were made in
that region from the twenties to the seventies. This was not just the
direct donating of funds for field excavations and publications, but it
was, more importantly, the support and encouragement he gave to so many
students and scholars in the field of archaeology" (Griffin 1971).
Midwestern archaeology has never recovered from the loss of Eli Lilly.
Since his death, academic training and employment opportunities in
Midwestern archaeology have become limited (Schott, 2000). Lilly
provided funding to students and scholars for the scientific study of
pottery, stone and copper sources used in the manufacture of artifacts,
geophysics, absolute dating, artifact classification, and linguistics.
He also sponsored conferences and excavations, and was the underwriter
of numerous publications. Many of these publications, including
Prehistoric Antiquities of Indiana, featured illustrations of artifacts
from his personal collection, some of which he had excavated himself.
The argument might be made: that was then, this is now. In other words,
the days of Eli Lilly are ancient history. But are they?
Where is the money for archaeology coming from today? In the past decade
a number of artifact collectors have supported the positions and
research efforts of many contemporary archaeologists including Chris
Hill, Robson Bonnichsen, David Meltzer (a mentor of Joe Watkins), Don
Fowler, C. Vance Haynes, and George Frison, to name a few. A Colorado
collector has donated more than four million dollars for archaeological
research to institutions including the University of Wyoming, The George
Frison Institute, the Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University,
Oregon State University, The Center for the Study of the First
Americans, the University of Nevada, and Joe Watkins' alma mater,
Southern Methodist University.
At the same time, grants from the National Science Foundation for
applied research in anthropology have dwindled almost 78% from
$2,630,000 in 1973 to $583,000 in 1997 (National Science Foundation/SRS,
Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development). Furthermore,
these figures do not reflect either the decreasing value of the dollar
since 1973 or the fact that most of that money goes for research in
anthropology, not archaeology. If, as Dr. Watkins implies, it is
unethical to receive support from or co-mingle with artifact collectors,
what is left? Maybe the only completely "ethical" refuge is government
archaeology and Cultural Resource Management (CRM). But is it?
Each year, state and federal governments spend millions of taxpayers
dollars to survey, excavate, protect, preserve, conserve, and curate the
archaeology of the United States. What does the average American citizen
get for his money? Most of the results appear as unpublished contract
reports written in an oppressive technical jargon that the public cannot
decipher. To make matters worse, our nation's museums are becoming
filled with literally hundreds of tons of dirt, fire-cracked rock, bones
and broken pottery bits from the CRM and government archaeology.
In an investigative report conducted by the United States Army Corps of
Engineers (Trimble and Meyers 1991), they found that the status of most
physical facilities used to store artifacts and archaeological records
from government-funded excavations did not conform to the minimum
federal standards for archaeological curation. Many artifacts and paper
records were found in substandard facilities scattered on floors, while
elsewhere they appeared in cardboard boxes in cluttered storage areas
subject to unauthorized entry, leaky roofs, and lacking either fire
suppression systems or pest control programs.
Each year millions of taxpayer dollars are spent to recover artifacts
and produce records that are later destroyed or damaged because
archaeologists improperly pack, over pack, stack boxes without lids, or
place them in areas with excessive levels of humidity, water, or active
rodent populations. In these situations, provenience labels and brown,
craft paper field bags rapidly deteriorate. In many cases, artifacts and
site records not only go unprotected, but also remain uncataloged for
decades. The Army Corps of Engineers (Trimble and Meyers 1991) found
that the substandard record management at government-funded institutions
resulted in the loss of information that impaired the usefulness of
artifact collections acquired from CRM.
I have often wondered why a professional archaeologist who excavates
(the site is necessarily destroyed in the process) is viewed with
respect while an avocational archaeologist is accused of mining for
artifacts. It has been estimated that between 60 and 75 percent of work
completed in the field by professional archaeologists is not reported. A
comprehensive search for statistics on this problem has revealed
nothing. Everyone knows the majority of field work goes unpublished but
no one wants to admit it. The archaeological community has really buried
that one. And worse, many times the field notes are closely guarded
secrets, lest someone else should use the information.
"Too often archaeologists have failed to match the scale of their
efforts in the field with the scale of their publication effort.
Archaeology is justified only if the information is later made available
to the public" (Sharer and Ashmore 1993:156). "Publication is the
ultimate responsibility of all archaeologists and, like all other
scientists, their results must be made available to public audiences.
This obligation lies at the very heart of professional archaeological
responsibility." (Sharer and Ashmore 1993:599). "Unfortunately,
communication to the public is the most neglected aspect of professional
archaeology" (Sharer and Ashmore 1993:599). However, in many cases the
work completed in the field by avocational archaeologists is reported in
local archaeology society journals. So it is legitimate to ask which is
worse, a professional who excavates correctly and fails to report the
findings, or an amateur whose techniques are less than perfect but
reports on his work?
While everyone is interested in historic preservation, it would appear
that some have wandered around the bend. Jon L. Gibson and Joe Sanders,
both archaeologists from Louisiana, wrote in the SAA bulletin (vol. 11,
no. 5), "We suggest that just because sites happen to be on private
property should not make them privately owned. We also maintain that
archaeologists must challenge one of American's most precious rights -
the right to do as you please to your own land - if we are going to have
any chance of preserving our diminishing heritage."
As if that were not embarrassing enough, they went on, "First, we must
press for legislation that places an archaeological lien on private
property with significant archaeological sites. Second, archaeologists
must be the ones to choose which sites are to be protected. We can not
entrust this selection to a governmental board or legislated process,
which would give land owners the final word on whether a site will be
protected." Now I think I remember what started the French Revolution!
But that's not all: "Archaeologists must be more than just stewards of
the past. They must serve as the public conscience. They must act on
society's behalf even when society is insensitive or objects." EVEN IF
SOCIETY OBJECTS? Well, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In my
faxed response (which was published in a subsequent SAA Bulletin), I
pointed out that most Americans would probably agree that private
property rights guaranteed under the Constitution related to illegal
search and seizure are more important than archaeology and historic
preservation combined.
Where would one suspect that museums get the artifacts that are being
displayed? Who are the major supporters and contributors to those
institutions: professional archaeologists, the United States Government,
or the private collectors? Why is it that collectors are discredited by
archaeologists for purchasing artifacts, but celebrated when their
collections are donated to an institution? Does that transformation not
seem strange and hypocritical?
So the wedge of discontent is driven ever deeper between archaeologists
and the collecting community by ill-thought-out or unfortunate comments
published in private-subscription journals. Both Dr. Watkins (a Native
American and political archaeologist) who speaks officially for the SAA
and publicly preaches the rhetoric of cooperation with all groups, and
two Louisiana rogue revolutionaries, who would commandeer the law
because they think our elected officials cannot be trusted to do the
right thing, are defining new and radical directions.
While most archaeologists understand that cooperation among all parties
is beneficial and productive, there are those who are loud and overly
zealous. Extremists seem to be floating to the surface everywhere,
collectively revealing the soft underbelly of archaeology. An item that
appeared in "The American Committee for Preservation of Archaeological
Collections" newsletter, (March 2000), amply illustrates the trend: "It
seems a planned and approved exhibit of Clovis projectile points, that
was to coincide with the Santa Fe conference last October and be a part
of it, was cancelled at the Museum of Fine Arts. A local archaeologist
apparently complained that Clovis material should not be exhibited in an
art museum, and he persuaded a Native American to claim that Clovis
points are sacred and should not be displayed at all. The museum
director (Stuart Ashman) folded under the pressure and the exhibit did
not take place. (Ed. Note: Clovis points certainly ARE works of art and
would make a splendid exhibit in any art museum.") In canceling the show
(titled "Points of View") meetings were held behind closed doors, and
the names of the dissidents remain closely guarded secrets. Ironically,
the same museum currently has an exhibition that features "Clovis"
points recently knapped by a pueblo Indian.
As another example of extremism, an archaeologist from the University of
New Mexico said he would resign from the SAA because its president was a
speaker at the "Clovis and Beyond" conference. He evidently objected to
privately owned Clovis materials being displayed at the conference along
side those held in the public trust, including collections from the
Peabody Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, The Denver Natural History
Museum, the University of Texas, and many others.
Public money for archaeological research is rapidly becoming an
endangered species, necessitating an increased dependence on private
funding, much of which comes either directly from collectors or is
heavily influenced by them. There are things professional archaeologists
can do to help themselves. Here is some advice and a few observations
from Indiana Jones to the SAA
1. I am born of you and am nourished by your lectures, your reports, and
your beautiful museum displays. Thank you for giving me life.
2. Leave the jargon at home. Your future depends on increased public
interest, and that's where your future funding will originate. If
14-year-old students don't understand your report, you're doing it
wrong. And incidentally, color in books is OK.
3. Stop whining about what amateurs are doing. You have bigger problems
at home, like unreported field work, for starters.
4. Collectors are not going away, and you're heavily outnumbered. Get
used to it and learn from them.
5. Don't get carried away with your importance. Private property rights
come first, now and always.
6. If it's a Canis Latrans bone, give us a break; say it's part of a
coyote.
7. Your peers already know you're smart, so write for the rest of us
sometime. We'll buy your book and read it; they probably won't
8. Lighten up. It's not as if dreaded diseases are being cured or
famines being prevented by archaeology. You should be enjoying it more.
References
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Peopling of the Americas Conference, Abstracts, Collections, and
Exhibits, Santa Fe.
Brose David S., William Green, and Mark Seeman 1997 Tribute to James B.
Griffin (1905-1997) Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 22:2:125-158.
Clovis and Beyond conference WebPages
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Fenn, Forrest Personal communication with the archaeologist who received
the call.
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