I am writing a paper about rock piles and want to quote one of its central ideas. After explaining that site characteristics are commonly seen over and over again, I point out that these characteristics are never seen in Europe. So if a skeptic claims our rock pile sites are from field clearing or another traditional European farming practice, the counter argument is that there is no such thing in Europe and that such claims reflect ignorance not wisdom. But this counter argument can only be made after we recognize the unique characteristics of our rock pile sites. It is unfortunate, then, that European archaeo-astronomy is such a pillar of methodology as it tends to suppress the uniqueness of American sites in favor of attributes that are familiar from Europe. I write:
That these types of sites are common across the landscape implies a cultural preference for these specifics. Anglo-European culture has no such cultural preference. No sites with these characteristics can be found in Europe; and so the sites in Massachusetts must be the legacy of another culture or cultures, purely American, that occupied this landscape.
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This is about rock piles and stone mound sites in New England. A balance is needed between keeping them secret and making them public. Also arrowheads, stone tools and other surface archaeology.
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Isn't this one of the weaknesses of Mavor and Dix's Manitou -- that they see American stonework through the prism of Alexander Thom's research in Britain, and not as something unique to this continent?
ReplyDeleteI think they had a vision that led to wonderful discoveries but limited what they were looking for.
ReplyDeleteWhile there may not be European counterparts to the stone mounds we find in New England and beyond, there are parallels with pedestaled boulders, split-filled boulders and such, which I find fascinating. Mizin, the Russian researcher, has written about this in two articles in the NEARA Journal: one in the most recent issue, and the other from 2007.
ReplyDeleteActually, they do have counterparts in Europe, or at least in Italy. I'll have to send you photos I took a few years ago near my brother in-law's house in Italy. In the mountains where farmers used to clear fields are several areas of well constructed stone piles. Not dumped rocks but carefully stacked and shaped, even ski-jump like. Then there was the enormous square "cairn" that had well built retaining walls with large stones and an in-fill with smaller stones. Very similar to what I've seen in New England.
ReplyDeleteI have come to the conclusion that those large piles with retaining wall and smaller rock filling are generally from field clearing.
ReplyDeleteMy point being: yes the field clearing piles in America look like field clearing from Europe. But that is that and ceremonial rock piles are easily destinguished. The latter do not have counterparts in Europe.
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