The Original Jones Boys: Archaeology and Identity in the United States During Reconstruction (original) (raw)

James E. Snead (2017): The original Jones boys: histories of race and place in nineteenth-century American archaeology, World Archaeology, DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2016.1250672

The creation of archaeological knowledge is profoundly contingent. Yet the preference for decontextualized philosophy among theoretical archaeologists has created conditions in which history is devalued and, thus, misunderstood. For example, the common narrative of archaeology in the United States in the mid-19th century considers it to be a time of “transition” between the undisciplined antiquarian activities of earlier decades and the more systematized practices of subsequent decades. In actuality the antiquarian environment of the mid-19th century United States was dynamic in both practice and theory. Topics such as “place” and “race” shaped these discussions to a far greater degree than generally understood. This chapter discusses two archaeologists, brothers Charles Colcock Jones, Jr. and Joseph Jones, who shared an elite southern upbringing but differed radically on the creation of archaeological knowledge. Their careers provide a useful lens through which a more appropriately complex perspective on the era can be established.

People with history: An update on historical archaeology in the United States

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 1994

Historical archaeology has expanded greatly in the past decade. This essay discusses some of the trends and themes that have become important in historical archaeology in the United States since 1982. The first section briefly assesses the field. The second discusses capitalism as one theme thatmay serve to unify research. Cross-cultural research, integrative analyses, and the concepts of power and ideology are central to this theme. The third section is a brief case study concerning the historic Cherokee. The conclusion comments on the institutional state of historical archaeology.

The Power of Archaeology in the Construction and Formation of National Identity: Early Americanist Archaeology (Pre-1850)

Academia Letters, 2021

As the profession of archaeology did not exist in America prior to 1850, most of the information scholars have from this time are the result of contributions by collectors, historians, and/or antiquaries of the period. These contributions have been treated by modern historians in various ways-ranging from reverence to disdain. This essay examines the significance of three seminal figures related to the fledgling discipline of American archaeology during its Speculative Period (Pre-1850), Thomas Jefferson, Caleb Atwater, and E.G. Squier (Willey and Sabloff 1974). The focus of this examination will briefly review their background, motives, methods, and results with the intent of arguing the importance of their archaeological influence. Underscoring this argument, the common theme of nation building and identity formation within the American narrative (on local, national, and international levels) is presented as primary drivers of their pursuits-not unlike Don Fowler's notion of the past used in service of the state (Fowler 1987). Thomas Jefferson, a polymath with a meticulous and disciplined approach to empirical observation, was a caricature of American industry and innovation. It is no wonder that the architect of the Declaration of Independence and early American Statesman is also considered the Father of American archaeology. He was born a British subject in 1743, and inherited his Virginian estate (Monticello) at the age of 21 years old. His education at William and

A New Archaeology in the New Deal: The Rise of Historical Archaeology in the 1930s

Historical archaeology – the archaeology of the Modern World – has its disciplinary roots in the historic preservation movement of the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Historical archaeology’s true institutional beginnings, however, are tied to the federally sponsored archaeology projects conducted under the auspices of the New Deal programs of the 1930s. Chief among those projects in terms of the development of historical archaeology in the United States were the 1934-1941 excavations at Jamestown, Virginia, directed by J. C. Harrington. During this critical time in the history of the field, Harrington established some of the fundamental methods and practices used by historical archaeologists today and did much to promote and legitimize the emerging discipline. As a result of these efforts, Harrington is widely recognized as the “founding father” of historical archaeology in the United States.

Review of \u3ci\u3e Accidental Archaeologist: Memoirs of Jesse D. Jennings\u3c/i\u3e by Jesse D. Jennings

1995

The history of twentieth-century archaeology as told by its early practitioners is finding an appreciative audience in a generation of anthropological archaeologists that has matured under the regulatory eye of federal environmental protective legislation. This book is the story of the life of one of the discipline\u27s foremost practitioners. Although autobiographical in its organization, many of the book\u27s chapters can be read as stand-alone accounts of Jesse Jennings\u27s reflections on conducting archaeological investigations in the southeast, Plains, and desert west of North America, as well as in Polynesia and Guatemala. A man who considers himself to have been a minority most of my life, Jennings discusses many of the events in his early years that helped shape his attitude, perspective, and values. This is an archaeologist who grew up in poverty during the 1920s and regularly sent money to his mother until the early 1950s, who picked the runt from a litter of puppies to n...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES

Editor’s note: In examining this issue, we discovered an inadvertent typographical error in the Pykles article indicating Cotter’s class was first offered in “the 1966–67 academic year” (p. 33). This should have read “1960–61,” which is when Cotter first offered “Problems and Methods in of Historical Archaeology.” The source for this information is: Schuyler, Robert L., 2003, The Second Largest City in the English-Speaking World: John L. Cotter and the Historical Archaeology of Philadelphia, 1960– 1999. In Philadelphia and the Development of Americanist Archaeology, edited by D. D. Fowler and D. R. Wilcox, pp. 156–164. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa. We apologize for the error