I Wasn't going to Say Anything but Since you Asked; Archaeoastronomy and Archaeology

Let me first propose two hypotheses: (1) archaeoastronomy has had little impact on mainstream archaeology; and (2) archaeoastronomers feel that their work is under-appreciated by archaeologists. For purposes this essay, I assume that there is an empirical warrant for these hypotheses: that archaeoastronomers do, in fact, feel injured because there has, in fact, been little impact on the larger discipline. My purpose is to provide the perspective of a practicing Southwestern archaeologist on why this situation obtains and the degree to which archaeoastronomy's station within archaeology is commensurate with its contributions.