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Commentary recorded 24 September 2001 |
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The September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., have sent a shock wave around the world. Many of us are feeling an entangled and confusing array of emotions, including sadness, grief, fear, horror, and anger, that may take some time to sort out. In the aftermath, people everywhere are contemplating those events and discussing how we, whether as Americans or without any consideration of nationality, should respond. A principal goal of Archaeological Legacy Institute is to highlight the lessons of the human past, as expressed through archaeology and traditional cultures, as useful tools in addressing the problems of today. In our continuing effort to bring the perspectives of archaeology to bear on the concerns of our time, we asked Dr. Bill Rathje, an archaeologist deeply committed to modern applications of archaeological method and theory, to share his thoughts on this catastrophe with the world community through an Audio Commentary. We thank Dr. Rathje very much for his generous cooperation. To hear the interview, click on the
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Since 1973, The Garbage Project has studied fresh refuse to document household-level food waste, diet and nutrition, recycling, and discard of hazardous wastes. In addition, since 1987 the Project has excavated 21 landfills across North America to record the quantities of various types of buried refuse and what happens to these materials over time. The hands-on realities of refuse have often been different from what was expected. In other words, what people say they do and what they actually do are often two different things. "Garbology," the term coined to describe Rathje's research, is now in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Rathje has published widely in academic journals and in such popular media as National Geographic, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Smithsonian. In 1991 Dr. Rathje won the AAAS/Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology and in 1992 the AAA Solon T. Kimball Award for Public and Applied Anthropology. Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage (co-authored with Cullen Murphy in 1992) was a national bestseller and has just be republished by the University of Arizona Press. Dr. Rathje is host of the computer-interactive video "Our Garbage Dilemma," which is a permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Dr. Rathje's latest book, USE LESS STUFF: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are, is co-authored by Robert M. Lilienfeld and published by Fawcett Books. Rathje writes a regular column for MSW-Management magazine and frequently contributes essays to popular magazines that link the theories, methods, and results of archaeology to issues of contemporary concern, such as the rise of Microsoft, the burials of Princess Diana & Mother Teresa, and the changing face of war and terrorism. Rathje is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, a Research Professor at the Stanford Archaeology Center, and a Consulting Professor in the Department of Anthropological Sciences at Stanford.
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