Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2019 - 8

LETTERS

FROM OUR READERS
MAP QUEST
I just read the May/June issue-I usually
keep each issue to read on a long flight so
I can absorb it from cover to cover without interruptions. The feature on maps
("Mapping the Past," May/June 2019) is
magnificent! Such brilliant choices you
made-breathtaking and mind-blowing.
Who knew that there were maps of
waves? I have been meaning to write for
some time to plead with you to include
maps with your articles, so I was delighted
to see that the map issue spurred you to do
just that. It is a small, but very important
addition that makes your always excellent
and informative articles even more fascinating and relevant. Thank you!
Linda Freccia
Mountain View, CA

THE PRICE OF WAR
I am an avid reader of your magazine
and truly enjoy the information you
provide with each issue. I am also an
ex-Marine, with, I acknowledge, a bias
regarding the conduct of the war in the
Pacific during WWII. As most inquiries
into the past suggest, there is much to
be learned-and unlearned-from the
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findings of archaeological expeditions.
The archaeology of war and battlefields
is no exception. While the cave carving
by Japanese soldiers suggested this was a
"Place of the Loyal Samurai" (July/August
2019) it is probably more indicative of
the mind-set and propaganda tools used
by the Japanese high command to motivate their own soldiers to fight to the
bitter end than the observation of a code
that probably few foot soldiers were truly
aware of at the time, or that their senior
command observed in day-to-day life.
Very few generals, and certainly not the
emperor, followed through on the samurai tradition at the conclusion of the war.
It is hard to fathom the thousands
of senseless deaths on both sides during this battle that resulted from this
fight-to-the-bitter-end mind-set. In any
event, we see that unearthing the past is
relevant and often compels us to reexamine the present. Thank you for this most
thought-provoking article and the wealth
of information provided in each issue.
Bernie DiDario
Live Oak, CA

After reading your article about the battle
at Peleliu, I was reminded of a visit to the
island on a dive trip in 1994. I was privileged to be guided by a young Palauan man
considered at the time to be the battle's
official historian. He told us he was giving
us the same tour he would give later in the
year to President George H.W. Bush during commemorations of the anniversary of

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8

his being shot down over Chichijima. The
tour was sobering and poignant, reminding
me of the sacrifice of these young men and
all the others who fought in the Pacific,
including my father.
Ed Roybal
Colleyville, TX

Update from archaeologist Neil Price:
Ben Raffield and I have just come back
from Japan where we learned in conversation something that sheds another ray
of light on what we found on Peleliu.
It concerns the stack of phonograph
records that are shown in the article (p.
47). Apparently many Japanese units
were issued the records as a standard set
of patriotic songs and marches, essentially propaganda.

DOUBLE SNAKE DARE
In the July/August 2019 issue, you mention a human coprolite from 1,500 years
ago with venomous snake bits included
("Snake Snack"). The story concludes,
"It's possible that consumption of the
snake was an element of ritual, likely
undertaken by someone with an uncommonly strong stomach." It's been a long
time since I was a young man, but it
seems much more likely that this was
a result of a bunch of inebriated young
men hanging out, and one, upon seeing
the snake, saying, "Betcha can't do this!"
And the rest, as they say, is archaeology.
JS Higginbotham
Slidell, LA

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ARCHAEOLOGY * September/October 2019

Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2019

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