1 J. C. Harrington Medal in Historical Archaeology George L. Miller George L. Miller is the recipient of the 2012 Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) J. C. Harrington Medal in Historical Archaeology. This award was presented to George at the SHA’s annual conference in Baltimore, in recognition of his pioneering work, lifetime contributions, and dedication to scholarship in historical archaeology. The Early Years in the “Old Northwest”                           while he was an undergraduate at Wayne State University in Detroit. His principal professors and mentors were the late Dr. Arnold Pilling and Dr. Gordon L. Grosscup. While at Wayne State, he had the opportunity to work with a number of other individuals at a variety of sites in the ! " #   $      %     &'   * +  /  3 +  / Michigan, Museum of Anthropology at the Custer Road Dump site on Mackinac Island. This   /     *5      7      5   ;   <  University Museum of Anthropology. In 1966, 1967, and 1968, Miller served as the laboratory person for the great J. C. (“Pinky”)        * +     " + >         ?     @Q under the direction of Joseph Smith after being forced out of Missouri. The opportunity to work with “Pinky” and, equally important, Virginia Harrington had a great impact on George and forever colored the way he looks at archaeology. Between times, Miller had the chance to participate in a Historical Archaeology, 2012, 46(2):1–8. Permission to reprint required. 2 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 46(2)  +    Z ?  [      " *      5   /  3 +  /      ? / \ 5   * +    ; ] ^ +    _ ?   Junction, Michigan. He subsequently undertook the analysis of the ceramics from the tavern with Dr. Grosscup. In 1969, Miller began a long-term research relationship with a site in Portage County, Ohio. The Franklin Glass Works occupied George through the spring of 1970. While initially the crew  /    ?   / * +     <5?  / &      /  glassworks (published in 1987) and began the study of the ceramics—ceramics that have been studied much longer than the mere nine years the site was in operation. One of the early fruits /       `  $  5    { ^ ? |*5  / \    |* + tions vs. Technical Analysis of Artifacts from the Franklin Glass Works Site, Kent, Ohio” (Miller } ~    $  /         >   ?     €} ~ 5        *5 ?   ?          ?   ^    George’s most “South”erly foray. George Miller Goes South >   5  / }      $  / ?     5          the St. Mary’s City Commission (now the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission) to set up and establish the archaeological lab and create processes for the study and treatment of artifacts from   `  $   5           ; <   /   ? /          +  ?  !   //     ?   _  _    \*      II, Dr. Lois Carr, Dr. Lorena Walsh, and Dr. Russell Menard. Among the “summer help” were myself, Henry Miller, Joanne Bowen, Mike Smolek, and Robert Keeler. George has said that each day at work was an intellectual feast, interacting with people who went on to revolutionize the entire area of “Chesapeake Studies.” Miller directed the archaeology lab during the entire Watergate debacle. By his rule, the only radio that could be played in the lab had to be tuned to National Public Radio for the hearings. While at St. Mary’s City, George published his study of 19th-century ceramics from the ToleTabbs site, “A Tenant Farmer’s Tableware: Nineteenth-Century Ceramics from Tabb’s Purchase” €  }~        5     $   /          / 5    { ;   ‚ |  75ƒ# \ <  `     the laboratory processes still used there, began an artifact conservation program, and introduced the staff to the idea of ceramic-vessel analysis, stressing that people used pots, not pieces. Also during this time, he began researching ceramic supply in the isolated Ohio Western Reserve,      5     <     @Q >  }&          / American independence by immigrating to Canada. George Goes North ^    / `  ?      _       ]   %    7 ]  _    !   Ontario. Miller was employed as a material culture researcher under the direction of Olive Jones in the Glass Section. While there, he had the opportunity to work with Olive, Catherine Sullivan, and others on the Parks Canada Glass Glossary €Z    < +  @'~, still the bible of glassartifacts studies. Three other publications on glass and ceramics came from Miller’s time at Parks _   €   < +  @†    7  @'†    Z   @&~    said that going to work at Parks Canada at that time was like attending a conference every day,          / ?    5         +  *?  fellowship to the Winterthur Museum, where he undertook a study of the Philadelphia ceramics    ?    _          /? @}  @Q €  @~ Following the fellowship, he organized a conference on marketing ceramics in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Five papers from that conference were subsequently published in J. C. HARRINGTON MEDAL IN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 3 Winterthur Portfolio in 1984. Most notably, the research led to the 1980 publication of Miller’s ?   _ $     | ?  <   /  _  _ ?  #  Historical Archaeology (Miller 1980). This article has been reprinted both in Mary Beaudry’s 1988 edited volume, Documentary Archaeology, and the SHA reader Approaches to Material Culture Research for Historical Archaeologists (Miller et al. 1991). George Takes Williamsburg >  @Q       ]   3  <       %  // ^   position was as senior laboratory analyst under the direction of Dr. Marley Brown III. His work at Colonial Williamsburg involved helping to revise their computer cataloging system, improving the dating of artifacts, reviewing the analysis of reports, and teaching students. He was awarded two       _  ;  ?   ?5 ? %    5%     ?  5   * +            ]   ?          ? `  theses at the College of William and Mary. During this period, Miller authored, coauthored, or contributed to 12 research articles, including “The Second Destruction of the Geldermalsen” (1987c). This article, which questioned the ethics /  ? ?                  $          + position to take when you are employed by one of the museums purchasing Chinese porcelain from the Geldermalsen ^         5      %     the Bermuda Journal of Archaeology and Maritime History in 1990 and Historical Archaeology in 1992. Miller maintained a hectic pace of publication, both as a solo author and as a collaborative  >  @&  5   !/ [   < { \  / |  ?   ‡  _  # in Historical Archaeology and, in 1987, “Origins of Josiah Wedgwood’s Pearlware” in Northeast Historical Archaeology.              ?  @' /?  "    | ?  /  ?    €"|~    |   _ ?    \?   }&ˆ  @&ˆ{  ]  7   and Availability.” He directed two researchers working with merchants’ records from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Williamsburg. As part of his research, George spent three months in Staffordshire working in the Wedgwood, Spode, and Minton archives.    +    /?    \    / \      <5?  / @' /       < //   5 ` 5 $*    / @         ?  Winterthur Research Fellowship to the Winterthur Museum in Delaware in the fall of 1989. The    /    $   ? ] ]# /  ?   ??  +        /? }@ˆ  @@ˆ >  ˆ      5   |   < | |   { \  ‰  ;  \  [  |#        % "\ & I   !* >      +  *?  "|Š;  [  5   ;   ? /? July through December 1991 to continue this research. ^     5      / \ ‹+  < / __ > * ‡   / _ $     | ?  <   / |   _ ?   /? }@}  @@ˆ#  Historical Archaeology (Miller 1991a), which was subsequently reprinted in the second edition of Approaches to Material Culture Research for Historical Archaeologists (Brauner 2000) and later translated into Portuguese in 2009. That same year, Miller began publishing a series of brief articles in the newsletter of the _   / "      \  €_"|\~     { ^  ^    User’s Guide to Ceramic Assemblages.” The four-part series included “Part I: Lumping Sites into Mega-assemblages by Those That Cannot Tell Time” (Miller 1991b), “Part II: What Does ^  \ ?   ‹5  ƒ# €  ~ 7  >>>{ ‚ ]  \    \ ?     [    5 # €  ~  $  7  >‡{ <? ^    _ $    / ;  |    # €  Q~ ^  5 5    5+   ?     / ?       /     ?    +      _"|\   Œ5{ŠŠ  Š   Š?  5/>. 4 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 46(2) George in Delaware In 1992, George Miller began a foray into the cultural resource management (CRM) world. He was employed as a material culture researcher by the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Delaware under the direction of Dr. Jay Custer. While at the center, he created a computer catalog for glass and ceramic vessels, set up a computerized numbering system for the inventory control of artifacts from historical-period sites, and analyzed the artifacts from four sites ranging in date from the late 17th century into the early 20th century. His work involved training catalogers, historical archaeologists, and students. While at Delaware, Miller published with Rob Hunter “|   <| |   #  Antiques Magazine (Hunter and Miller 1994). >    Q          "|      |    \?   _ ?   @&‘}{ 7   > * ‡    _ #      *   /   earlier work on ceramic prices. Much of this research subsequently fed into the article “War and 7 # €   |   ˆˆ@~ >          \  <?      "  <  ]   5   _   _ ?5   7  { |   _ ?     \?    ] from 1770 to 1840” in Everyday Life in the Early Republic, published by the Winterthur Museum. George in the Corporate World >     /   ?? Š   ?   /  3 +  /    / the corporate world. He became the laboratory director for the archaeology section of URS Corporation in Burlington, New Jersey, where he remained until his retirement in 2008. He oversaw the  /    / ?  _‹ 5%       5            period, Miller authored or coauthored eight publications and began his deep involvement with the %  Ceramics in America. Miller had worked closely with Rob Hunter while at Colonial Williams  ?         <  $     /?   5     \   Family: A Staffordshire Soup Plate and the American Market” (Hunter and Miller 2001) and “How Creamware Got the Blues: The Origins of China Glaze and Pearlware” (Miller and Hunter 2001). Miller continued collaborating and publishing in a range of venues. “Telling Time for Archaeologists,” published in 2000 in Northeast Historical Archaeology with contributions by Patricia < ?/ |  < ]  \      *?5 $  `  5   / ?      and is a “must read” for anyone conducting material culture analysis. This article led to a series / 5   5  3‹< / _"|\ While at URS, Miller worked closely with Terry Klein and Meta Janowitz. George and Meta were noted for their spirited discussions concerning pottery in its many forms. George and Terry collaborated on the important article: “A System for Ranking the Research Potential of Nineteenthand Twentieth-Century Farmstead Archaeology in the Northeast” (Miller and Klein 2002). In this article, Miller and Klein proposed ways of evaluating the research potential of a ubiquitous type of site frequently found but seldom studied. Miller also returned, somewhat, to his roots, investigating the evolution of machine-made bottles. >  }     3‹< 5 #       ?   $   #    / \? |   \?`  /    ?              %   \?    ?    ’     +         $  5      George in Retirement ‹ ?    /       +    /$  ]  >  ˆˆ@   \? 5       $       ;   7 #  Ceramics in America (Miller and |   ˆˆ@~. The original paper had been presented at the 2007 Society for Historical Archaeol  /    ;  ?  ‡   ^       /       *  +     ? %  ?              ?   +          ^          *  ?  / `      +     “   J. C. HARRINGTON MEDAL IN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 5           / ]  5  7         $   55 are what we want to study. The year 2009 saw the publication with Rob Hunter of “Suitable for Framing: Decorated Shell| |   #  Early American Life (Hunter and Miller 2009). This article reached a very   55             *? ??   ?  5     $    `                ]{ ;      55ƒ# George’s recent research has included more study of the advent of machine-made bottles and   *5    /  5           /   5 5   ?   $  material used in the decoration of ceramics. Did cobalt cost affect how the potters decorated their   ƒ ;      5         ? ’ George is also investigating a privateer prize cargo seized during the War of 1812 and auctioned //  < ?      @Q >      5            >  'ˆ    / ‰ +5 ; #      ^             ?  /         /   'ˆ          ’  ?   much as he would an archaeological site, albeit one much better described and documented than   /      <        +      ?   * /  ;  / @   %     $       \? / ;   7 # Mentoring Students and Reaching Out to the Public !  /   `  ? %  5            ?       have matured into colleagues. George has been instrumental in directing students into research into the past that is not driven by the au courant  <+            +  $ /?  `       ?  5  /   +  +   / ?  ?  %    advanced degree. George worked directly with undergraduates at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, undergraduates and graduate students at the College of William and Mary, a range of students at the University of Delaware, and most recently, graduate students at Temple University. Of course, many of these students went on for even more advanced studies, and they could depend on Miller to support them, push them farther than they wanted to go, and to provide insight that only comes   *5         \?   ?      ?  ?        Z   ?     / \  <?     7    < ?/ "   ]   |  < ]    7 \      |  ;  ‹       ” ]  ^  "   ? /   $ /?         ;    ?  5      /   ?     \  >     |   _ ?  # George Miller has reached diverse audiences, ranging from college students to government agen   5/    ’      +  ?       $?      +    5sentation 60 times in 22 states. Venues have included 14 colleges and universities, 4 museums, 8 5/    ’     '  +  ?        $?  George Miller has also reached out to the glass- and ceramics-collectors’ world, where he has tried to move enthusiasts from the worship of “style” to an understanding of the underlying causal economics. His articles in the       & I   !, Antiques Magazine, and Ceramics in America have brought the same rigor of research to new specialized and popular audiences. George and his “Pun”ishing use of Language               <? 5 $  +          5      include “How Creamware Got the Blues” (Miller and Hunter 2001); “Pearlware did not replace  ?      5   ? # €   |   ˆˆ@~† 5     5 ?  /  ?    # €   |   ˆˆ@~†  !   ‰  ‚# €  @&~       known how language can be used to advance a point or blunt an assault. He once spoke of “simple reductionist archaeology” and then added that he feared he had strayed “far south of his topic.” 6 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 46(2) <? ?   `      /      /  5/   5 $   5   /   / 5$           +        ?    _‹ $? ? ;  ‚     >    5    { <  7   _  |   /?  7 #     +        //         5   named Debby Tage and a business manager named Hiram Cheap. <? ?        ? ]  %]    ? ]  5 { !+5    the resulting falling prices drove changing consumption patterns, not consumer demand.” George always appreciates the need to see past the theory to the reality of the data and is not shy in pointing this out when others do not. Sartorial George George Miller has always made an unusual statement in his choice of attire. George invented    [      *        ] \        ]  ]  Bavarian tuba player, but Bavarian tuba players do not commonly wear sandals. Many have tried to emulate his sense of style, but few have succeeded. I have been told that when attending the rather formal American Ceramic Circle meeting in Philadelphia that his co-presenters, Ann Smart Martin and Patricia Samford, had to take George shopping so he actually would have a tie. George    ?     / ?                    $       5 ] ‚    ` ? ]  ?   `       $   ?  Then he opens his mouth and we are totally disarmed intellectually. If sandals and suspenders catch our attention, it is the mind that we remember. George and the Society for Historical Archaeology        ??  / <\     $  ?  /  5  /  <\      &}  +    * +   / <\ /? @ˆ  @        +  ??  /? @Q  '     ?       series “A Reader from Historical Archaeology” with publication of Approaches to Material Culture Research for Historical Archaeologists in 1991 (Miller et al. 1991). He has presented 19 papers at annual meetings, 7 of which have been published. He has authored or coauthored 10 articles that  +   5     %      ] +     5                      ’     5   ]5  5           5   5  >  }Q        ?            /       / /   /  ‹ ] <5  *5     / –'ˆ      /   ’                *5  /   It was Miller who taught me to always attend the business meeting—often the best theater and entertainment occurs in that Robert’s Rules of [dis]Order–structured space. Miller has been known to complain about the time of year we meet and the inclement weather that seems to follow us around. As detailed in a submission to the  HI, George pointed out that in 1968 the second annual meeting, in Williamsburg, was beset with freezing rain; after the 1970 meeting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, heavy snow made travel home dicey; and at the }Q  /   < 7      5   5   *5     ?5   ^ }& meeting in Philadelphia concluded with freezing rain. In fact, I recall driving back to Baltimore and being directed onto the highway median by Pennsylvania state troopers because of road conditions. ^ } " +  ?    5        ?   ?   $   `     >  @Q    + _      /  +      /   was not, leading to massive delays getting home, and who can forget Cincinnati in 1996 when ?  55    /   ƒ ^   ?   ?  `  ?5  €> fortunately took the advice of a wise man that had grown up across the river in Kentucky and /     ~ <   ??  ?       _5  _   ^*  with ice storms, and more recently the less-than-warm weather of Amelia Island, Florida. Miller J. C. HARRINGTON MEDAL IN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 7 has suggested changing the time of year that SHA meets to something more appealing, but then we would all be on the beach like at the Kingston, Jamaica, conference in 1992. However, he       ??         <\  /   ;    _  '   he met Amy—some good things do come from these conferences. George Miller and the Discipline From the birth of the discipline of historical archaeology with the Dallas meeting of 1967    ?     +  5  '                  /  5     +5     ?          $  /  /   ‚      / 5 ` ?   * ?   +  /         grounded our studies of ceramics in a real world, not simply a collector’s world. His long publication history and his willingness to teach students of all stripes have made a lasting contribution        /          * ?5         5   not a simple mathematical equation but rather a thoroughgoing evaluation of data and what those data mean. George’s outreach to many audiences demonstrates why we actually do archaeology. His ceramic seminars have reached countless students of material culture and broadened our audience in areas archaeologists seldom tread. His range of studies from ceramics to glass has enlightened the discipline and helped move our work into areas previously ignored. The “Telling Time” post     ^  ^    3 `     _ ?  \ ?   #  +    |        /        ]          ]    /$  %  like the Geldermalsen   ?    $ ?     5          is easy. In his retirement, Miller continues to contribute to historical archaeology. In my opinion, Pinky and Virginia Harrington would be proud. References BEAUDRY, MARY C. (EDITOR) 1988 [ !"    "    HI &  . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. HUNTER, ROBERT, AND GEORGE L. MILLER  |  <||   Antiques'€Q~{Q‘Q 2001 All in the Family: A Staffordshire Soup Plate and the American Market. In Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter, editor, 55‘'_ 5  [      ];> ˆˆ <  /[ ? { <||   Early American Life 40(4):9–19. JONES, OLIVE, AND CATHERINE SULLIVAN @' The Parks Canada Glass Glossary. With contributions by George L. Miller, Jane Harris, Ann Smith, and Kevin Lunn. Parks Canada, Ottawa, ON. MILLER, GEORGE L. 1971a The Application of the South Mean Ceramic Date Formula to a Nineteenth Century Site.       Archaeology Papers&{Q‘ } ^ ?|*5 /\   |* +   + ^  \  /\ /  /?[ ]  ;] <  Kent, Ohio. Michigan Archaeologist}€~{‘' 1974 A Tenant Farmer’s Tableware: Nineteenth-Century Ceramics from Tabb’s Purchase. Maryland Historical Magazine 69(2):197–210. @ˆ _ $    | ? <  /_ _ ?  Historical Archaeology 14:1–40. @ _  7 /7  5 @}‘@QWinterthur Portfolio €~{Q}‘ 1986a Ode to a Lunch Bowl: The Atlantic Lunch as an Interface between St. Mary’s County Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Northeast Historical ArchaeologyQ{‘@ @& !/[  < {\/|  ?  ‡ 75   /? ? ‡ _  ;   55  *   Moodey. Historical Archaeologyˆ€~{'‘@' 1987a History of the Franklin Glass Works, Portage County, Ohio. Glass Club Bulletin of the National Early American Glass Club'{Q‘ 1987b Origins of Josiah Wedgwood’s Pearlware. Northeast Historical Archaeology 16:80–92. 1987c The Second Destruction of the Geldermalsen. American Neptune€~{}'‘@ 8 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 46(2)   \‹+ </__> *‡  /_ $    | ? <  /|  _ ?  /?}@}@@ˆ Historical Archaeology'€~{‘' 1991b Thoughts Towards a User’s Guide to Ceramic Assemblages, Part I: Lumping Sites into Mega-assemblages by Those That Cannot Tell Time. Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology HI@{‘'  ^ ^   3 `  _ ? \ ?   7 >>{;  ^ \ ?  ‹5  ƒCouncil for Northeast Historical Archaeology HI 20:4–6. 1992 Thoughts Towards a User’s Guide to Ceramic Assemblages, Part III: Breaking Archaeological Assemblages into Functional Groups. Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology HI 22:2–4. Q ^ ^   3 `  _ ? \ ?   7 >‡{<?^  _ $   /; |     Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology HI 26:4–7. ˆˆˆ ^ ^ ?/\   ;      7   < ?/| < ] \    Northeast Historical Archaeology 29:1–22. MILLER, GEORGE L., AND AMY C. EARLS ˆˆ@ ;  7 {^>?5 /| ?   7    _ ? _ ?5  7  > Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter, editor, pp. 67–108. Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee, WI. MILLER, GEORGE L., AND ROBERT R. HUNTER, JR. ˆ |  <||   {\ ‰ ; \ [ |>       % "\ & I   !55ˆ}‘Q'‚ ?  ? ?/\‚ ?  ?\‰ 2001 How Creamware Got the Blues: The Origins of China Glaze and Pearlware. In Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter, editor, 55Q'‘&_ 5  [      ];> MILLER, GEORGE L., AND SILAS D. HURRY @Q _ ? <55  | ?  >  [  _?? {7 _ /! ;  ‹ +@ˆˆ‘@' Historical Archaeology 17(2):80–92. MILLER, GEORGE L., OLIVE R. JONES, LESTER A. ROSS, AND TERESITA MAJEWSKI (COMPILERS) 1991 Approaches to Material Culture Research for Historical Archaeologists: A Reader from Historical Archaeology. Society for Historical Archaeology, California, PA. MILLER, GEORGE L., AND ELIZABETH A. JORGENSON 1986  ! H   #   H!  ! [ !  Y  !"     . Parks Canada, Ottawa, ON. MILLER, GEORGE L., AND TERRY H. KLEIN 2002 A System for Ranking the Research Potential of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Farmstead Archaeology in the Northeast. Northeast Historical ArchaeologyQˆ™Q{''‘&& MILLER, GEORGE L., AND ANTHONY PACEY @' >?5 / ’     _  Historical Archaeologyˆ€~{Q@‘'ˆ >  {^?   _?5 /   _ < MILLER, GEORGE L., AND CATHERINE SULLIVAN @   ?  _  No. 171. Ottawa, ON. Silas D. Hurry   | /7  /  ‚ 7 ] _  Research Bulletin