The Archeologist - The Value of Treasure

"History no longer shall be a dull book. It shall walknecessarily deal solely with the remote ages.
incarnate in every just and wise man. You shall not tellEvery chronicler of the events of the less recent times
me by languages and titles a catalog of the volumeswho goes to the original documents for his facts, as
you have read. You shall make me feel what periodstrue historians must do during at least a part of their
you have lived. A man shall be the Temple of Fame.studies, is an archeologist and, conversely, every
He shall walk, as the poets have described thatarcheologist who in the course of his work states a
goddess, in a robe painted all over with wonderfulseries of historical facts, becomes an historian.
events and experiences....He shall be the priest of Pan,Archeology and history are inseparable and nothing is
and bring with him into humble cottages the blessing ofmore detrimental to a noble science than the attitude
the morning stars, and all the recorded benefits ofof certain so-called archeologists who devote their
heaven and earth." - Emersonentire time to the study of a sequence of objects
The archeologist whose business it is to bring to lightwithout proper consideration for the history which
by pick and spade the relics of bygone ages, is oftenthose objects reveal. Antiquities are the relics of
accused of devoting his energies to work which is ofhuman mental energy. Tey can no more be classified
no material profit to mankind at the present day.without reference to the minds which produced them
Archeology is an unapplied science and apart from itsthan geological specimens can be discussed without
connection with what is called culture, the critic isregard to the earth. There is only one thing worse than
inclined to judge it as a pleasant and worthlessthe attitude of the archeologist who does not study
amusement. There is nothing, the critic tells us, ofthe story of the periods with which he is dealing, or
pertinent value to be learned from the past which willconstruct, if only in his thoughts, living history out of the
be of use to the ordinary person of the present timeobjects discovered by him. That is the attitude of the
and though the h can offer acceptable information tohistorian who has not familiarized himself with the
the painter, to the theologian, to the philologist, andactual relics left by the people of whom he writes, or
indeed to most of the followers of the arts andhas not, when possible, visited their lands. There are
sciences, he has nothing to give to the ordinary person.many archeologists who do not care a snap of the
In some directions the imputation is unanswerable andfingers for history, surprising as this may appear. There
when the interests of modern times clash with thoseare many historians who take no interest in manners
of the past, as, for example, in Egypt where aand customs. The influence of either is pernicious.
beneficial reservoir has destroyed the remains of earlyIt is to be understood, therefore, that in using the word
days, there can be no question that the recording ofArcheology I include History. I refer to history
the threatened information and the minimizing of thesupplemented by the study of the arts, crafts,
destruction, is all that the value of the archeologist'smanners, and customs of the period under
work entitles him to ask for. The critic, however, usuallyconsideration.
overlooks some of the chief reasons that archeologyAs a first argument the value of archeology in
can give for even this much consideration, reasonsproviding a precedent for important occurrences may
which constitute its modern usefulness; and I thereforebe considered. It is the structure of ancient history, and
propose to point out to him three or four of the manyit is the voice of history which tells us that a Cretan is
claims which it may make upon the attention of thealways a Cretan, and a Jew always a Jew. History
layman.may well take her place as a definite asset of
In the first place it is necessary to define the meaningstatecraft, and the law of Precedent may be regarded
of the term Archeology. It is the study of the facts ofas a fundamental factor in international politics. What
ancient history and ancient lore. The word is applied tohas happened before may happen again. It is by his
the study of all ancient documents and objects whichhand that directs our attention to the affairs and
may be classed as antiquities which the evidence hascircumstances of olden times, and warns us of the
to be excavated or otherwise discovered. The age atpossibilities of their recurrence. It may be said that the
which an object becomes an antiquity, however, isstatesman who has ranged in the front of his mind the
quite undefined, though practically it may be reckonedproven characteristics of the people with whom he is
at a hundred years, and ancient history is the tale ofdealing has a perquisite of the utmost importance.
any period which is not modern. Thus he does not