Living Ceramics, Storied Ground: A History of African American Archaeology

The role of historical archaeology in the study
of African diaspora history and culture

Exploring
the archaeological study of enslavement and emancipation in the United States, this
book discusses significant findings, the attitudes and approaches of past researchers,
and the development of the field. Living Ceramics, Storied Ground highlights
the ways historical archaeology can contribute to the study of African diaspora
history and culture, as much of the daily life of enslaved people was not
captured through written records but is evidenced in the materials and objects
left behind.

Including
debates about cultural survivals in the 1920s, efforts to find "Africanisms" at
Kingsley plantation in the 1960s, and the realization--as late as the 1970s--that
colonoware pottery was created by enslaved people, Charles Orser looks at the influential
and often mistaken ideas of prominent anthropologists, archaeologists, and
historians. Extending to the present, Orser describes how archaeology better
recognizes and appreciates the variety and richness of African American culture
during slavery, due in large part to the Black archaeologists, past and
present, who have worked to counter racism in the field.

While
acknowledging the colonial legacy of archaeology, Charles Orser outlines the
ways the discipline has benefitted by adopting antiracist principles and
partnerships with descendant communities. This book points to the contributions
of excavators and researchers whose roles have been overlooked and anticipates exciting
future work in African American archaeology.

Publication
of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American
Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.