ABSTRACT
The ultimate motivation for me is the possibility of finding a connection between past and present such that we can actually see how our lives are shaped by something in the past that we value, and in so doing we bring some illumination into our daily lives and to those of others. Mormons were important to me at first because of the historian’s logic that Mormons are America in microcosm. Mormons actually are important because they are so powerful and because their historical system is so wholly uncritical. Williamsburg is important because it was this country’s premier outdoor history museum and because it uses historical archaeology as one of its main authenticators. It is important also because of its location near Washington, DC, and its connection to our national origins and use by officials in the national capital. But Williamsburg is in Virginia, and I work in Maryland; so, in 1981, I began to put together the Archaeology in Annapolis program.
