Anyone can read the label on a bottle of American bourbon or Scotch whisky to know the difference, but in alchaeology we seek to divine secrets such as the original Maryland rye.
An alcoholic will order a Mai Tai and keep drinking them for two hours. An alchaeologist will order a Mai Tai and argue for two hours whether Trader Vic or Don the Beachcomber invented it, which version is better, and which secret ingredients belong in it.