Archaeological "Science"

I've just finished my second year of studying archaeology at the University of Glasgow and have been quite amused by the conflict between those that see archaeology purely as a science and those who see it as an entirely subjective enterprise, more so even than the other 'soft' sciences. A conflict that can be seen illustrated with considerable venom on Geoff Carter's blog. The root of this conflict is the perception of some that archaeology, or any other discipline, is only one or the other. A 'hard' empirical practice on the one hand or a 'soft' discipline subject to the whims of human subjectivity on the other.