I don't know Dr. Nieman, but apparently prior to his article in the William & Mary journal on TJ and Hemings his publication resume was as follows:



1997 - Conspicuous consumption as wasteful social advertising: A
Darwinian perspective on spatial patterns in Classic Maya terminal
monument dates. In Rediscovering Darwin: Evolutionary Theory in Archaeological Explanation, edited by G. Clarke and M. Barton, pp. 267-290. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 7.

1995 - Stylistic variation in evolutionary perspective: Inferences
from decorative diversity and inter-assemblage distance in Illinois
Woodland Ceramic assemblages. American Antiquity 60(1):1-37.

1993 - Temporal patterning in house plans from the 17th-century Chesapeake. In The Archaeology of Seventeenth-Century Virginia,
edited by T. Reinhart and D. Pogue, pp. 251-284. Council of Virginia
Archaeologists: Archaeological Society of Virginia Special Publication
30, Richmond.

Don't know what any of this research and writing has to do with expertise in dna analysis, but perhaps I am missing something.

J South


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Herbert Barger <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:00 am
Subject: Re: A modest proposal re the DNA debate










When I was first sent a copy of the Monticello Report I immediately stopped
at Nieman's article because it was so outrageous in my opinion and had
little to do with the actual facts of the study which I had participated in
with Dr. E.A. Foster. The various percentages and Monte Carlo mumbo jumbo
was amazing BUT it added no truth to the controversy. To the uninitiated lay
public he, by his title at Monticello, Director of Archaeology, is perceived
as an authority on the DNA Study. His opinion was the first I read, and
laughed at, when Monticello first sent me their report. He was one of
several Monticello employees with a preconceived aim to find TJ guilty,
according to Dr. Ken Wallenborn, who wrote the Minority Report, which was
"swept under the rug" by then Monticello President, Dr. Daniel Jordan. "Now
we have got him" is a remark that he made to Dr Wallenborn when he
"gleefully and excitedly" threw down a piece of paper on the table, but was
gently reminded and corrected that this was WRONG. Yes, a Monticello
employee BUT not an authority or great source on the DNA Study. I ask that
W&M authorities click on two web pages that tell the real truth of this
study, www.tjheritage.org and www.jeffersondna.com. 

Herb Barger    

Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] A modest proposal re the DNA debate

I agree that it is an interesting comment by John Kukla that the Monte
Carlo simulation by  Fraser Nieman was skimmed by most historians.  Im
not sure what skimmed means but I suspect it means they didnt understand
it. The William & Mary Quarterly published this article without peer review
and I am not aware of any one who has followed Frasers methodology to
determine exactly what it was he did. As to the reliance on the study, I
think it is fair to assume that those who read the Quarterly believed it
had the imprimatur of that publication. As Steve Corneliussen points out,
Richard Bernstein cited the study as one of the three legs of his
acceptance of Jeffersons paternity. He made no distinction between the
Monte Carlo simulation and the raw data and in fact defended on SHEAR the
quantitative work by Fraser. In the recent book by Francis D. Cogliano, he
cites the Fraser study as authority. More importantly, the study first
appeared in the original committee report from Monticello, and it is
certainly reasonable to assume that anyone who read the report would
believe that this is a valid statistical methodology. It is interesting to
note that Fraser commented in his study that if one believes the paternity
hypothesis is false on other grounds, then his study would be of no
consequence. I guess the obverse of that is if you first believe the
paternity story, then you can rely on Frasers study. 

Richard E. Dixon
Editor, Jefferson Notes
Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society
4122 Leonard Drive
Fairfax, Va 22030
703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978

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