would the trojan horse have bested the adobe cliff dwellings of mesa verde for the pritzker architecture prize of 1200 BC?

by most accounts, it seems that jg farrell’s “troubles” was/is a worthy choice for the booker prize—of 1970.  who exactly was clamoring that mr. farrell, or anyone for that matter, be retroactively awarded this prize is something of a mystery to me.  are we really so obsessed with lists and rankings of art that we’re actively looking for even more reasons to give out awards that we already have?  you know, because what we really need, in addition to the booker prize, and national book award, and pen/faulkner award, and nobel prize, and newberry medal, and the pulitzer, and the who knows what else, is the 19th century version of all those awards.  i’m just dying to know which had more literary merit in 1846: poe’s “tales” or melville’s “typee: a peep at polynesian life.“  if 1970 is seriously the best place we can focus our critical faculties right now in regards to novels, maybe david shields is right.