American archaeology is ready to be a mature science, one that accepts the primacy of its empirical data — for these can outlast theories — and the political and human ramifications of its actions, as it reflectively constructs and compares interpretations. Tolerance for ambiguity is as essential as the Marshalltown trowel.

The Land of Prehistory: A Critical History of American Archaeology - Chapter 12 (p. 230), Routledge. 1998