Convened By
B. Agbaje-Williams (Nigeria) and C.A. Folorunso (Nigeria)
Theme Details
This theme will provide the forum to discuss advances in the theoretical and methodological issues in the study of historical sites. The theme seeks cross-cultural meanings of history and how they relate to archaeological studies. This would lead to addressing the question of if there could be a universal definition of historical archaeology.
Contact:
B. Agbaje-Williams
Institute of African Studies
University of Ibadan
Ibadan, NIGERIA.
email: bagw@skannet.com
C.A. Folorunso
Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Ibadan
Ibadan, NIGERIA.
email: cafoloso@pop.skannet.com
Sessions
Archaeological Investigation Of Historic Period Burial Methods
Organized By
Steven J. Shephard (USA), Francine W. Bromberg, (USA), Jon Prangnell (Australia)
Session Details
Death and the disposal of human bodies is a universal and timeless concern for humankind. The methods used to prepare, preserve, inter, incinerate or otherwise treat the departed varies tremendously through time and among cultures. The methods and rituals surrounding treatment of the dead are culturally molded and reflect elements of a people’s belief system. Archaeology provides a means for increasing our understanding of the beliefs associated with death in the past. This is particularly true in the case of interment underground or in vaults. This session will begin with a presentation which addresses the ways in which archaeologists describe and classify burials. Succeeding presentations will focus on archaeological discoveries as a result of excavation of human burials. Attention will be directed toward understanding the cultural significance of grave construction, the ways in which the bodies were encased, and the associated artifacts. The sites primarily date to the historic, that is Medieval and Post-Medieval, periods. The panel members will each make a fifteen minute illustrated presentation of findings focusing on burial methods, grave goods and the interpreted understanding of these within the particular cultural context. The chairpersons will then guide discussions with panel members and the audience concerning these presentations.
Contact Information:
Steven Shephard, Ph.D. & Francine Bromberg, M.A.
Alexandria Archaeology
105 N. Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 838-4399
steven.shephard@ci.alexandria.va.us
francinebromberg@cialexandria.va.us
Jon Prangnell, Ph.D.
University of Queensland Archaeological Services Unit
School of Social Science
University of Queensland, Australia 4072
(07) 33652887
j.prangnell@uq.edu.au
Presentations
Disposal Of The Dead
Roderick Sprague (Journal of Northwest Anthropology, Moscow, Idaho, USA) Material Culture as a Reflection of Ideology: Analysis of Excavations at the Quaker Burying Ground in Alexandria, Virginia
Francine W. Bromberg and Steven Shephard (Alexandria Archaeology, Alexandria, Virginia, USA)
Consumerism, Colonialism And Cemeteries: Material Culture From The North Brisbane Burial Grounds, Queensland, Australia
Jon Prangnell and Adrian Murphy (University of Queensland, Australia) A Pioneer African American Community as Reflected through Burial Practices and Associated Materials: Freedman’s Cemetery, Dallas, Texas
Melissa Green (Geo-Marine, Inc., Plano, Texas, USA) and Mamie McKnight, (Black Dallas Remembered, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA)
Archaeology Of The Cemetery At The Presidio De San Diego
Richard L. Carrico (San Diego State University and Mooney & Associates, San Diego, California, USA) Caves, Crevices, and Cemeteries: Creating an Archaeological Understanding of Native Hawaiian Funerary Practices
Susan A. Lebo (Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, USA)
Session Time
Day Monday Date 23rd June
Time 4-6PM Room Gowan Auditorium
Unlocking The Past: A Multi-year Public Outreach And Education Project Of The Society For Historical Archaeology
Organized By
John H. Jameson, Jr. (USA) and Lu Ann DeCunzo (USA)
Session Details
This session is sponsored by the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology.
Unlocking the Past: Historical Archaeology in North America is a unique, multi-year public outreach and education project of the Society for Historical Archaeology’s (SHA’s) Public Education and Information Committee. The project encompasses the production of two major components: a generously illustrated book and an Internet web site. Both the book and the web site introduce general readers to the archaeology of North America’s history beginning with the early contacts between Europeans and Native Americans. They take the reader on a journey to significant historical archaeological sites and projects from Canada to the Caribbean, from the early Viking voyages through World War II. They tell the stories of historical archaeologists conducting pioneering work in rural and urban North America, on the land and under water, at forts, shipwrecks, missions, farms, city lots, and sites of industry. They also explain why historical archaeology is important in providing objectively derived context as well as filling information gaps in the historical record.
In Unlocking the Past, historical archaeologists share their findings to engage readers and encourage them to join in preserving and studying our cultural heritage. The material is designed to appeal to a wide general audience of young adults and adults interested in archaeology, North American history, and historic preservation. The project aims to: (1) demonstrate the importance of historical archaeological research and preservation: how historical archaeology is enriching our understanding of the North American past; (2) explain why we do historical archaeology and what it can teach us about North America’s historic past that is of special relevance to contemporary society; and (3) explain how and why all Americans, including avocationists and the general public, must be part of mission of historical archaeology.
Position papers will be prepared by panel members that describe the goals and results of the Unlocking the Past project and discuss the past, present, and future of historical archaeology as a sub-discipline of archaeology and anthropology.
Session schedule:
9:00 Opening introduction to the session – John Jameson and Lu Ann De Cunzo
9:10 The History, Goals, and Status of SHA’s “Unlocking the Past: Historical Archaeology in North America” Project – John Jameson and Lu Ann De Cunzo, with Pam Cressey, William Moss, Audrey Horning, William Moss, and other “Unlocking the Past” contributors
9:30 Smart Planning and Innovative Public Outreach: The quintessential mix for the future of archaeology – Natalie Vinton (NSW Heritage Office) and Pamela Cressey (Alexandria Archaeology)
9:50 Workhouse Architecture: Historically Significant or Cheap Property? – Liz Thomas (Queen’s University, Belfast)
10:10 Indigenous Communities and Historical Archaeology: Perspectives and Relevance –
Lance M. Foster (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska)
10:30 Questions & answers
11:00-11:30 BREAK
11:30-1:00 Issues summary, open discussion
Panel members:
John H. Jameson, Jr, co-Chair
Lu Ann DeCunzo, co-Chair
Pam Cressey
Natalie Vinton
William Moss
Audrey Horning
Liz Thomas
Lance M. Foster
Presentations
Smart Planning And Innovative Public Outreach: The Quintessential Mix For The Future Of Archaeology
Natalie Vinton (NSW Heritage Office, Australia) and Pamela Cressey (Alexandria Archaeology, Australia) Workhouse Architecture: Historically Significant or Cheap Property?
Liz Thomas (Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland)
Indigenous Communities And Historical Archaeology: Perspectives And Relevance
Lance M. Foster (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, USA) Unlocking the Past: The Society for Historical Archaeology and Public Archaeology Education
Lu Ann De Cunzo
Unlocking The Past: Epilogue
John H. Jameson, Jr.
Session Time
Day Thursday Date 26th June
Time 9AM-1PM Room Hannan 106
Shining The Light: The Illumination Of History And Cultural Processes Through Archaeology. The Differing Approaches And Foci Of ‘Historical Archaeology’ Worldwide
Organized By
John H. Jameson, Jr. (USA) and Martin Henig (USA)
Session Details
This session is sponsored by the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology.
This session attempts to compare approaches to historical archaeology world-wide. Constructing or defining internationally relevant comparisons is problematic since the term “historical archaeology” has a number of possible contextual meanings. This is a special challenge for North American historical archaeologists since, although long accepted in Europe to cover all periods in which historical sources exist, in the Western Hemisphere the term appears in a North American context, to be largely limited to colonial and post colonial periods on the continent. In this session, we explore international and cross-cultural applications of terms such as “historic vs. prehistoric,” “the archaeology of ancient and medieval Europe,” “post-medieval archaeology on both sides of the Atlantic,” “onset of mercantile capitalism,” “colonial” vs. “pre- and post- colonial.” We examine the usefulness of more general assumptions, definitions, and approaches that appear to have world-wide implications such as “the study of people with a written record, “the onset and study of the spread of European colonization world-wide,” and “the study of the development, expansion, and impact of Islamic civilization on the course of world history.” As some have said, there are probably as many definitions of historical archaeology as there are historical archaeologists. We also explore the historical, cross-cultural, and developmental perspectives of “historical archaeology,” how historical vs. archaeological evidences are distinguished and linked, and whether in these settings a disciplinary separatism exists between the disciplines of archaeology and history that is detrimental to accurate interpretations of the past.
Contact Information: John H. Jameson, Jr. (John_Jameson@nps.gov)
Proposed schedule:
9:00 Introduction to the Session – John H. Jameson, Jr. and Martin Henig
9:05 The Complexities of Modernity in the Middle East: Historical Archaeology and Its Contributions – Uzi Baram
9:20 Emerging Ethnonyms: The ”Finns” – A Case Study in Northern Europe – Thomas Wallerström
9:35 Still colonial, post-colonial, post-medieval or just historical?: Archaeology and contemporary identity in Northern Ireland – Audrey J. Horning
9:50 Historical Archaeology as Anthropology: Artifacts, Identities, and Interpretations in the Study of Dutch Colonial South Africa – Stacey C. Jordan
10:05 A Re-examination of Creolization Theory in Historical Archaeology – Meredith Hardy
10:20 Colonies of Colonies in Spanish America: The expansion of Creole culture under the guise of a European nationality – Judy Bense
10:35 Questions & answers
11:00-11:30 BREAK
11:30 Sharing The Archaeology Of Post-1788 Australia: Historical Archaeology As Shared History And The Archaeology Of Becoming Us – Rodney Harrison
11:45 Of dead and deposits: on the use of historical data for the interpretation of European Late Prehistory – Marc Vander Linden
12:00 The Historical Archaeology of Indigenous Australia – Alistair Paterson
12:15 From Neocolonial to Postcolonial Archaeologies of the British New World: Considerations of Craft and Practice – Marley Brown III
12:30 Questions & answers
1:00-2:00 LUNCH
2:00-3:30 Plenary (refer to WAC-5 Program)
4:00 Workhouses in Ireland: the archaeological manifestations of nineteenth century ideologies – Liz Thomas
4:15 Historical Archaeology and the British Archaeological Association – Martin Henig
4:30-5:00 Pedro Funari – Discussant
5:00-6:00 Questions & answers, open discussion
Presentations
The Complexities Of Modernity In The Middle East: Historical Archaeology And Its Contributions
Uzi Baram The Historical Archaeology of Indigenous Australia
Alistair Paterson
Processes Of Creolization In Historical Archaeology
Meredith Hardy Still colonial, post-colonial, post-medieval or just historical?: Archaeology and contemporary identity in Northern Ireland
Audrey J. Horning
Historical Archaeology As Anthropology: Artifacts, Identities, And Interpretations In The Study Of Dutch Colonial South Africa
Stacey Jordan (Senior Archaeologist, Mooney & Associates, 9903 Businesspark Avenue, San Diego, California, USA) Emerging Ethnonyms: The ”Finns” – A Case Study in Northern Europe
Thomas Wallerström
Sharing The Archaeology Of Post-1788 Australia: Historical Archaeology As Shared History And The Archaeology Of Becoming Us
Rodney Harrison (New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney, Australia) Colonies of Colonies in Spanish America: The expansion of Creole culture under the guise of a European nationality
Judy Bense
Of Dead And Deposits: On The Use Of Historical Data For The Interpretation Of European Late Prehistory
Marc Vander Linden From Neocolonial to Postcolonial Archaeologies of the British New World: Considerations of Craft and Practice
Marley Brown III
Workhouses In Ireland: The Archaeological Manifestations Of Nineteenth Century Ideologies
Liz Thomas Historical Archaeology and the British Archaeological Association
Martin Henig
Session Time
Day Sunday Date 22nd June
Time 9AM-1PM & 4-6PM Room Life Cycle Auditoriu