Pattern and Purpose in Historical Archaeology

The practice of archaeology inevitably requires that we constantly assess the activities of both ourselves and others, as well as asking what the purpose of such activities might be. In the case of historical archaeology in Australia and New Zealand, there seems at present some danger of losing sight of what it is that we are trying to do and why. In origin archaeology is a scholarly discipline and yet, after three decades of growth in our respective countries, historical archaeology remains poorly represented in academic institutions both in staff and in undergraduate courses. In contrast, there has been a substantial increase in private archaeological consulting and in state-funded cultural resource management activities. Consequently, in spite of some remarkable exceptions, greatly increased archaeological activity has generally resulted in only modest additions to the body of published material that in the end constitutes the discipline. It is surely timely to ask just what we are contributing to the study of archaeology as a whole, and indeed to society in general?