Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

202 / Wilson
A growing number of U.S. scholars have been visiting Cuba and collaborating
with Cuban colleagues, and it is hoped that this trend will continue. This
volume pushes the door open even wider.
I have had the pleasure of visiting Cuba two times in recent years, and, like
many others in this volume, I was impressed by the quantity and high quality
of the archaeological research going on. I would like to thank my wonderful
friend and colleague Dra. Estrella Rey, who opened her home to me and introduced
me to her wide community of colleagues, students, and friends.
Through Dra. Rey and her colleagues, I saw that despite the continuing hardships,
Cuba remains one of the leading islands in the Caribbean in terms of
the archaeological research being carried out. What was most clear and promising
is that there is a vibrant young generation of Cuban students who are
doing fantastic work and are hungry for interaction, dialogue, and collaboration
with their counterparts from other countries.
This volume is a sign of great promise for the future of the dialogue between
Cuban scholars and the rest of the international community. Shannon
Dawdy’s efforts in helping to put it together demonstrate the enthusiasm of a
young generation of scholars north of the Straits of Florida that is eager to
engage in a dialogue with Cuba and the Caribbean. She and Gabino La Rosa
and Antonio Curet are to be heartily commended for their efforts in pulling
together the symposium from which this volume evolved (and the grant
money that made it possible) and the volume itself. The editors and indeed all
of the participants in the book should be acknowledged for their generosity
of spirit and commitment to the good of our community. For Shannon and
Gabino and Antonio, there are certainly other pressing obligations of greater
direct bene¤t to them personally, but nevertheless they put their efforts toward
this project, which helps us all.
The dialogue that this volume promotes is badly needed, and the papers
collected here will be of great value to a wide audience. It is important to
remember that one of the most important and useful parts of the process of
dialogue is respectful difference of opinion. It is a lot more dif¤cult to engage
in a real dialogue than it is to reproduce complacently the same interpretations
and opinions. It is also a lot more valuable. Dialogue is work, and disagreement
is even harder work, yet it is the process through which we learn
more about the past. As noted, the Caribbean has a long history of being a
marketplace of competing voices and ideas, and that is what we desperately
need in Caribbean archaeology. This volume is a wonderful and timely contribution
to this dialogue.