In recent years it has become fashionable in some archaeological and Native American circles to embrace the thesis that oral traditions are as valid as scientific statements about the past, and that they should be treated equally. Further, some argue that natives always know their own histories better than outsiders, and that Western methods are intrinsically suspect because they are by their very nature ethnocentric. Some even argue that there is no need to do archaeology, genetic research, or other cutting edge scientific study, because the oral traditions already tell us everything we need to know.
Ronald Mason, an emeritus anthropologist from Lawrence University challenges this reasoning head on in this lively and sure to be controversial book. Finding oral traditions to be highly dubious, Mason argues that they mainly represent the concerns of the contemporary people, not the events of the past. According to Mason, oral traditions are by their very nature are largely impervious to external challenge, and often protected by religious doctrine.
Mason makes a powerful case for the scientific method and calls on scholars to resist those, including government officials, who seek to undermine the quest for knowledge with folklore. —Mark Michel
