Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism

by Mark P. Leone, Parker B. Potter Jr. (Editor)

American things, American material culture, and American archaeology are the themes of this book. The authors use goods used or made in America to illuminate issues such as tenancy, racism, sexism, and regional bias. Contributors utilize data about everyday objects - from tin cans and bottles to namebrand items, from fish bones to machinery - to analyze the way American capitalism works. Their cogent analyses take us literally from broken dishes to the international economy. Especially notable chapters examine how an archaeologist formulates questions about exploitation under capitalism, and how the study of artifacts reveals African-American middle class culture and its response to racism.

Genres: Archaeology

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 1999

About the author

1940–

Dr. Mark Paul Leone is an archaeologist whose research focuses on critical theory as it applies to archaeology and, particularly, to historical archaeology. Currently, he is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since 1981, he has also been the director of the Archaeology in Annapolis project, which focuses on the historical archaeology of Annapolis and Maryland's Eastern Shore and features the use of critical theory.

Reviews

[Olivia Eaton]

It was horribly dry. It did have some interesting points but overall it was a book that I would not recommend.