ARCHEOLOGICAL MATTERS

Otago Witness, Issue 3889, 25 September 1928, Page 15

ARCHEOLOGICAL MATTERS

LECTURE BY MR H. D. SKINNER. A lecture was given by Mr H. D. Skinner in the Museum on Tuesday evening on the subject of archaeological methods in America. The lecturer, in the course of his remarks, said that he proposed to deal with the methods adopted in the United States. All the knowledge we had ol the Maoris in New Zealand had already been obtained, and there was hardly any further information to be obtained from the Maoris themselves. There wen* some small fields where some information might still be obtained, but the real points in the South Island, before the white man came, had been obtained. An account of the Maori, his language, history, and habits had been published. In the Soiith Island we had been entirely confined to fhe spade, and he was glad to say that a number of students were engaged in that »eld. He had had the good fortune to go to America recently, and had obtained a practical knowledge of archaeological methods there, and wha: he had to say was with regard to these. The United States was more active in archaeology than any other country In the world, and there were a large number pf institutions interested in the work. Every Stab had some archaeological department, and many of them had a number of them. Most of the universities had a department looking after that kind of work. Not only was the activity very

great, but it was of an extraordinarily varied nature. New Zealand had nothing approaching this variety. He would begin by saying something about the method employed in excavating simple sites, and the beauty and grr.ndeur of the scenery in which they lay. Mr Skinner then proceeded, with the aid of the blackboard, to refer in detail to what he had seen in Illinois, and described the method of working the sites, and vhat was found. He next referred to the methods adopted in Ohio, dwelling at some length upon a-variety of articles discovered as the result of investigations. He then showed a number of very interesting pictures with the aid of the lantern, which he operated himself, an made a running commentary upon them.