Talk:Patty Jo Watson

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[edit] Contesting of Speedy Deletion

Thank you for notifying me of the decision to mark the article on Patty Jo Watson for speedy deletion.

I believe Dr. Watson qualifies as a fit encyclopedic subject. She is credited with the "defining and pioneering" the field of ethnoarchaeology, which subject already rates an article on Wikipedia (See Patty Jo Watson--An Intellectual Biography from the University of Texas, recently added to the article under external links.) She introduced several innovations into the field of archaeology, including the practice of performing recreations/reenactments of ancient lifeways as a method of filling in gaps from incomplete archaeological data: these experiements commenced in the 1960s in Mammoth Cave with modern explorers adopting dress and tools similar to those recovered from archaeological remains in the cave. Her analysis of paleofecal specimens, including the development of physical methods for separating materials from such specimens, enables (using carbon dating) the creation of timelines for transitions between hunter-gatherer culture and plant domestication in the Late Archaic and Early Woodland cultures.

A fairly prolific academic author as well as the author of a few books for the scientific press, Watson is the recipient of numerous awards and other recognition. At least one archaeological symposium has been organized in her honor, with the resulting papers published under her editorship.

I believe, based on these facts, that Watson satisfies one or more of the listed criteria for importance and significance, namely:

  • Published authors, editors, and photographers who have written books with an audience of 5,000 or more or in periodicals with a circulation of 5,000 or more
  • Painters, sculptors, architects, engineers, and other professionals whose work is recognized as exceptional and likely to become a part of the enduring historical record of that field
  • The professor test -- If the individual is more well known and more published than an average college professor (based on the U.S. practice of calling all full-time academics professors), they can and should be included.

Alan Canon 20:38, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

It looks to me that she is notable indeed. I have removed the speedy tag, but I invite you to move the second paragraph (beside its first sentence) of what you wrote above to the article itself. - Liberatore(T) 20:42, 6 March 2006 (UTC)