--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant…" description: "\"“Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but unimportant archaeologists.”\" — Douglas Preston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg" --- # Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but… ![“Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but unimportant archaeologists.” quote by Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg) > ““Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but unimportant archaeologists.”” [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that the significance lies in who studies sites, not the sites themselves. **In simple terms:** People matter more than places. Key Takeaway Focus on the researcher’s impact. Themes archaeology valuation human impact Mood reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - academic conferences - fieldwork - grant proposals Key Concepts research significance bias interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does a researcher’s perspective shape findings? - Can sites be valuable without human interpretation? A Different Perspective Neglects the intrinsic value of the sites themselves. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archaeologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) ## Related quotes > [I will tell you a little secret about archaeologists, dear Reader. They all pretend t be very high-minded. 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More than one archaeologist has found his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millar-burrows/on-the-whole-archaeological-work-has-unquestionably-strengthened/) Millar Burrows > [In becoming archaeologists of the world of our mothers, we are trying to retrieve the female past and to invent a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bernikow/in-becoming-archaeologists-of-the-world-of-our-mothers-we-are-trying/) [Louise Bernikow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bernikow/) > [“Were archaeologists really such a sex-starved lot as all that? Did pigs really sweat?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/were-archaeologists-really-such-a-sex-starved-lot-as-all-that-did/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) ## More by Douglas Preston > [“The Tyrannosaurus rex was a creature of the jungle. 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More than one archaeologist has found his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millar-burrows/on-the-whole-archaeological-work-has-unquestionably-strengthened/) Millar Burrows > [Painters were also attorneys, happy storytellers of anecdote, psychologists, botanists, zoologists, archaeologists, engineers, but there were no creative painters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazimir-malevich/painters-were-also-attorneys-happy-storytellers-of-anecdote/) [Kazimir Malevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazimir-malevich/) > [I've got to get the ultimate in composition today. or I've got to get the ultimate in light, I'll stay here until it appears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/i-ve-got-to-get-the-ultimate-in-composition-today-or-i-ve-got-to-get/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [You know, many people believe that we archaeologists are just a collection of old fogies digging around in the ruins after old dried up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/griffin-jay/you-know-many-people-believe-that-we-archaeologists-are-just-a/) [Griffin Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/griffin-jay/) > [We need to be moral archaeologists to pull out how we understand the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosef-abramowitz/we-need-to-be-moral-archaeologists-to-pull-out-how-we-understand-the/) Yosef Abramowitz > [I will tell you a little secret about archaeologists, dear Reader. They all pretend t be very high-minded. They claim that their sole aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-tell-you-a-little-secret-about-archaeologists-dear-reader-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[Agatha Christie\] is fond of quoting the witty wife who once said, 'an archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/agatha-christie-is-fond-of-quoting-the-witty-wife-who-once-said-an/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > [Whether we are reading the Bible for the first time or standing in a field in Israel next to a historian and an archaeologist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/whether-we-are-reading-the-bible-for-the-first-time-or-standing-in-a/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I wondered if I would appear on a temple wall painting someday. A blonde Egyptian girl with purple highlights running sideways through the palm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wondered-if-i-would-appear-on-a-temple-wall-painting-someday-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Archaeology is a deeply conservative discipline and I have found that archaeologists, no matter where they are working, have a horror of questioning anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/archaeology-is-a-deeply-conservative-discipline-and-i-have-found-that/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [When archaeologists discover the missing arms of Venus de Milo, they will find she was wearing boxing gloves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/when-archaeologists-discover-the-missing-arms-of-venus-de-milo-they/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Wherever man has left the stamp of mind on brute-matter; whether we designate his work as structure, texture, or mixture, mechanical or chymical; whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-thomas-newton/wherever-man-has-left-the-stamp-of-mind-on-brute-matter-whether-we/) Charles Thomas Newton > [Times are not good here. The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/times-are-not-good-here-the-city-is-crumbling-into-ashes-it-has-been/) [Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/) [Browse all 68 Archaeologists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but unimportant archaeologists.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Preston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant-sites-but-unimportant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Archaeologists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant-sites-but-unimportant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/douglas-preston-7731_quote_perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant_952401.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps it’s not a matter of unimportant sites, but unimportant archaeologists.” — Douglas Preston", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Douglas Preston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Perhaps it’s not a matter of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant-sites-but-unimportant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/perhaps-it-s-not-a-matter-of-unimportant-sites-but-unimportant/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```