Ethnographic archaeology has emerged as a form of inquiry into archaeological dilemmas that arise as scholars question older, more positivistic paradigms. Ethnographic Archaeologies describes diverse methods, objectives, and rationalities currently employed in the making of engaged and collaborative archaeological research.The contributors to this volume, for example, understand ethnographic archaeology variously as a means of critical engagement with heritage stakeholders, as the basis of public-policy debates, as a critical archaeological study of ethnic groups, as the study of what archaeology actually does (as opposed to what researchers often think they are doing) in excavations and surveys, and as a foundation for transnational collaborations among archaeologists. What keeps the term "ethnographic archaeology" coherent and relevant is the consensus among practitioners that they are embarking on a new archaeological path by attempting to engage the present directly and fundamentally.

As the foundations of the modern world were being laid at the beginning of the 19th century, Annapolis, Maryland, identified itself as the Ancient City. This unusual appellation has served Annapolis into the present as a city that has consistently defined and redefined for itself what being ancient means. The process of historical recognition and preservation that has played out in Annapolis provides valuable insights into the way modern Americans in general have come to know and use the past. Though often conceived to be in opposition, modernity and tradition can be paired as cultural strategies that allow the modern world to be articulated with the tradition it hoped to replace. The multiple histories and historic landscapes derived from archaeological investigations in Annapolis are presented to show that the physical world below the surface of the city has been defined by constructions of modernity in tandem with the survival of certain traditions.

As the foundations of the modern world were being laid at the beginning of the 19th century, Annapolis, Maryland, identified itself as the Ancient City. This unusual appellation has served Annapolis into the present as a city that has consistently defined and redefined for itself what being ancient means. The process of historical recognition and preservation that has played out in Annapolis provides valuable insights into the way modern Americans in general have come to know and use the past.

Though often conceived to be in opposition, modernity and tradition can be paired as cultural strategies that allow the modern world to be articulated with the tradition it hoped to replace. The multiple histories and historic landscapes derived from archaeological investigations in Annapolis are presented to show that the physical world below the surface of the city has been defined by constructions of modernity in tandem with the survival of certain traditions.

Based on ten years of collaborative, community-based research, this book examines race and racism in a mixed-heritage Native American and African American community on Long Island's north shore. Through excavations of the Silas Tobias and Jacob and Hannah Hart houses in the village of Setauket, Christopher Matthews explores how the families who lived here struggled to survive and preserve their culture despite consistent efforts to marginalize and displace them over the course of more than 200 years. He discusses these forgotten people and the artifacts of their daily lives within the larger context of race, labor, and industrialization from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. A Struggle for Heritage draws on extensive archaeological, archival, and oral historical research and sets a remarkable standard for projects that engage a descendant community left out of the dominant narrative. Matthews demonstrates how archaeology can be an activist voice for a vulnerable population's civil rights as he brings attention to the continuous, gradual, and effective economic assault on people of color living in a traditional neighborhood amid gentrification. Providing examples of multiple approaches to documenting hidden histories and silenced pasts, this study is a model for public and professional efforts to include and support the preservation of historic communities of color. A volume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. Shackel

Historical and archaeological records show that racism and white supremacy defined the social fabric of the northeastern states as much as they did the Deep South. This collection of essays looks at both new sites and well-known areas to explore race, resistance, and supremacy in the region. With essays covering farm communities and cities from the early seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century, the contributors examine the marginalization of minorities and use the materialculture to illustrate the significance of race in understanding daily life. Drawing on historical resources and critical race theory, they highlight the context of race at these sites, noting the different experiences of various groups, such as African American and Native American communities. This cutting-edge research turns with new focus to the dynamics of race and racism in early American life and demonstrates the coming of age of racialization studies.

"Matthews has offered a bold new interpretation of the archaeology of capitalism. This book will take historical archaeology in exciting new directions of inquiry."--Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America "Does a very good job making sense of an exceptionally complex scholarship on capitalism that is routinely invoked in historical archaeology. As an introduction to the basic theoretical points in Marxian perspectives on capitalism and the archaeological scholarship that either intentionally or unwittingly borrows from such concepts, this book is a sound primer for undergraduate and graduate students alike."--Paul R. Mullins, author of Race and Affluence Christopher Matthews offers a fresh look at the historic material culture and social meaning of capitalism in this wide-ranging and compelling study. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the colonial period to the modern era and covering sites from New England to California, The Archaeology of American Capitalismis the first comparative treatment in historical archaeology to comprehensively illustrate the development and evolution of capitalism in the United States. Accessible to even the beginning student and organized chronologically, this volume focuses on the material construction of individuals as commodities, the orientation of social life to the market, and grassroots resistance to capitalist culture. Perhaps most intriguing, Matthews identifies the discipline of archaeology as an artifact of capitalism and offers a thoughtful investigation into the ways in which the transformative effects of capitalism determine not only much of the archaeological record, but the pursuit of archaeology itself.

Based on ten years of collaborative, community-based research, this book examines race and racism in a mixed-heritage Native American and African American community on Long Island's north shore. Through excavations of the Silas Tobias and Jacob and Hannah Hart houses in the village of Setauket, Christopher Matthews explores how the families who lived here struggled to survive and preserve their culture despite consistent efforts to marginalize and displace them over the course of more than 200 years. He discusses these forgotten people and the artifacts of their daily lives within the larger context of race, labor, and industrialization from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. A Struggle for Heritage draws on extensive archaeological, archival, and oral historical research and sets a remarkable standard for projects that engage a descendant community left out of the dominant narrative. Matthews demonstrates how archaeology can be an activist voice for a vulnerable population's civil rights as he brings attention to the continuous, gradual, and effective economic assault on people of color living in a traditional neighborhood amid gentrification. Providing examples of multiple approaches to documenting hidden histories and silenced pasts, this study is a model for public and professional efforts to include and support the preservation of historic communities of color.

"Matthews has offered a bold new interpretation of the archaeology of capitalism. This book will take historical archaeology in exciting new directions of inquiry."--Charles E. Orser Jr., author of "The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America" "Does a very good job making sense of an exceptionally complex scholarship on capitalism that is routinely invoked in historical archaeology. As an introduction to the basic theoretical points in Marxian perspectives on capitalism and the archaeological scholarship that either intentionally or unwittingly borrows from such concepts, this book is a sound primer for undergraduate and graduate students alike."--Paul R. Mullins, author of "Race and Affluence" Christopher Matthews offers a fresh look at the historic material culture and social meaning of capitalism in this wide-ranging and compelling study. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the colonial period to the modern era and covering sites from New England to California, "The Archaeology of American Capitalism" is the first comparative treatment in historical archaeology to comprehensively illustrate the development and evolution of capitalism in the United States. Accessible to even the beginning student and organized chronologically, this volume focuses on the material construction of individuals as commodities, the orientation of social life to the market, and grassroots resistance to capitalist culture. Perhaps most intriguing, Matthews identifies the discipline of archaeology as an artifact of capitalism and offers a thoughtful investigation into the ways in which the transformative effects of capitalism determine not only much of the archaeological record, but the pursuit of archaeology itself. Christopher N. Matthews is associate professor of anthropology at Hofstra University.

Violence is rampant in today's society. From state-sanctioned violence and the brutality of war and genocide to interpersonal fighting and the ways in which social lives are structured and symbolized by and through violence, people enact terrible things on other human beings almost every day. In Archaeologies of Violence and Privilege, archaeologists Christopher N. Matthews and Bradley D. Phillippi bring together a collection of authors who document the ways in which past social formations rested on violent acts and reproduced violent social and cultural structures. The contributors present a series of archaeological case studies that range from the mercury mines of colonial Huancavelica (AD 1564-1824) to the polluted waterways of Indianapolis, Indiana, at the turn of the twentieth century—a problem that disproportionally impacted African American neighborhoods. The individual chapters in this volume collectively argue that positions of power and privilege are fully dependent on forms of violence for their existence and sustenance.