"I'm not old ... just been here a long time," quipped the 80-year-old Appalachian potter, Cheever Meaders indicating that his vitality was more significant than his age. The comment has interesting implications when applied to cultural traditions. The artifacts and folkways of societies around the globe have been collected, cataloged, analyzed, exhibited, and studied for centuries by scholars attached to museums and universities. An incidental result of these activities is that the material, once removed from its context, scrutinized and exhibited in cultural centers, becomes enshrouded in a mystique best described by a collection of ...