The Star Tribune published the letter to the editor written by zooarchaeologist Rebecca Dean in which she criticized a profile of local celebrity Scott Wolter, host of the television program America Unearthed, that the paper had published the week before. The subtitle provided by the editors speaks to Dean’s main point — “Elevating a television ‘sleuth’ is a disservice to those who came before us,” but in addition to criticizing the paper for drawing misplaced attention to Wolter, she also makes a strong case for the importance of recovering and honoring our real past: “Our ancestors Native, European, African, or Asian lived and died here; they loved and warred, built and destroyed, celebrated and mourned. Their story is excavated by archaeologists, handed down in oral traditions and written in family Bibles. This past shapes who we are today, as individuals and as a society. This past is important. It is a part of us.” Good on the Star Tribune for printing Dean’s letter! And good on Dean for taking the trouble to write the letter and stand up for real archaeology! Brad Lepper