Historical archaeology
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Historical archaeology is a branch of archaeology that concerns itself with "historical" societies, i.e. those that had systems of writing. It is distinguished from prehistoric archaeology (also called "ancient archaeology"), which studies societies with no writing, and protohistoric archaeology, which studies societies with very little writing. The term is also used, especially in North America and Australasia, to describe the archaeology of the most recent past - from approximately AD 1500 to the present, meaning that it is concerned with European settler societies, as distinguished from the archaeology of indigenous inhabitants. The term is increasingly used in Europe to refer to Post-Medieval Archaeology (circa AD 1450-present). Some archaeologists, especially in the UK, have also begun to engage with archaeologies of the very recent (20th century) and "contemporary past" - leading to the emergence of the field of contemporary archaeology.
While the study of history has uncovered much information on historic societies by studying the written records that those societies left behind, for some, historical archaeology remains an indispensable method of inquiry to supplement, corroborate, and at times overturn the findings inferred from the documentary record. For others, historical archaeology's distinctive engagement with materiality leads to entirely new accounts of the recent past.
One problem with the written record is that ancient records do not cover all topics equally. Also, the written record is often biased. Literacy was often limited to the upper classes, such as the clergy and aristocracy. The general population produced few records of its own, and those that it did were less likely to be preserved. The literate classes were primarily concerned with recording their own interests. Furthermore, many topics of interest to scholars, such as economic history and religious history, were widely taken for granted and thus not described in records.
Furthermore, not all records written in antiquity have been preserved. For example, much knowledge of the Roman Empire was lost during the early Middle Ages because Europeans had yet to take a renewed interest in their ancestors. Additionally, many of the ancient records that have survived are not primary sources; For example, the works of Aristobulus, the historian who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns, were mostly destroyed within a few centuries and supplanted by the writings of later scholars who used him as a source.
Finally, written sources are not always trustworthy. Those who write history usually have some personal involvement in it, and they may distort the truth (whether consciously or unconsciously) to cast themselves in a more positive light. On the other hand, it is practically impossible to systematically distort the archaeological record so as to imply events that never occurred.
This is not to say that historical archaeology is a replacement for historical records; rather the two can be used in conjunction. In fact, the existence of written records allows historical archaeologists opportunities that do not exist in prehistorical archaeology. Historical accounts, inventories and other documents, census records, old maps, and photographs can all be utilized in the interpretation of a site or an artifact assemblage.
[edit] Notable historical archaeology sites in the United States
- African Burial Ground, New York City
- Annapolis, Maryland
- Jamestown Settlement, Virginia
- Monticello, Virginia
- Mount Vernon, Virginia
- Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts
- St. Mary's City, Maryland
- Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- Deetz, James (1996). In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. New York: Anchor.
- Orser, Charles E. (2004). Historical Archaeolgoy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc..
- M. Hall and S. Silliman (eds) 2006. Historical Archaeology. Oxford: Blackwell.
- D. Hicks and M.C. Beaudry (eds) 2006. The Cambridge Companion to Historical Archaeology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- South, Stanley (1977). Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology. Academic Press.
