Letters Longing for Lone Star Archaeology As a student in anthropology and geography with a focus in Texas prehistory, I would very much like to see more articles on Texas archaeology and more information on Southern field schools. Along with these suggestions, I would like to comment on the wellwritten articles in American Archaeology magazine. I really love the downto-earth articles and the focus on archaeology in the United States. Charlie Burton
Editor’s Corner One thousand years ago the Vikings gained a beachhead at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Recently they made landfall in a variety of media, this magazine included. One aspect of this story is the controversy regarding the authenticity of the Vinland Map (see In The News). The map’s history is curious. It engendered an intellectual crossfire between believers and skeptics, with scholars’ reputations suffering wounds. Though the latter group is said to be significantly larger than the former, the map is valued at millions of dollars. Despite recently calling it a fake—
seemingly reversing its previous position—the Smithsonian wanted to display the map at a Viking exhibition it’s staging, but couldn’t afford the exorbitant insurance. Yale University, which owns the map, has been accused of restricting its study. Some of its own scholars called the map a forgery when Yale acquired it. The map will undergo further analysis, but, whatever the results, personal and institutional agendas will likely continue to fuel this controversy.
Michael Bawaya, Editor
American Archaeology recently won the Silver award in the Magazines and Bookseller’s Annual Magazine Cover Contest. The winter 1999/2000 cover took second place in the circulation under 100,000 category, beating out approximately 55 other entries.
Sending Letters to American Archaeology American Archaeology welcomes your letters. Write to us at: 5301 Central Avenue NE, Suite 1218, Albuquerque, NM 87108-1517, or send us e-mail at archcons@nm.net. We reserve the right to edit and publish letters in the magazine’s Letters department as space permits. Please include your name, address, and telephone number with all correspondence, including e-mail messages.
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