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Voices in American Archaeology Lunata and Drennan discuss boundaries in Wendy Ashmore, Dorothy T. Lippert, archaeology that exist geographically, politically, and Barbara J. Mills (editors) and theoretically. They share information about the developing nature of archaeology around Society for American Archaeology, the world from the position of South American Washington, DC, 2010. 342 pp., archaeologists. The authors promote translated index. $34.75 cloth. texts, awareness of a perceived superiority of English as a scientific language, review of -stud The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) ies that occur outside national and geographic celebrates its 75th anniversary with this com- boundaries that may have applications to archeo- pilation of articles on the state of archaeol- logical research, academic travel and accompa- ogy and the events of the last 25 years. Since nying lectures, and a curriculum designed spe- the 50th anniversary of the SAA, the Native cifically to create globally aware archaeologists. American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Franklin and Paynter discuss the study and (NAGPRA) was made law, archaeological theory effects of inequality on archaeology. This chap- began to focus on social issues, and cultural ter exhibits the strongest censure of capitalism resource management established itself as the in the book, though the trend can be found in primary employer of professional archaeologists. much of the prose. Language used for this dis- The authors discuss the history of these changes, cussion requires a firm grip on social theory. A what they have meant for the discipline, and chapter by Little and Zimmerman continues the what questions they raise about the future. discussion of social and political engagement Margaret W. Conkey, president of the SAA, that is expected of archaeologists in the 21st sets the tone for the book with a chapter that century. Examples by the authors express ways promotes her mission statements. No single in which archaeology has and can continue to view of archaeology or theory will suffice for engage current social issues through studying Conkey, and she promotes a multiplicity of stud- the material culture of the past and present. The ies––each being able to provide unique informa- authors promote the potential benefits of study- tion about the human condition. Her chapter is ing farming technologies to redefine modern followed by an historical overview of profes- land use, relating homeless populations to tradi- sional societies of archaeology by Snead and tionally mobile groups, and understanding graf- Sabloff, with a focus on the history of the SAA fiti as a form of expression similar to cave art. and the growing roles of women archaeologists. Sebastian moves the discussion of archaeology The pair discusses many tensions that have been into the arena of law with a chapter on historic in place from the beginning of professional preservation law. The focus of the chapter is on societies and are still in play in 2010. the National Historic Preservation Act and Sec- Silliman and Ferguson provide the first of a tion 106. Topics include the challenges created number of chapters on interacting with descen- by changes to the law, the internal and external dent communities and collaboration. They pressures that continue to act on interpretation expand the definition of descendent communities of the law, and the special issues raised by by involving all traditionally associated com- Native American views on sacred sites. Wilcox’s munities. Suggestions include peer review of chapter on the development of the NAGPRA research by descendent groups, research-design contains an in-depth history of the law and committees that address descendent as well as discusses the reactions of archaeologists. These academic questions, and programs that benefit laws are not presented as doom and gloom, but those associated with the past that is being instead discussion often considers the collabora- studied. The authors are cognizant of the grow- tions between native populations and profession- ing conflicts this presents between community als that may never have come about without desires and scientific interpretations. the changes.

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Pauketat and Meskell discuss the direction of chapter as a platform to encourage the develop- theory as a whole in the past 25 years. This ment of standardized databases that will make writing again requires a very strong grasp of data available as it is analyzed, not dozens of terminology and will take multiple reviews years later when someone gets around to pub- to truly grasp the depth of the conversation. lishing it. Arguments in this chapter are smart, In general, the authors suggest that theory no well developed, and important for everyone longer applies to only gender, or race, or social from the graduate level to the tenured professor. stratification, but that the work that is being Altschul and Patterson provide a closing chap- done by the archaeologist of the 21st century ter on employment in archaeology, focusing on considers any number of factors. Applying projecting trends in employment, useful skill archaeology to social, political, and environmen- sets, and a breakdown of the jobs available in tal issues is a major area of discussion again in the public, private, and academic arenas. Jobs this chapter, suggesting that this is the future in archaeology continue to grow, while the pro- direction of most archaeological research. duction of trained students has remained fairly Zeder, Buikstra, and van der Leeuw provide constant over the past 25 years, thus suggesting a statistical analysis of interdisciplinary research that the outlook for anyone looking for a job in over the past 25 years by charting the number archaeology is not so bleak after all! of interdisciplinary topics published by the SAA Watkins summarizes the book in a concluding during that time. They specifically focus on chapter and makes a few predictions for the discussions of archaeobiology and bioarchaeol- future directions of the SAA and archaeology. ogy, and provide examples of interdisciplinary To those who have been involved in archaeol- projects such as ARCHAEOMEDES, geophysi- ogy for the past 25 years, this book will serve cal testing, and the creation and proliferation of as a reflection of the major currents in archaeol- transdisciplinary graduate programs. ogy they have experienced. To the student, this If for no other reason, the chapter on publi- is a good supplement to earlier histories of the cation and communication by Allen and Joyce discipline. Overall, this book is definitely worth makes this book worth purchasing. This abso- adding to the bookshelf with other histories of lutely wonderful chapter uses engaging language archaeology, and the chapter by Allen and Joyce and situational examples to discuss the nature should be distributed to anyone and everyone of academic publication. The authors promote working in archaeology. the use of narrative to engage the readers and remind archaeologists to be mindful of their E. Christopher Caynor audience in the use of terminology. The influ- East Carolina University Department of Anthropology ences of technology––from self-publication to Greenville, NC 27858 the Internet to video––are discussed and proper uses are suggested. Finally, the authors use this 139

Ships and Guns: The Sea Ordnance and weights, referencing archaeological sites in Venice and in Europe between the as well as museum pieces. A site-distributional map shows their popularity throughout the 15th and the 17th Centuries Mediterranean. In “Guns and Profit,” there is a Carlo Beltrame and Renato Gianni good discussion of how a fleet was created in Ridella (editors) an area without a strong shipbuilding tradition. Oxbow Books, Oakville, CT, 2011. This same chapter demonstrates interrelationships 168 pp., 20 fig. $60.00 paper. between Italian and Spanish builders, fleets, and weaponry. A cry for help regarding endangered This book’s 15 chapters were papers presented sites along Croatia’s Adriatic coast was made in a symposium at the University of Ca’Foscari, as part of the presentation in chapter 9, the last Venice, over 11 and 12 December 2008. They in the section. After showing site distributions represent a dialogue between maritime archaeol- and their associated weaponry, both existing and ogists and historians of artillery, both of whom potential sites are noted as being in danger and know their topics very well. The combination of requiring both inventory and protection. expertise is of considerable interest and utility The final section is farther ranging but - comple for archaeologists working on sites that produce ments the earlier papers. Chapter 10 provides weaponry from these periods. discussion of whether or not naval artillery actu- The well-organized text is divided into three ally existed and is complex but exceptionally sections: Venetian guns for and from the sea, informative. Some very useful information is Italian production of naval ordnance between the mentioned almost in passing, such as placing at 15th and 17th centuries, and European ordnance least one Danish-built vessel in a Spanish fleet, about the ships. Despite an apparent Mediterra- where it burned. This chapter also has a good nean emphasis, the chapters have a great deal of presentation of marks on cannon and suggestions use beyond southern Europe, as the third section of typologies if the sample size were larger. The covers northern European topics that developed next four chapters deal with British topics and in parallel with the Mediterranean. concentrate on the Spanish Armada, English gun The first section has five chapters that mix founding, the Tudor navy, and sea-service mortars. gun-founding history and technology with finds The illustrations are good and provide examples from wrecks. At first glance, the section seems from as far away as India, showing something to focus on Venice, but this is misleading of the way guns moved about during the ages of because Venetian cannon were used and found Exploration and Empire. The Tudor navy chapter in many places. The two historical chapters is based on ship inventories. It offers a discus- discuss gun construction and an arms race in sion of terminology and numbers, showing links the late 17th century. These are well illustrated between ship size and gun types as they changed and provide information on markings, sizes, through time. The final chapter discusses French and evolutionary changes. The archaeological artillery, its terminology, and markings. impact of these developments is highlighted by References are included with each chapter. three chapters referencing underwater finds of Given the spatial, linguistic, and chronological Venetian artillery. One discusses its distribution ranges, this is a useful decision. The illustra- in European waters, including the north shore tions are very good and a major contribution of Ireland and the south of England. Again, to other archaeologists and cannon historians the gun tubes are well illustrated and provide with comparative material. The text flows well, an immediately useful reference for weaponry although there are translational glitches that of the period. might have been eliminated. Surprisingly, there The second section has four chapters that are is no concluding chapter. To some extent, this largely historical in nature. Genoese ordnance is alleviated by a preface and introduction, but a provides a wealth of details on terminology wrap-up would have been helpful to show how

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):139–140. Permission to reprint required. 140 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) the papers really do form a composite image of sufficient for adequately milking the information some 300 years of artillery production, tactics, contained here. and the ultimate distribution of the cannon. This book will serve as a baseline for under­ Lawrence E. Babits standing cannon from the Age of Exploration Maritime Studies East Carolina University and placing them in a wider perspective. It is Greenville, NC 27858-4353 well worth the price because the illustrations will prove so useful. One reading is not 141

The First HMS Invincible (1747–58): photographs are augmented with drawings. Her Excavations (1980–1991) Sailors’ equipment is covered in considerable John M. Bingeman detail, with sailmaking and rope-working tools (fids, palms, a serving mallet) well illustrated. Oxbow Books, Oakville, CT, 2010. Casks are also shown, including drawings of 208 pp., 389 b&w and color illus. the lids with identification markings and copper $80.00 cloth. powder bands with the broad-arrow marking. Gunflints are shown with comparative sizes Invincible was originally a French warship. (ca. 2,500 were found), an important consid- Built as one of the first “74-gun ships,” the eration as the Invincible was partially outfit- vessel was launched in October 1744, but cap- ted with gunlocks. Even with gunlocks, slow tured by Admiral George Anson in 1747. When match for linstocks was also recovered, some her lines were taken, it was found the ship was in a fearnought-cloth pouch. Another class of a new type, and copies were made. Even though weaponry was hand grenades, including some British first-rates carried more guns, Invincible still in their lead-lined crate. The grenades are carried heavier weaponry and, more importantly, shown in color, black and white, and by draw- the lower-deck gun ports were 6 ft. above the ings. There is ample detail to encourage pres- waterline. This feature allowed lower-deck gun ent archaeologists to look more closely because use in much heavier seas than previously. The some wooden fuse holders were numbered, a innovations are discussed in the initial chapter, previously unknown detail. Some illustrated which compares British and French ships of artifacts are not from Invincible, and this might the time with illustrations showing Invincible’s cause some confusion. influence on British rudders. An appendix on the buttons recovered from The ship ran aground and sank in 1758. Par- Invincible was published earlier and generated tially salvaged at the time, Invincible remained a great deal of interest because the buttons largely untouched until rediscovered in 1979. The were numbered and a few had back marks. fieldwork that recorded Invincible was led by the Some thought these may have been lost from author, John Bingeman, the government licensee later vessels and ended up on the site. Binge- who orchestrated designation of the wreck as a man presents convincing evidence that this is protected site. While it was an amateur excavation, not the case for at least some buttons because fieldwork involved much professional assistance their mates have been found in North Ameri- over the 11 years of excavation and some 18 can contexts dating to the time of Invincible’s years of research, as Margaret Rule, Jon Adams, wrecking. As with materials recovered from the Chris Dobbs, and Ian Oxley appear, among others. DeBraak, archaeology does show use before Fieldwork was guided by copies of the original button issues were officially mandated. Back French plans for Invincible. marks on military buttons from the 1750’s have Conditions on the site were primarily zero been known since the Fort Ligonier excavations, visibility in many cases, very low in all. The so their presence aboard a military ship should lack of clear observation caused problems, and not be unexpected. the crew is to be commended for getting such One major problem, possibly the result of good information. Particularly good examples of avocational excavation, is that the distribution of recording show details of a storeroom and part artifacts within the site was not reported. While of the excavation of the stern with a gun port. artifacts are described, often in some detail, Excavation details and problems aside, the their placement within the site is not. Some book is well written and contains a wealth questions relating to whether or not the buttons of information. Many artifacts are shown in were on supernumeraries’ uniforms could have full-color illustrations, and even the black-and- been answered by identifying in which sections white images provide outstanding detail. Some of the ship various buttons were found.

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After checking with the author, I find that All in all, this text is a very good resource, this problem has been rectified. The Hampshire not only for maritime sites, but also for ter- and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology has restrial military sites because of the wealth of digitized some 7,000 documents used in the militaria that is so well documented. There is no research. Artifacts can also be researched. When consolidated reference section, but each chapter an artifact is queried, its context appears within is followed by a list of works cited. the site map. The diver’s recovery report, details of conservation, an illustration, and/or a photo- Lawrence E. Babits graph can also be retrieved using this research Maritime Studies East Carolina University tool. The site location is: . 143

Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines St. Catherines Island from its formation in the Island, Georgia Pleistocene to the present, based on various Gale Bishop, Harold Rollins, and palynological analyses. The majority of infor- mation applies to prehistoric periods, although David Hurst Thomas (editors) modern vegetation found near the Cracker Tom American Museum of Natural locality was established around 3200 14C years History Anthropological Papers, No. B.P., this provides historical archaeologists an 94, New York, NY, 2011. 391 pp., idea about contact-period landscape. 134 fig., refs., 2 app. $40.00 paper. Reconstruction of the complex geological his- tory of this barrier island begins with chapter 3. “Both long-term processes and short-term The chapter examines island formation for St. impacts have played unappreciated, yet pivotal Catherines Island from the Pleistocene through roles––on an island-by-island basis––in condi- the present with a particular focus on sea-level tioning the day-to-day decision-making of the changes and erosion. Of particular interest to foragers and farmers of St. Catherines Island for historical archaeologists is the sequence of maps the past five millennia” (p. 65). This perspec- (pp. 88–89) that illustrate island formation and tive has inspired the ongoing geoarchaeological the types of landscapes available to human research on St. Catherines Island. Geoarchaeol- inhabitants, particularly map “J” (p. 89). This ogy of St. Catherines Island, Georgia, is an would be a good place to start when searching impressive collection of 16 papers originally for additional sites. Analysis of island erosion presented in a symposium, “Geoarchaeology of indicates that active beach erosion encompasses St. Catherines Island and the Georgia Bight,” the island. This seems to suggest that preserva- at the Fourth Caldwell Conference on St. tion of sites found in this location would be Catherines Island, Georgia, in March of 2009. poor, although this is not explicitly stated by A major goal of the interdisciplinary team of the authors. researchers was to pursue an investigation of Chapter 4 presents a detailed recording and the geological history of St. Catherines Island analysis of the genetic stratigraphy of St. by using a variety of techniques from the Catherines Island. The value for archaeology is geosciences to understand the formation of the that this type of investigation offers a detailed archaeological record. They used methods rang- stratigraphic and chronological framework for ing from studies of genetic stratigraphy, ichnol- placing sites in context. This is valuable to ogy, and palynology to the use of vibracores historical archaeologists, although much more and ground-penetrating radar. Due to the nature so to prehistoric archaeologists since the young- of this journal, this review is not comprehensive est paleosol (i.e., buried soil and evidence of a but highlights research most relevant to histori- former stable land surface) dates to ca. 4440 cal archaeologists. B.C. In addition, although it is not directly Two chapters focus directly on the reconstruc- stated, it can be assumed that the presence of tion of paleoenvironmental history. Chapter 2 eolian deflation noted (p. 110) would have had a reviews current paleoenvironmental data for potentially significant impact on postdepositional the southeastern U.S., including a discussion of processes at all sites. Holocene paleofauna. Of interest to historical Chapter 5 examines fossil traces found in archaeologists is the final section on the “Little ancient and modern storm-washover fans. Ice Age (LIA)” of A.D. 1450–1850 (p. 76). This type of analysis can provide data on Although the discussion does not present any the paleoenvironment, stratigraphy, geologi- local evidence, its general application is implied. cal history, and bioturbation at sites; however, Finally, the authors mention a general warming the focus of this chapter is on ancient storm- period following the LIA until 1945. Chapter washover fans that developed prior to occupa- 6 is a synthesis of the vegetation history of tion by humans (p. 113), although the authors

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):143–144. Permission to reprint required. 144 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) briefly discuss modern fans towards the end of to understanding the geological history of St. the chapter. Storm-washover fans could clearly Catherines Island. have an impact on the preservation, destruction, The editors stress the importance of using a or alteration of sites, and this chapter would variety of methodologies and perspectives to be enhanced by including a brief discussion on evaluate the archaeological record, and in this how they potentially affected the archaeological respect they were highly successful. For the record on St. Catherines Island. sake of clarity, it might have made sense to Chapter 8 discusses the impact in 1989 of reorganize the order of the chapters slightly. Hurricane Hugo on the geomorphology of the For example, chapter 2 and chapter 6 both deal northern part of the island, which resulted in directly with reconstructing paleoenvironmental the construction of three beach ridges. This history, and it would be logical to place them study illustrates how a single storm can have a together. One suggestion would be to divide the dramatic impact on both the geomorphology of 16 papers into three to four groups (e.g., geo- the island, and although not directly stated, it logical history of the island, paleoenvironmental can be assumed that it also had an impact on history, site formation processes, and natural archaeological site preservation (and destruction) history). In this case, the chapters dealing with throughout time. island geological history (chapters 3–5 and Chapter 9 reconstructs drainage changes in 7–11) could all be placed together. They could three adjacent sounds and how these affected be further subdivided by grouping the studies the geomorphology of St. Catherines Island. more focused on site-formation processes. As The reader could assume that these likely would a final suggestion, since this book is focused have had an influence on settlement patterns and on the geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island, preservation of prehistoric sites. some chapters could expand their discussion As with chapter 3, chapter 10 reconstructs of the potential impact of geological processes the geological history of St. Catherines Island on the archaeological record as was mentioned from the Pleistocene to the present using vibrac- above (e.g., the effects of erosional processes ores (i.e., long cores of sediment). Along with on site preservation). Overall, this book is very chapters 3 and 4, the goal of this study was useful as a foundation for future archaeological to establish the geological and chronological investigations on St. Catherines Island and for context of the archaeological record. Both pre- making geological and archaeological correla- historic and historical archaeologists planning tions to adjacent barrier islands as well. Since to conduct future investigations should consult the majority of archaeological sites are prehis- these three chapters in order to understand toric, it is probably of more use to prehistoric what types of sediments and soils they would archaeologists, although to historical archaeolo- encounter during field investigations. In addition, gists it is also valuable for understanding what this study was able to place three archaeological type of landscape and environment European sites into the regional stratigraphy. settlers would have encountered. Chapter 11 discusses the results of a recon- naissance survey of St. Catherines Island using Heidi M. Luchsinger ground-penetrating radar in order to detect Department of Anthropology East Carolina University both geological and archaeological features for Greenville, NC 27858 future investigation, and continues to contribute 145

The Alderley Sandhills Project: N. W. Prag and Eleanor Conlin Casella from An Archaeology of Community Life the museum and the university respectively. The scene was therefore set for a detailed study of in (Post)-Industrial England a small English domestic site of the historical Eleanor Conlin Casella and Sarah K. period as it moved from the agricultural into Croucher the industrial and, indeed, the postindustrial era. Manchester University Press, The main focus of this study was two pairs of Manchester, UK, 2010. 308 pp., 80 cottages, usually known as the Hagg Cottages, b&w illus. $24.95 paper. which had been in existence in various guises from the 1740s until they were demolished in This book marks a significant step forward in the 1950s. It was therefore possible to situate a the development of historical archaeology in the traditional excavation within a broader spectrum United Kingdom. Until recently, excavation did of archival sources, family photographs, and not form a significant component in the study personal memories of former site residents; the of sites of the industrial period, and effort was oral history undertaken was an important aspect anyway concentrated on the remains of struc- of the methodology used. Three children who tures associated with the processes of produc- had grown up in the cottages were still alive tion, rather than consumption, in the domestic and visited the excavation frequently to see the dwellings housing the workforce. In the last traces of their childhood homes emerge from the two decades, rescue archaeology, in advance of soil. Their memories, stories, and family photo- development, has led to work being carried out graphs provided a unique personal perspective on many more sites of this period, but there on the site, and every opportunity was taken to have as yet been very few research excavations involve the local community through organized like the one described in this book. It was part visits and a well-designed website. of a much wider interdisciplinary undertaking, The authors are both very familiar with the the Alderley Edge Landscape Project, set up in literature of historical archaeology on both sides 1996 to examine the unique landscape of this of the Atlantic, and are therefore able to place area of Cheshire that has ecological and miner- this admittedly very small site in its global con- alogical, as well as archaeological, significance. text. It is certainly a good example of Charles Considerable work took place on the important Orser’s aphorism, “dig locally, think globally,” prehistoric copper working in the area, resulting and the authors point out that “the Hagg resi- in a publication, The Archaeology of Alderley dents formed part of the globalised relations of Edge: Survey, Excavation and Experiment in an international capitalism” (p. 45). Indeed, it is Ancient Mining Landscape (British Archaeologi- sometimes difficult to disentangle in the book cal Reports, 2005). It was recognized, however, the situation being presented at Alderley from that this was a multiperiod landscape, and that the wider consideration of, for example, data archaeological techniques should also be applied from Annapolis or Harper’s Ferry in the U.S., to the remains from the 19th and 20th centu- but comparisons are also made with some of ries, when quantities of polluted sand deriving the limited range of English historical sites of from the acid-leaching process used to treat the period that have been treated archaeologi- the copper ores had been dumped on the site. cally. This contextual discussion certainly helps Funding for a research excavation became avail- to illuminate the archaeology of life in the cot- able though the Aggregates Levy Sustainability tages, but equally provides the English reader Fund administered by English Heritage, and the with a very useful and pertinent summary of work was carried out by means of a partner- recent trends in historical archaeology. ship between the Manchester Museum and the The book, to use Casella’s own words, School of Art History and Archaeology in the “explores the internal intricacies of material University of Manchester, and codirected by A. life within a rural working settlement from the

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):145–146. Permission to reprint required. 146 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) late-seventeenth through to the mid-twentieth was both produced and consumed at home, centuries” (p. 1). Following an introduction the oral evidence suggested that the males of on the archaeology of community life (chap. the household also frequented the local public 1), there are six chapters that deal with an houses. By the late 19th century, too, the Hagg overview of the site and the methodology for residents were also able to accumulate enough studying it (chap. 2), the foodways of the com- disposable income to participate in leisure con- munity (chap. 3), the buildings themselves and sumerism, with visits to seaside towns on the their contents (chap. 4), the artifacts that reveal Lancashire coast. Chapter 6 on community life, aspects of recreation and relaxation enjoyed by based largely on oral evidence, concludes that the inhabitants (chap. 5), the wider community they operated as a close-knit community firmly (chap. 6), and a conclusion on the material life embedded within the wider social landscape of revealed by the project (chap. 7). Alderley Edge. Chapter 3 examines food preparation and Household archaeology has long been an consumption in the Hagg Cottages, the authors important component of American anthropology rightly pointing out that the term “foodways” and historical archaeology, but has played a has been rarely used in British postmedieval lesser role in British postmedieval archaeology archaeology. As one might expect in an area because of the lack of research excavations on of reasonably good transportation networks, domestic sites. This book demonstrates that even the inhabitants adopted the new mass-produced a very small-scale excavation, when combined ceramics as early as the late 18th century, with oral histories, archival accounts, photo- but also continued to make use of regionally graphs, and artifact assemblages can help to produced utilitarian earthenwares such as milk illuminate the human consequences of the trans- pancheons. Changes in the built environment formation from a rural, agrarian-based culture of the cottages, dealt with in chapter 4, sug- to an industrial, globally based one, which was gested deeper transformations in the nature of the essence of Britain’s early industrialization. domestic practices, from the 18th-century rural The book is a valuable addition to the growing dwellings that included storage space for agri- literature on British historical archaeology. cultural equipment, to the 19th-century homes of industrial laborers with the cash to purchase Marilyn Palmer decorative floor coverings and ceramic and School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester glass display items. Chapter 5 on recreation Leicester LE1 7RH and relaxation is concerned both with the home United Kingdom and the community, since, although alcohol 147

The Harlow Pottery Industries American historical archaeologists. The chapter Walter Davey and Helen Walker begins with a detailed, nearly nine-page-long Medieval Pottery Research Group, discussion of Metropolitan-slipware forms, both common and unusual. Discussion then moves London, UK, 2009. 198 pp., b&w on to an exhaustive illustrative classification of drawings, maps, and illus. U.S. £21, different slip decorations found on this type, UK £16 paper. with separate categories for center patterns, wall patterns, and rim patterns. There is also some Davey and Walker’s Harlow Pottery Industries discussion of slip-trailed writing, though this is is the first comprehensive account of its topic. somewhat hampered––as the authors note––by The Harlow industry, which was active from a lack of complete writing samples in the col- the 13th century through to the 18th century, is lections available for analysis. Following these of vital importance to both historical archaeolo- typological sections, discussion moves on to gists working in Britain and those working on brief summaries of specific assemblages. The early colonial sites in the eastern United States chapter then concludes with a more interpreta- and Maritime Canada, due to its pivotal role tive discussion of Metropolitan slipware, with a in the production of 17th-century Metropolitan focus on dating sites, the symbolic meanings of slipware. The book is designed to assist with decorations (with arguments both for and against the classification of the latter pottery type at ascribing meaning to motifs), the religious consumer sites by describing the materials beliefs of the potters, and cultural influences recovered from the point of production, and from the Low Countries (the modern Nether- the volume offers detailed surveys of both the lands and Belgium). The chapter concludes with history of the local pottery industry and the a catalog of illustrated Metropolitan slipware products thereof. from the authors’ computer database. The first two chapters offer general introduc- The Metropolitan-slipware chapter is the tions to location, methods, and documentary definitive one-volume description of Harlow evidence; the latter is carefully integrated into production of its type, but the other chapters are the broader archaeological discussion. Chapters perhaps more oriented towards offering supple- 3 and 4 feature detailed histories of the medi- mentary data for discussions of these materials. eval, late-medieval transitional, and postmedieval The volume is clear that these other types have Harlow industries, with a focus on specific fami- been cataloged in less detail. Only the chapter lies and kiln sites. Chapter 5 offers a brief two- on transitional pottery of the 15th and 16th page discussion of the pottery fabrics (including centuries offers anywhere near the data of the clay slips); far more detailed technical informa- Metropolitan-slipware chapter, and while these tion about fabric petrology and chemical analy- will prove valuable to many British archaeolo- sis can be found in the three appendices. gists working on relevant sites, the date range Chapters 6 through 9 contain the core descrip- perhaps renders this chapter somewhat less tive typologies. These chapters contain detailed useful to North American colleagues. information on the most important pottery types The remaining six chapters are relatively manufactured in postmedieval Harlow. These are, brief. Chapter 10 is a discussion of Harlow in turn, the late-medieval transitional pottery, the kiln technologies, including sections on sag- black-glazed ware, the Metropolitan slipware, gars, kiln props, evidence of kiln stacking, and the plain red earthenware. The Metropoli- and firing faults. The book then concludes tan-slipware chapter is, quite rightly, the longest with short discussions on glaze analysis, the and most detailed, taking up a quarter of the production and organization of the potteries, volume. While certainly valuable for British and comparisons with other local red-earthenware European historical archaeologists, it is probably industries, the demise of the Harlow industry, also the chapter of most direct interest to North and a very brief conclusion. The chapters on

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):147–148. Permission to reprint required. 148 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) technologies, production and organization, and extensive Harlow assemblages excavated in local comparisons will be of most interest to the 1960s and 1970s simply no longer exist. North American archaeologists, particularly as As Davey and Walker are commendably open regards data for comparative research between about admitting in the introduction, significant colonial and British manufacturing technologies, parts of these assemblages have been discarded, and for gaining a broader understanding of local lost, or have subsequently lost their provenience British industries that potentially influenced information. “Now, only a fraction of the origi- colonial production. nal assemblages survive and is mainly in sherd There is no doubt that this is a very Brit- material rather than complete vessels” (p. 1). ish book. The detailed catalogs and typologies, This speaks to a deeper––and deeply frustrat- and emphasis on production, are very much ing––truth regarding the traditional status of within the traditional British postmedieval postmedieval assemblages within British archae- focus on classification and manufacture of ology and postexcavation curation, a topic out- material culture, rather than the consumption- side of the scope of the present review. On the and interpretation-based focus of much North practical side this does mean that the authors American work. At the same time, typological are making the best of the surviving data classification has always been a great strength rather than using all of the original data; that of British postmedieval archaeology, and many they succeed in generating so much valuable historical archaeologists––regardless of which data in these potentially difficult circumstances side of the Atlantic they work on––will find is greatly to their credit. Only in the neces- the detailed typologies of form and decoration sarily rather fragmentary (given the available exceptionally useful, particularly as regards the sample) discussion of slip-trailed writing has Metropolitan slipwares. Some of these typolo- this obviously hampered discussion. Ideally, gies may prove to serve as useful points of some more color photographs might perhaps comparison or counterpoint for existing North have been included, but the line drawings are American classification systems. It is also worth clear throughout. stressing that Davey and Walker do very much Overall, this is an excellent volume that attempt to include interpretative issues alongside overcomes some unavoidable limitations in the the discussions of typology and production; the dataset to offer an important addition to the willingness of British postmedieval archaeology literature on 17th-century postmedieval pottery–– to examine this type of issue is often underes- particularly as regards form and decoration clas- timated. No one would mistake the discussions sification for Metropolitan slipware––and which of symbolic meaning, cultural influences, and will prove useful to both British postmedieval religion for a North American–style theoreti- archaeologists and North American historical cal exploration of these themes, but then the archaeologists working on British colonial sites volume never claims that these are a focus of from the relevant period. discussion; the emphasis is quite specifically and appropriately on assisting with classifica- Alasdair Brooks tion. These other topics are nonetheless outlined School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester if other archaeologists want to use these brief University Road discussions as a platform for more detailed Leicester LE1 7RH exploration in future research. United Kingdom Perhaps the only frustrating aspect of the volume is no fault of the authors: most of the 149

The Idea of Cultural Heritage, lacks the sort of engagement that on-the-ground 2nd edition researchers like archaeologists would prefer. Derek Gillman Instead, readers are treated to a wide range of cases, most driven by elite art-historical inter- Cambridge University Press, ests, such as debates over the reasoning behind Cambridge, UK, 2010. 216 pp., the preservation and ownership of objects like 18 b&w illus., 1 map. $90.00 cloth, the Bamiyan Buddhas, Picasso’s Guernica, Gil- $27.99 paper. bert Stuart’s “Landsdowne Portrait,” the Elgin Marbles, the Medici Badminton Cabinet, and Derek Gillman’s book provides a reading examples of medieval Chinese art. While a of the presumed philosophies that lie behind rehearsal of these cases and the debates sur- the “idea” of cultural heritage. He seeks to rounding them are perhaps useful to curators shed light on the underlying issues that drive and art historians, it is not simply a disciplin- debates over the need to preserve heritage, ary divide that will frustrate archaeologists, what should actually be preserved, and for historians, interpreters, and others involved in what purposes. He aspires to give a grounding heritage research and practice. The failing is to these debates as applications of deep philo- that Gillman seeks to tie debates over heritage sophical concepts of cosmopolitanism, national- to the ideas from mainstream philosophers like ism, liberalism, individualism, autonomy, and John Rawls and John Finnis on what constitutes collectivism. While these are great expectations a good life based in liberty and that which is for any book, Gillman does cover these issues; “intrinsically valuable” (p. 21). however, his success in this area rests largely Sadly missing in this book is an understand- on the profoundly detached standpoint he adopts ing that these questions direct our concern with for his presentation and analysis. In fact, this heritage away from those whose heritage is book is an excellent primer for understanding most at risk. Rather, readers are pulled through the Anglo-American elite approach to heritage, a series of erudite-sounding concerns whose a standpoint that has undergone serious critique impact on the lives of the majority of human- in recent years, but which for the most part ity is almost nil. So, for example, when Gill- continues to work quite well for Gillman and man attempts to be provocative by asking how those who would seek to apply his ideas in Americans would respond if the Liberty Bell heritage work. were put up for auction, readers would be right The driving theme in the book is to explain to ask if this is a useful question, and does the discovery that cultural heritage “has become such a symbol really need to be so revered? a feature of the contemporary cultural landscape Why not look for and analyze real examples of in many countries” and that people are now such cultural losses that occur every day with “proud of their past and also keen to capitalize gentrification, urban renewal, colonialism, eth- on it” (p. 1). Gillman also seeks to tease apart a nocentrism, and other forces that emanate from better understanding of the divide, described by the same cultural capitals where such potent theorist John Merryman, of “two ways of think- symbols mark the “superiority” of “civilization” ing about cultural property,” between “cultural and are not actually under threat? cosmopolitans who seek to promote the idea of As this critique is perhaps unfair, given the the ‘the heritage of all mankind’” and “cultural stated scope of the book as an investigation of nationalists for whom art, architecture, theater, the philosophies lying behind heritage debate, I music, and food are always a part of someone’s turn now to consider these philosophies directly. heritage” (pp. 1–2). Seeking to explain this For one, Gillman’s discussion is engaged exclu- divide and to explore why heritage is “happen- sively with surface features of heritage debates ing” with increased fervor now are interesting and the justness of the potential resolutions. and useful questions. This exploration, however, As such, in his discussion of the well-known

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):149–150. Permission to reprint required. 150 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4)

Elgin Marbles, he explains the positions of ways of thinking” of the cosmopolitan and the the British Museum and the Greek nationalists nationalist. Gillman points instead to the path through lens of the philosophical assessment of of autonomy, such that individuals and groups the legitimacy of private-property claims. He should enjoy the right “to choose the practices cites Jane Radin’s work to explain the debate that [they] engage with” (p. 187) and that “gov- as one between sense of property as “wholly ernments should promote [the arts and history] fungible” vs. those that are “intensely personal” not to preserve ‘national heritage’, but in order such that “a person cannot be a person without that we can become more autonomous and ful- a sense of continuity of self over time” (p. 29). filled individuals” (pp. 197–198). For Gillman Gillman ties this thinking to Rawls’s notion of this is a natural goal, but for the critique of “a people” that mirrors Radin’s self, in that it standpoint, this is a highly politicized desire requires art and artifacts to form a “crucial link that eschews collectivism and even social justice between group members and their ancestors and in favor of a neoliberal sense of value, simply heirs” (p. 30). Missing here, especially in the phrased as: “what do I get out it?” case of the Elgin Marbles, is the perhaps below- Tied to this sense of autonomy is a great the-board conflict between the former British reliance on choice as connected to the “idea” Empire and modern Greece, a territory more of heritage. He states: “[I]n liberal democra- recently emancipated from imperial authority. cies we are encouraged to insert ourselves into Aspects of this conflict clearly illustrate global community life as individual choosers rather inequalities, and the debate of the proper owner- than automata: deciding to maintain, reject or ship of the marbles has been, as often as not, radically reinterpret rules, roles and narratives” understood to reflect an attempt to address this (p. 187). I actually agree with this statement, inequality in global citizenship. Put simply, the but, unlike Gillman, I see this as the core myth question for many of those sympathetic to the that marks the existence of viable and nonvi- Greek claim is less who the proper owner is able modern ways of life. Put simply, the idea than of the possibility and justness that cultural of “choosing” heritage is farcical. Heritage, by heritage may supercede private property. In this definition and in practice, is not a choice, and way the “idea” of cultural heritage is some- for many it is their lack of choice in this arena thing that should be regarded as being alive in that makes their existence a struggle alongside the process of making and defending heritage those whose heritage sustains a comfortable and claims. It is not an academic or juridical exer- intellectual way of life. cise as presented in this book. Another philosophical crutch Gillman counts Christopher N. Matthews on is a modernist sense of individual autonomy Center for Public Archaeology Department of Anthropology as a natural state of affairs in the resolution of Davison 200B heritage debates. To conclude the book, Gillman Hofstra University lays out a third path between Merryman’s “two Hempstead, NY 11549 151

Mining Archaeology in the American and the range of material remains that contribute West: A View from the Silver State to this exercise, as archaeologists and historians Donald L. Hardesty develop an understanding of the topic and frame hypotheses for further research. The second University of Nebraska Press, chapter provides an overview of the archaeology Lincoln, 2010. 240 pp., b&w photos of mining technology. Hardesty describes the and illus. $45.00 cloth. wide-ranging, diverse methods used to extract and process ore. Ever the center of inven- It is fitting that Donald L. Hardesty’s new tion, the industry was in constant flux, leaving book, Mining Archaeology in the American behind many different, sometimes short-lived West: A View from the Silver State, should be approaches, each with distinct fingerprints in the first in the new series, “Historical Archae- the archaeological record. This is followed by a ology of the American West.” Working in con- treatment of how archaeology can serve to cast junction with the University of Nebraska Press, light on the social and cultural backdrop of the the Society for Historical Archaeology instituted mining West. This includes excellent examina- the series to promote research in the field, tions of settlement organization, ethnicity, and while elevating premier studies to a more public other aspects that contributed to real life in the arena. Hardesty, a long-respected dean of his communities that served the industry. field, has updated an earlier work so it could Finally, Hardesty provides a concise con- serve the region as an outline of recommended clusion that provides the structure for future methods for dealing with material culture associ- research, discussing the changes and diversity ated with the history of mining in the region. represented by an industry of central importance This new volume draws on The Archaeology to the region. As the author points out: “The of Mining and Miners: A View from the Silver mining rushes and subsequent mining created State, published in 1988 as a special volume by and transformed a series of mining frontiers in the Society for Historical Archaeology. Nebras- Nevada and the American West. They varied in ka’s 2010 release reaches beyond the original detail but shared many social and cultural pat- text. Mining Archaeology in the American West terns that reflected similar environmental adapta- benefits from an additional dozen years of- expe tions” (p. 179). With this, Hardesty is identify- rience that allowed the author to expand on the ing a core issue when attempting to understand original publication and frame the discussion in a pivotal period. The mining frontier was at new and more accessible language. once diverse and homogeneous. Each location Mining Archaeology in the American West is developed a distinct character suited to its a masterful overview of a subject that is easily geography, geology, and the people it attracted. neglected. It is a peculiar fact that some topics At the same time, the industry represented by involving work have allure for the public while these diverse places served as a common chord. others do not. Tall ships and ranching have Defining how these opposing factors played attracted a great deal of attention in popular lit- out—not only in the West but also internation- erature, but miners seem less able to capture the ally—is a mission perfectly suited to archaeol- imagination than sailors and cowboys. Mining is ogy, and Hardesty’s monumental work offers the nevertheless worthy of consideration, and Hard- framework to start the investigation, regardless esty has provided the benchmark study for when of the continent. the material remains of the various technologies In generic terms, the elegant way Hardesty employed by the industry are being considered. grapples with the archaeology of an industry as it Hardesty divides his work into four sections. manifests throughout a region could be adapted to The first discusses the types of sources that can any number of other contexts. Those working with be used to understand the legacy of mining and the complexities of mining resources in the West mining technology. He examines printed records will look to this definitive volume for a range

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):151–152. Permission to reprint required. 152 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) of information, approaches, and questions to be subject will for decades be looking with gratitude pursued in the field or lab. Scholars who examine to Hardesty for his pathfinding work. other topics—particularly those dealing with non- mining work and industry—would benefit by con- Ronald M. James sidering Hardesty’s overall approach. The publica- Nevada State Historic Preservation Office 901 S. Stewart Street, Suite 5004 tion of Mining Archaeology in the American West Carson City, NV 89701 is a great service to archaeologists and historians, and those exploring the complex diversity of the 153

A Passion for the Past: The Odyssey Noël Hume’s life from birth to age 18 of a Transatlantic Archaeologist spanned the Depression through World War II. Ivor Noël Hume He ably depicts wartime Britain as the atmo- spheric backdrop for his own coming of age––a University of Virginia Press, period when air raid sirens and wartime depri- Charlottesville, 2010. 384 pp., vation were parts of everyday life. His service 42 b&w illus. $29.95 cloth. in the Indian Army is one of many ministories that comprise “Act One” of the larger narrative. Ivor Noël Hume’s contributions to historical Use of the term “Act One” rather than “Part archaeology are well documented, but Passion One” reflects Noël Hume’s early inclination for the Past covers new ground on a literary and towards a career in theater. It also reinforces the human interest level. Twenty prior publications sense that his memoir is a two-part drama: “Act bear witness to his being an accomplished author, One,” in which the raw clay is molded and but subjecting one’s past to the intimate scru- tempered in the Old World; followed by “Act tiny invited in this memoir is unusual, perhaps Two,” set in the New World, where the protago- unique. Following the popular writers’ maxim, he nist must suffer outrageous fortune or take arms endeavors to “show” rather than “tell” how his against his sea of troubles. Noël Hume always approach to historical archaeology was informed chose the latter. The preponderance of his life by his personal history. Noël Hume’s gift for and works has been in the U.S., but the book dramatic presentation and a lifelong interest in focuses more on early manhood in England, stagecraft are evident throughout the book. wherein lies the greater part of his untold story. A case is made from the start that knowledge- Through much of his youth, Noël Hume able antiquarians are among the most productive endured the effects of rickets, which required archaeologists, regardless of their level of edu- his lower legs be imprisoned in stiff leather cation. Noël Hume identifies himself as among boots. He presents his father as uninvolved and those who learned in the trenches rather than his mother as a selfish, totally self-absorbed in academia. The book’s preface is devoted to woman who considered his existence more a decrying “young Turks” in archaeological aca- burden than a joy. A dry, understated sarcasm demia who are “eager to clamber to prominence dominates his autobiographical voice. Childhood over their predecessor’s reputations (p. x).” Sir anecdotes are delivered in first person as from Arthur Evans, Heinrich Schliemann, and Giovanni a child with an adult alter ego. As suggested Belzoni are given as examples of archaeological in promotional material from his publisher, this pioneers savaged by the “young Turks.” There part of the book is Dickensian in mood, and to might be brisk discussion among archaeologists this reader’s taste, well done. When discussing over this choice of luminaries, but the preface the time before the war when his mother was serves its purpose; it leaves one curious to read amply supported, Noël Hume’s tone is lighter. further to see what is being foreshadowed. But much of “Act One” centers on the darker For the first hundred pages, Noël Hume side of human experience. When life is sweet, escorts the reader on a journey through his it is bittersweet. He harbors resentment not only childhood––one filled with authority figures who over wrongs done him, but over broader-scale are self-absorbed or openly hostile towards him. social injustices. He sees Jews who escaped Included in this group are his mother, father, Hitler arrive in Britain to be housed on the Isle substitute father figures, nursemaids, and school of Man as “Class B enemy aliens.” Likewise, he officials. Similar personalities are encountered remembers the British poor, forced from London throughout his adolescence, early manhood, and by bombing, being greeted with little enthusiasm during frustrated attempts to forge a career in by the rich. Instead of large manors opening acting. their doors to distressed countrymen, it was

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):153–155. Permission to reprint required. 154 large, equally poor farm families that accepted In the final chapters, Noël Hume addresses the burden. He comments that this kind of class his longtime association with treasure hunters, betrayal contributed to a swing to the left in the who he finds more capable and less hidebound politics of postwar England (p. 50). than academics––and for him, all submerged- Noël Hume delivers insights about human sites archaeologists are academics. He wants the nature with wry, self-abnegating humor: “[A]t the reader to join him as he pierces their veneer. age of seven years and eight months, I became This aspect of the book is disappointing. The a lifelong imperialist. For the first time I under- looming specter that has taken form is not stood what all those red bits on the world map convincing. The villains are the same strawmen meant. They were all ours, and from Adelaide to who have served as foils for heroes in novels Zanzibar everybody loved us” (p. 28). He claims (and on the stage) for many years. They make no childhood revelations about archaeology but conveniently foolish arguments and are easily does show distaste for historical deception. A dismissed as “elites.” “Medieval” castle that intrigued him in his youth, Noël Hume has somehow determined that he later finds was built with machine-cut nails in underwater archaeologists are incapable of access- 1830 (p. 44). ing many sites, so, when necessary, they should Towards the end of “Act One: The Old work with treasure hunters who can. In one case: World,” Noël Hume was engaged in “rescue “The wreck lay in seventeen hundred feet of archaeology” for the Guildhall Museum to water, a depth far beyond the reaches of diving mitigate impacts of massive postwar rebuilding archaeologists” (p. 322). The site he speaks of in London. Lower strata of these bombed-out is beyond the reach of diving anybodies. It was buildings included residues of 400 years of accessed through remotely operated technology Roman occupation. Noël Hume found himself similar to that used by archaeologists since the rubbing elbows with “mudlarks,” people har- mid-1980s. Those for whom underwater work is vesting artifacts at the Thames tide line. Again, a career learn quickly that access to deep sites he carefully documents his education from the is simply a function of deep pockets; also, that mud up––in the trenches––doing archaeology, funding is easier to obtain when corporate spon- not just theorizing from some academic Tower sors do not have to cope with the ethical con- of Babel. straints of the archaeological community. In “Act Two” (married and in America), the Judging from his own account, Noël Hume’s time and place have obviously changed and, time spent in underwater trenches has been in a sense, so too has the narrator. The tone minimal compared to many of the academics in these later pages is more confident, perhaps to whom he condescendingly refers. He admits a natural outcome of success, peer recogni- being made a fool of by treasure hunters anx- tion, and the happy choice of a life partner in ious to use his name (pp. 312,323) but shows Audrey, Noël Hume’s first wife. In Virginia, he no interest in lessening his vulnerability to finds parallels to his interest in clay pipes and same. This is not only unfortunate for Noël the evolution of wine bottles, both of which Hume but for archaeology. He has a well- can serve as diachronic markers in complex deserved name in the discipline, which can sites. It is also a time in his life with which be easily exploited. He, after all, played an many archaeologists are familiar, due to his very important role in defining the nature of histori- real accomplishments. Here, his presentation cal archaeology and raised its standing with the is competent, though not as artful as in “Act public through his work at Williamsburg. One.” Noël Hume increasingly engages in self- Noël Hume shows great sensitivity to remarks advocacy in his narrative. He locks horns with made about him by academicians who accuse what he perceives as academic rigidity and cor- him of being a “popular archaeologist.” His rectness. The reader has been prepared for the comments about his colleagues in this book appearance of a villain, and one is delivered. are far more disparaging, however. Rather Actually, rather than “one,” it is a type––self- than credit them with deeply held convictions righteous, in thrall to bureaucracy, and kin to different than his own, he paints them as self- the young Turks met early on. The least appeal- important and clownish. That they may be ing are underwater archaeologists. driven by their own passion for the past––one REVIEWS 155 that doesn’t permit them to engage in the that shaped his convictions. His opinions may harvest of seabed antiquities for the auction not be well taken by the reader, but they are block––is never discussed; nor is their logic: his, and expressed with an integrity that many that lending credibility to treasure salvers can memoirs do not have. be far more destructive than missing out on a In the opinion of this reviewer, Passion for haul of artifacts. the Past is well written and presents a com- Does Noël Hume see the past as collectively pelling story of an accomplished man. In an owned by society? Do artifacts have value autobiographical context the rhetorical aspects beyond the intrinsic and informational? This are useful if not persuasive. Noël Hume states reader still does not know, but would like to. that archaeology is a procedure, not a profes- Those issues seem more compelling than his sion––either way it is one he helped shape, and grudges with underwater archaeologists. On the his book is worth reading. other hand, his airing such conflicts is a testa- ment to the book’s honesty. If these issues were Daniel J. Lenihan not confronted, his memoir would have been 133 Ridgecrest Drive Santa Fe, NM 87505 less worthy. The readers are left with a fuller picture of Noël Hume’s life and the experiences 156

Castles and Colonists: An Archaeology associated with these early colonization attempts, of Elizabethan Ireland leading the reader into a deeper analysis of Eric Klingelhofer English expansion as a whole. Chapter 3 continues this theme by examining, Manchester University Press, in further detail, the nature of protocolonial Manchester, UK, 2010. 192 pp., settlement in Ireland and elsewhere. The fail- maps, b&w photos. $85.00 cloth. ure of most of these enterprises is attributed to a variety of causes, ranging from a lack In Castles and Colonists: An Archaeology of of planned/nucleated settlements, the interfer- Elizabethan Ireland, Eric Klingelhofer brings ence of other colonizing nations (particularly together archaeological and cartographic evidence Spain), native hostility, and (in Munster) spatial to explore why the Elizabethan Munster settle- and legal restrictions on colony development. ment failed, and in a much broader sense, where Klingelhofer raises the valid point that not it fits within a wider strategy of 16th- and 17th- all plantation ventures were equal in scope or century colonization and expansion. His particular execution, and illustrates that there were some interest is how a new English elite negotiated, modest successes, notably that of Maryborough within an Irish context, emerging ideas about and Philipstown. He also astutely observes that warfare, Renaissance design, and social status, the colonization of Ireland was equally about and how conditions specific to Ireland shaped frontier defense, and that plantations from this the development of castles and fortified houses. period should be examined alongside other He explores this by weaving together the results Tudor military endeavors, such as Henry VIII’s of decades of personal research on fortified sites, coastal artillery defenses. both in Ireland and North America, with a solid The important subject of vernacular architec- understanding of the changes transforming high- ture receives extensive coverage in chapter 4, and status architecture during this period. The result here Klingelhofer identifies six domestic forms is a book with many salient observations, full of of vernacular architecture in the Munster Plan- well-reasoned arguments about the complexities tation: town houses, “tower-houses,” plain and of Irish colonization. fortified manor houses, farmhouses, and service In chapter 1, Klingelhofer places the Munster buildings. Unsurprisingly, the best archaeological Plantation firmly within a broader Tudor empire and structural evidence comes from higher-status framework. He convincingly demonstrates that buildings, and he uses this to good advantage colonial developments within Ireland should to illustrate several important points about the not be viewed in isolation, but rather should transition from “tower-house” to “castle-house” be considered alongside early transatlantic within Ireland. For example, although Renais- attempts at colonization. Chapter 2 builds sance-influenced decorations and architecture on this by exploring the different types of can be found, the plan types of “castle-houses,” Elizabethan fortifications in Ireland. It provides along with the retention of functional defensive a useful overview of how Continental wars and features, clearly show a lingering concern for technological advances impacted the construction insurrection that was already waning within the and adaptation of defenses in Munster and borders of England. Interestingly, this appears to Ulster, and the various challenges faced by coincide with poor construction techniques and Elizabeth’s military. Of particular interest to careless attention to updating defenses where military enthusiasts will be the use of different needed, with eventual catastrophic consequences star-fort designs throughout the empire, and in 1598. The argument that archaeology still has how defended settlements in Ireland compare to much to contribute to the understanding of Mun- those in places such as New England and the ster vernacular architecture is a compelling one. Caribbean. Both chapters provide an excellent In chapter 5, Klingelhofer turns his attention grounding in the problems (and failures) to Kilcolman Castle, the home Edmund Spenser

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):156–157. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 157 was forced to abandon during the 1598 Irish his argument that Ireland’s fortified homes uprising. This chapter largely consists of attempts differed markedly in design and purpose from to describe the castle during Spenser’s occupancy, the undefended country houses being erected in some excerpts from Spencer’s Faerie Queene, England is an important one, as is his point that and the results of fieldwork carried out on-site it is England, not Ireland, which is out of step between 1993 and 1995. The latter provides with contemporary European practice. He ends by some useful comparative data for this period, posing several unanswered questions about this particularly relating to the construction of new phase of English occupation, thereby reminding us features and the adaptation of old. Also of that this fascinating area of study still has many great interest is the discovery of animal remains secrets to reveal (it is hoped). associated with a high-status diet, particularly Throughout Castles and Colonists, Klingel- as it presents the chance to compare the diet of hofer makes a strong case for the importance transplanted English rural elites with their urban of the Munster Plantation and its archaeology, counterparts. One small criticism of this chapter is and why it belongs within a wider scholarship that it seems stylistically out of place within the of transatlantic colonial archaeology. His book book as a whole; this is due to the abrupt change provides an excellent overview of the defensive/ from chapters 1–4, which explored different fortification challenges and competing interests aspects of Tudor and Stuart fortifications and drew faced in Ireland and other colonial outposts, from various parts of the Elizabethan empire, with and offers sound arguments for why specific a shift towards one individual site that, other developments succeeded or failed. Although the than its literary association with Spenser, was author claims the book is intended for an audi- arguably a minor player in the history of the ence already informed about Ireland and Britain, Munster Plantation. This is not to say that the it is a worthy read for anyone with an interest interplay at Kilcolman between archaeological in the evolution of castles/manor houses, the investigation, castle “identities,” and Spenserian archaeology of colonialism, or early English/ language/ideals is not a rich area to explore, but Irish relations. its execution here feels slightly underdeveloped, and perhaps would have been better served as Lila Rakoczy a longer work published separately. Klingelhofer Sam Houston State University Department of History does give some of these issues more attention SHSU Box 2239 in chapter 6, although here much of the focus Huntsville, TX 77341-2239 shifts to architectural examples and personalities outside Ireland and within England. Nevertheless, 158

Critical Historical Archaeology requires asking for the question motivating the Mark P. Leone work (p. 15).” The next section, “Excavating Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA, Ideology,” highlights his application of Althusser. Leone used Althusser’s (1971) definition of ideol- 2010. 250 pp., maps, b&w photos. ogy to understand how landscapes and material $89.00 cloth. culture could mask the exploitative nature of cap- italism. Leone believed an archaeological focus Mark P. Leone’s Critical Historical Archaeol- on ideology could reveal the mechanisms of ogy is a collection of 14 abridged essays which hierarchy; the capitalist origins of social ills like span the trajectory of his archaeological career racism, sexism, classism, and poverty; and hence and highlight his determination to use his work inspire historical consciousness and social change. for social good. For Leone, a critical historical His final book section, “Changing Things: Failure archaeology is “oriented to liberal social change” and Success,” highlights his attempts to do this (p. 153) and links the material remains of the past through the public archaeology program, “Archae- to present social conditions (p. 8). This book is ology in Annapolis.” not a how-to manual on politically engaged prac- Each essay in the text is preceded by a brief tice. It is an autobiographical reflection that dares write-up explaining the origins, feelings, and to argue that a critical praxis begins with the self. motivations behind the archaeological project. Leone’s book rests on the assumption that These anecdotes comprise some of the richest American historical archaeology is politically material in Leone’s book because his voice can irrelevant (pp. 40,61). Leone partially attributes be clearly heard, and one can get a glimpse of this to archaeologists’ unwillingness to “ask Leone as a person and not just as a scholar, good scientific questions,” as well as their- over activist, and archaeologist extraordinaire. Despite reliance on scientific neutrality and the integrity nearly 35 years in archaeology, Leone admits of material data to elucidate race, class, sex, that he does not like to dig and does not have and gender hierarchies (pp. 57–60). He believes a deep investment in cultural resource manage- that if archaeologists are truly interested in both ment archaeology. These write-ups also reveal documenting the history of European expansion that Leone was frequently vexed and angry, but and the people whom it has subsequently mar- occasionally disappointed and uncertain. They ginalized, they must link their research with an show his sincere concern for change, optimism, agenda rooted in spurring a positive change in and courage to speak truthfully about the chal- society. Leone argues that the best way to start lenges that archaeologists committed to social this is to begin with the self and to formulate change face. Leone also elucidates his definition questions that reflect the first place or time one of a critical historical archaeology through these “felt anger, calm, awe, annoyance, fascination, anecdotes and offers advice on how to go about satisfaction, or any other emotion with archaeo- achieving this. logical material” (p. 8). Neither the thematic divisions in Leone’s The essays compiled in Leone’s book are book nor the switching back and forth from organized thematically under three sections. The his personal reflections to scholastic writings first section, “Why Excavate,” discusses how R. detract from the author’s message or make for G. Collingwood’s (1939) work influenced Leone’s a convoluted read. The last two sections of the definition of a critical historical archaeology, as book may contain the most value for archaeolo- well as the emotions and questions that shaped gists who share Leone’s commitment to social his studies at places like Colonial Williamsburg change. Leone is clear that a critical historical and Shakertown in Pleasant Hill (Kentucky). archaeology is rooted in the current needs of Collingwood’s An Autobiography (1939) inspired the poor, exploited, and marginalized (p. 151). Leone’s approach to this book and definition of a He advises scholars to assess the significance critical archaeology. Leone follows Collingwood’s of potential archaeological sites according to assumption that “to understand any history

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):158–159. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 159 the needs and interests of these individuals (p. “success” stories may have clashed with the goals 43). He also suggests that archaeologists choose of a critical praxis. theories that will both do something productive Leone’s Critical Historical Archaeology is an for the people for whom they are working as important read at a critical juncture in anthro- well as tell them something that they did not pology. In a 2010 report published by the know before (p. 51). American Anthropological Association, racism Leone’s book raises some questions, however. and minority exclusion continue to be serious Leone acknowledges that his attempts to raise impediments to a diverse and critical anthro- historical consciousness among whites were occa- pological practice. Leone’s new book offers an sionally unsuccessful. This raises many questions obtainable definition of a critical praxis when about exactly who the audience of the scholar- he reminds archaeologists that all change starts activist project should be, especially if the major- within, and that science and scholarly work are ity of the people who hold political and economic still legitimate vehicles to critique the society in power continue to turn a blind eye to their which we live. Leone is not naïve; he argues privilege. In a book where Leone is so honest that consciousness is not enough, and “[o]nly about everything, he does not discuss how he has serious amounts of power bring about change” negotiated his race, class, and gender privilege in (p. 152). Nonetheless, the mere asking of good his efforts to practice a critical archaeology. This questions can often be the catalyst for making is a glaring omission, and its inclusion could have a positive difference. been a useful model for archaeologists struggling to negotiate this in their own work. Leone also Nedra K. Lee attests that he had the greatest success creating Department of Anthropology University of Texas at Austin alternative and critical histories while doing public Austin, TX 78712 archaeology with African American Annapolitans. Leone does not address how and whether the African American community’s interests in hearing 160

The Archaeology of Clothing and adorn the body and clothing, focusing on Nueva Bodily Adornment in Colonial Cadiz beads, religious charms, and pierced coins. Chapter 5 focuses on two assemblages America by reanalyzing the clothing artifacts and examin- Diana DiPaolo Loren ing how the clothing is culturally constructed. University Press of Florida, This chapter is primarily examples, but most Gainesville, 2010. 140 pp., 28 b&w chapters include both discussion and examples illus. $69.95 cloth. or case studies. The last chapter concludes by returning to the book’s themes and reminding If Caroline White’s 2005 book, American the reader that dress matters, particularly in a Artifacts of Personal Adornment, is the “what,” society where class and status determined one’s then Diana DiPaolo Loren’s book is the “why” life’s path much more so than today. of colonial clothing and dress. Loren urges us I was disappointed to find several typos, to look deeper at these small finds and argues including a mistake in a citation (p. 25). I was that there is history in the subtle changes to unable to determine whether the citation is a clothing and dress, changes that illustrate how print mistake or if a listing is missing from and why colonial peoples negotiated the new the references cited. I was impressed at the relationships and new societies forming in the scope of the book, especially since it weighs American colonies. in at less than 95 pages of text. For example, This book seeks to redress the past in two the section on Europeans starting to experiment ways. One, the book helps archaeologists to with tattoos is funny, and it is followed by an understand and improve interpretations of the equally unfunny discussion on branding slaves. past through deeper study of clothing and I had not thought of branding as adornment, adornments, rather than simply labeling them but it certainly exemplifies the book’s emphasis as small finds. Two, Loren tries to construct on relationship negotiation at the individual, dress and bodily decoration figuratively by bodily level. virtually redressing colonial people to see how This book is an ideas book. It urges the they negotiated their new relationships and reader to go beyond small-finds designations to radically changing cultures. These two themes research more deeply and question how indi- recur throughout the book: the body as a loca- viduals presented themselves in society. Because tion for cultural engagement between people; dress and adornment artifacts are frequently and the creolization, purposeful manipulation, divorced from their bodily context, Loren’s call and negotiation present in dress and adornment. for recontextualization is a challenge without Loren’s approach uses social archaeology, and an easy formulaic solution. She offers good she explains: “the body is at the core of this examples from historical, museum, and archaeo- analysis” (p. 9). logical sources. This book is a great source of The slim volume starts with an introduc- inspiration for thinking about the importance of tory chapter and moves to a discussion of the dress and how to research and interpret small sources available, sumptuary laws, and other finds to create a meaningful history. important contexts. The third chapter covers arti- facts for dress that enclose or cover the body, Laura Seifert Coastal Heritage Society including tattoos, lead cloth seals, and shirt 303 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard buttons. Chapter 4 is about the baubles used to Savannah, GA 31401

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Archaeology in America, An Finally, each author was to identify useful and Encyclopedia more detailed published references. Francis P. McManamon (general The encyclopedia is physically comprised of four 9 × 11 in., 340-page-long volumes, which editor), Linda S. Cordell, Kent G. are subdivided into what might be considered Lightfoot, and George R. Milner the more or less standard anthropological cul- (editorial board) ture areas of North America. Specifically these Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, are: volume 1––“Northeast” and “Southeast,” 2009. 4 vols.: vol. 1, 424 pp.; vol. 2, volume 2––“Midwest” and “Great Plains/Rocky 303 pp.; vol. 3, 354 pp.; vol. 4, 394 Mountains,” volume 3––“Southwest” and “Great Basin/Plateau,” and volume 4––“West Coast” pp.; index; gloss.; b&w drawings and “Arctic/Subarctic.” Each “culture area” and photos. $499.95 cloth. section begins with an introductory overview reviewing the prehistoric culture history as Book reviews are important for the creators, revealed through archaeology. European contact publishers, and consumers of the knowledge and the archaeology of Native American and deemed worthy to be printed. The selection of European American sites are also considered. the reviewer might at times seem straightforward Finally, each volume has its own very useful and at others to be arbitrary and capricious. glossary and index. Choosing the reviewer for an encyclopedia Members of the Society for Historical Archae- focusing on the archaeology from the northern ology will be pleased to know that nearly one- Mexican borderlands to the Arctic Circle might third of the 370 entries in the encyclopedia represent a book-reviews editor seeking to “even deal with historical archaeology. Many of the a score,” or one who sought an individual with most famous sites are represented, including experience across the breadth of North America. L’Anse aux Meadows, Jamestown, Santa Elena, I certainly fit the latter category and perhaps the St. Augustine, the African Burial Ground, the former as well. Alamo, California missions, Russian settlements, Archaeology in America, An Encyclopedia and sites from the gold rush. Of those 117 joins a number of other recently published entries, 10 deal with submerged terrestrial sites encyclopedias, such as James Delgado’s British or shipwrecks. The latter include entries on the Museum Encyclopedia of Underwater and Mari- Yorktown shipwrecks, USS Arizona, USS Moni- time Archaeology (1997) and Charles Orser’s tor, CSS Hunley, the Bertrand, and La Belle. Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology (2002), Turning now to the relative success of the as a sort of “one-stop shopping tool” for infor- encyclopedia for the publishers, creators, and mation on a cross section of archaeologically consumers, Greenwood Press should be com- investigated North American sites. The idea of mended for undertaking this monumental task. creating an encyclopedia was conceived in 2001 They have produced four attractively bound after a Harris poll on “Public Perceptions and volumes. The cover of each volume sports a Attitudes about Archaeology” found that more color photograph unique to each topical area: than three-quarters of Americans expressed Fort Sumter, Monk’s Mound, a cliff dwelling, “high” or “moderate” interest in archaeology and totem poles; this eye-catching adornment will go thought it should be a regular part of education. a long way toward enticing high school–age stu- Experts were recruited to provide essays on dents to open one of the books and spend some both prehistoric and historical sites. The essays time with it. Further kudos should be extended were to be written for nonspecialists and were for the generous use of drawings, maps, and to include summaries of excavations and the photographs. Each volume has a minimum of significance of sites, and information regarding a hundred of these visual aids. As anyone in their public interpretation in museums and parks. the field of archaeology may attest, without

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):161–162. Permission to reprint required. 162 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) illustrations it can be difficult to engage even surprised to note that a number of noteworthy the most die-hard practitioner or to explain a sites, such as Louisbourg in Nova Scotia or Fort point. If there is one problem with the books it Raleigh in North Carolina, which have been the is that many of the photographs were originally topic of years of research and are the focus of color, and there seems to have been limited museums, did not make the cut. Perhaps there attention paid toward ensuring good contrast should have also been historical and underwater and brightness in a black-and-white format; as archaeologists on the editorial board. It also a result many are muddy. Similarly, there are might be suggested that the date the entry was a few maps that seem to have been recycled submitted and accepted also be included. from earlier publications and are less than crisp. Finally, there are the consumers. The qual- These facts do not, overall, detract from this ity and scale of this production is such that fine production. it would appeal to the general public; high The creation of an encyclopedia, especially school, college, and graduate students; and one that covers most of a continent for a freshly minted professors teaching their first target audience of nonspecialists, is an immense classes. It also will appeal to those of us who undertaking. Anyone who has created an edited are long in the tooth and recently moved to a volume can attest to the nightmares faced in new region, or who simply need to update class getting contributors to deliver more or less on lectures gone stale. As mentioned earlier, while time. When I imagine what it took to identify, this work is not comprehensive, it does the job guide, and ultimately marshal hundreds of con- of making available, in a very understandable tributors to a timely completion it is clear it form, a huge amount of information in a single required a superhuman team. My hat is off to source. It is the kind of reference volume I them. One must only consider the problems that could imagine students devouring during study plagued the production schedule of the Smith- halls or when dreaming of their future career sonian’s Handbook of North American Indians choices. It will be a wonderful resource for to recognize the magnitude of completing this students and professionals for years to come. undertaking in less than a decade. Were they to Sadly, the cost of this encyclopedia will put embark on this journey again I might suggest it out of the reach of casual readers and most they have an editor for each area considered, school districts and public libraries––the very to ensure a more even coverage. Certainly the audience for which it was intended. Perhaps existing product was not meant to be an exhaus- the publishers could provide copies at a reduced tive compilation, but the outcome did reflect to price to these venues. That said, I hope at the a large part the expertise of the editorial board. very least that college and university librar- Finally, I might add that the historical compo- ies will be able to add these volumes to their nent, while generous in scale, can be difficult holdings. Neither they, nor their patrons, will to fit into a format based on culture areas- with regret the price. out seeming to be forced. Certainly there are exceptions, such as the discussion of Hernando Russell K. Skowronek de Soto’s route or of the Russian colonization Department of History and Philosophy University of Texas Pan American of Alaska and California, but once the topics 1201 W. University Drive turn from European–Native American contact Edinburg, TX 78539-2999 to European American settlement the connec- tions are largely geographical. I was somewhat 163

Tonpfeifen in Bayern (ca. 1600–1745) research potential of tobacco pipes. As she notes, (Tobacco pipes in Bavaria [ca. they have much to recommend them. They can provide information about consumption patterns, 1600–1745]) they were mass produced, and they are com- Natascha Mehler monly found in excavations. Moreover, their Dr. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn, Germany, fragility and the brief span of time between their 2010. 426 pp., 57 tables, 107 illus. production and discard makes them excellent time €119.00 cloth. markers. Furthermore, their decoration and marks can be used to build sensitive chronologies. Natascha Mehler’s Tonpfeifen in Bayern ca. Although the value of clay pipes for archaeo- 1600–1745 (Tobacco pipes in Bavaria [ca. 1600– logical analysis is well known to researchers, 1745]) is a truly significant contribution to the Mehler presents this aspect particularly well. archaeological literature on historical clay tobacco Where her work moves to another level is in pipes. Mehler is a relative newcomer to tobacco- her historical and cultural analysis of the role pipe studies. In 2000, she attended a lecture at that tobacco and smoking implements played in the Otto-Friedrich University in Bamberg on the the politics of 17th- and 18th-century Bavaria. archaeology of tobacco pipes. Only a few months Tobacco and tobacco pipes were taxed by the earlier she had found a large deposit of tobacco Bavarian electors. Electors were the regional pipes in Reykjavik, Iceland, and began think- rulers responsible for electing the Holy Roman ing about how to prepare a preliminary report Emperor. They were second only in prestige on the collection. Soon she was collaborating to kings and the emperor, and also ruled some with other European tobacco-pipe researchers. of the states that made up the Holy Roman In 2002, she decided to write her dissertation Empire. Unlike the makers’ marks on English on Bavarian tobacco pipes. At the time this was and Dutch tobacco pipes, Bavarian pipes carried largely uncharted territory. Indeed, she notes marks associated with the individuals enforcing that when she told her friends and colleagues of the tobacco tax. her idea, their reactions ranged from support to Although the role of tobacco in the 17th- and complete rejection. Happily, she persevered. In 18th-century politics of Bavaria has seen con- 2007, Mehler completed her dissertation at the siderable study, the pipes have not. Indeed one Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel. It exam- of the primary goals of her volume is to reveal ined the historical archaeology of clay tobacco the people and craftsmen who made these pipes pipes in Bavaria from 1600 to 1745 and provides and were largely overlooked by history. a model for future studies in other regions. Mehler’s study is based on the examina- Mehler begins the book by discussing the tion of 9,427 fragments of tobacco pipes from state of historical archaeology in Central Europe. Bavaria and neighboring parts of Austria. The There, historical archaeology is a relatively new earliest finds date from around 1600, with the field. She is well versed in the English- and first appearance of tobacco products in Bavaria. Dutch-language literature on historical archaeol- The study closes with the end of the Bavarian ogy. The works of Harrington, Binford, Duco, tobacco monopolies in the year 1745. After this and others on tobacco pipes are discussed. time tobacco and smoking implements were no Indeed, her first chapter begins with a quote longer regulated. There is also considerable dis- from the late James Deetz, “[m]aterial culture is cussion of the history and political geography of certainly more democratic than documents.” This Bavaria and Austria during this period. focus on the potential of material culture to com- One of Mehler’s contributions is to create plement the written record and reveal the lives a typology and chronology for Bavarian clay of ordinary individuals permeates the volume. pipes. She also provides a comprehensive dis- Mehler goes on to describe the exceptional cussion of the terminology associated with clay

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):163–164. Permission to reprint required. 164 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) tobacco pipes. The pipes are divided into three The sixth chapter is a typology or, more categories: round-bottomed pipes; heel pipes; properly, what Mehler denotes a typography and pipes lacking stems, or Ottoman-style pipes. of tobacco pipes. Although Dutch chronologies She describes how the pipes were made and are often used to establish pipe typologies discusses some of the challenges involved in in Germany, Mehler notes some significant her research. differences between Bavarian and Dutch pipes. The book is logically organized with 13 She divides her pipes into three categories: chapters and numerous appendices. After a brief plain pipes, plain pipes with manually applied introduction, the volume moves on to the histori- decoration on the stem, and pipes with molded cal and economic background of Bavaria. Mehler decorations. She also examines bowl forms. defines her study area and notes some of the Although pipes with the smallest bowls are major dates relating to the history of tobacco use often oldest, she found that several different in Bavaria. Tobacco use was widespread there by sizes coexisted at once. Heel and stem marks are the early 1600s, and despite official efforts to discussed and identified. Distinct types of pipes, curb smoking its popularity continued unabated such as Sir Walter Raleigh pipes, which quickly well into the 17th century. In 1669, after an became a popular local style, are also examined. unsuccessful attempt to ban smoking, Elector Later chapters provide additional chronological Ferdinand Maria began taxing tobacco. Then, information about pipes. These chronologies are in 1675, Ferdinand Maria changed this taxing based on pipes from good stratigraphic contexts, system and created a monopoly on tobacco pipes. style and form, and analogies with Dutch pipe- The tobacco monopoly, or Appalto, was part of bowl forms and decoration. Sites where pipes a larger mercantilist policy designed to ensure were found and manufactured are also discussed. local control of the production of tobacco and There is also a fascinating chapter on trade and pipes and to keep the resulting profits at home. smuggling as indicated by the tobacco pipes. Businessmen called Appaltators rented the right Tobacco Pipes in Bavaria is well written and to enforce the monopoly and hired potters to pro- beautifully illustrated. There are even some duce clay pipes. In areas outside the electorate, color plates of glazed tobacco pipes. This such as the free cities, smuggling began almost volume is impressive and has considerable immediately. Ultimately, the unpopular monopoly value for scholars outside Germany who may was abolished in 1745. Some tobacco and pipe be working with imported material or are simply monopolists (or Appaltators) succeeded in becom- looking for models of culturally and historically ing fabulously wealthy from their enforcement of informed material culture analysis. the tax; others struggled to enforce it. I found very little to fault in the volume, Chapter 3 discusses the many uses of tobacco though I was surprised that Mehler did not pipes. Besides their obvious use in smoking, attempt pipe-stem dating on her finds. Appar- they were used to administer smoke enemas, ently, pipe-stem dating is seen as pseudoscien- as miniature crucibles, as wig curlers, and more tific in continental Europe. It was also curious recently in target shooting. that there was no index to the volume. This, The fourth chapter discusses the manufacture however, may reflect European publishing of tobacco pipes. By the 1580s pipes were conventions. Natascha Mehler is to be compli- being manufactured in England and soon there- mented on a fine book and a major contribution after in Holland. Mehler provides considerable to the literature on clay tobacco pipes from the production data, and illustrates molds and the historical period. archaeological remains of the kilns in which the pipes were made. Richard F. Veit Chapter 5 discusses clay and glazes. Mehler Department of History and Anthropology Monmouth University arranged the pipes by their color, hardness, and 400 Cedar Ave. chemical composition. She also employs x-ray flu- West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898 orescence to identify where the pipes were made. 165

Cultural Heritage Management: A historical background of the country’s cultural Global Perspective heritage issues, current trends, and a concise Phyllis Mauch Messenger and George summary of the material covered. Additionally, the sections embrace specifics of the region, S. Smith (editors) such as public outreach, political action, and University of Press of Florida, economic concerns. The contributors cover the Gainesville, 2010. 512 pp. $85.00 entire spectrum of managing cultural heritage. cloth. For example, the reader can gain a better understanding of issues in countries, such as By seeking out diverse scholars to contrib- Brazil and Thailand, that are relatively new to ute to a global discussion on cultural heritage the realm of heritage-based education and in the management, editors Messenger and Smith have early development stages of cultural resource provided a destination for those interested in management. These places can then be con- heritage studies. The main themes of the book trasted with India and Russia, both of which cover ownership, interpretation, protection, and have a long history of protecting their cultural preservation of the past. Contributors to Cultural heritage. They differ greatly as to how that Heritage Management: A Global Perspective, protection came about, however. India sought while involved in various matters of heritage to preserve its cultural heritage because it was management, are not only anthropologists and symbolic of the nation’s identity and relevant archaeologists as one might expect. In addition, for contemporary society. Russians, on the other the editors sought experts from diverse back- hand, viewed heritage management as a Marxist grounds, such as those employed as economists, canon of social justice. Additionally, one can see policy advisors, and consultants. These schol- that even with a long history of cultural aware- ars, while sharing a common desire to protect ness, as with Russia, current debates on the and preserve the past for future generations, privatization of the country’s heritage objects, bring disparate views and beliefs to a global largely due to Russia’s new economic system, discussion, and the book significantly benefits clouds the future of that cultural heritage. Such from this diversity. This volume brings cultural contributions from specialized scholars allow heritage management issues from around the one to access readily such intricate information world, from the voices at the forefront of those from a single book in order to grasp an indi- concerns, into one location for the benefit of vidual country’s brief history, current practices, others interested in the historical background and projected outlook before venturing deeper and current preservation and protection practices into the subject matter. as they pertain to the world’s cultural treasures. Moving away from specific issues pertain- The layout of the book consists of chapters ing to individual countries, the book covers based on each contributor’s area of specializa- global matters as well. Insight is gained into tion and covers numerous locales. Those coun- the possible future of cultural heritage conser- tries and peoples detailed include: Argentina, vation, including the prospect for new global Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, policies and the availability of international Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, South Africa, funding, which would garner the worldwide Thailand, the United States, and Native Ameri- attention necessary to better the preservation can traditional and cultural places. Moreover, and protection movement. Furthermore, World the latter chapters comprise the global policy Bank Group policies are explored, and their arena; policies and standards of the World Bank inclusion is quite important. With the back- Group; international laws, treaties, and organiza- ing of major international financial institutions, tions; looting and economic justice; and funding heritage professionals gain a position integral strategies for sites in lesser-developed countries. to the development process, which also allows For the most part, each chapter contains an access to environmental impact assessments.

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The chapter also acknowledges a general lack Cultural Heritage Management: A Global Per- of awareness by those professionals, however, spective is a survey of current issues surrounding and preservation projects will ultimately suffer the cultural heritage of sites throughout the world, if this is not rectified. International laws and as well as the accompanying legislation or lack treaties are explained as well. It noted that thereof. The numerous scholars, with varying those in positions of power within heritage specializations, at the forefront of these issues management should give a higher priority to have made significant contributions to cultural such international conventions and resolutions heritage specifically, and anthropology in general. because they offer a roadmap as to how states These authors detail the complicated issues that view various matters and what will likely be arise when they attempt to carry out their work accepted by public policy. Looting, another issue in real-world applications. The current political of great concern for archaeology, is expounded economy of the planet has put numerous cultural on in the last chapter. It is approached from an treasures in jeopardy. By gathering these scholars economic standpoint, particularly the loss and and their stories in one easily accessible location, cultural dislocation for the source communities it is hoped that heritage can find a place in the and countries, by comparing subsistence dig- world; a place that benefits those involved today ging with that of sanctioned digs. Although in and preserves these resources for future genera- need of empirical substantiation, the economic tions to appreciate, analyze, and interpret. This outcomes of illicit excavations appear to ben- diverse volume is a pleasurable, informative, and efit the acquiring country with sales, visitors, a recommended read for scholars and nonprofes- as well as gains for academia and the media, sionals alike and as such belongs on the shelf of while the source country only benefits, in the anyone interested in global contemporary issues short term, from sales of material culture. This surrounding cultural heritage management. closing chapter emphasizes the shortcomings of cultural-property law, including poor enforce- Brian C. Choate ment and the potential flaws in its fundamental East Carolina University Department of Anthropology philosophy. Ultimately, as indicated, economic East 5th Street distribution must be fair for source communi- Greenville, NC 27858 ties, or cultural property becomes irrelevant and looting will continue to destroy sites. 167

The River and the Railroad: information accumulated through the ReTRAC An Archaeological History of Reno Project coalesced to form the nucleus of The Mary Ringhoff and Edward J. Stoner River and the Railroad. Perhaps the strongest part of The River and University of Nevada Press, Reno, the Railroad is its organization of content and 2011. 248 pp., illus. $34.95 cloth. theme that walks the reader easily from chap- ter to chapter, with each new section building From the first hunter-gatherer groups utilizing on the strong foundation of the last. Chapter Truckee Meadows to the entertainment boom- 1 establishes the overall general history of the town of today, the area now known as Reno, Truckee Meadows area from the first arrival of Nevada, was shaped and continues to be shaped humans in western Nevada up to 13,000 years by the Truckee River and the railroad. Mary ago to the bustling casino and entertainment- Ringhoff and Edward Stoner’s The River and based industry that exists in the 2000s. Chapter the Railroad: An Archaeological History of Reno 2 details the discoveries at a large, stratified, weaves together history, archaeology, ethnography, prehistoric camp- and burial site encountered politics, and urban planning into an excellent and during ReTRAC construction, with the authors well-organized place-based study of the “Biggest using an excellent mixture of archaeologi- Little City in the World.” The River and the cal and ethnographic information to place the Railroad is a new addition to an exciting trend in project into the local and regional context of cultural resource management reporting, focusing Native American use. Chapter 3 discusses the on the publication of contract-based archaeologi- role that the railroad played in the develop- cal projects for public consumption. ment of Reno and the archaeological findings Between 2001 and 2005, archaeologists and relating to its infrastructure, growth, and overall historians intensively investigated a corridor in physical, social, and political impacts on the Reno’s downtown as mitigation for the Reno community. Chapter 4 describes the remnants Transportation Rail Access Corridor (ReTRAC) of Reno’s development and urban planning Project. ReTRAC was only just the newest through the various infrastructure-related find- incarnation of more than century-old debates ings, including irrigation ditches; cisterns; sewer, over meshing the railroad lines flowing through gas, and electric systems; and roads. Within Reno’s heart with modern urban planning to the ReTRAC corridor archaeologists discovered maximize public safety and commerce, while and, in chapter 5, interpreted the remains of limiting the negative auditory and visual impacts an early-20th-century bottling company that of heavy train traffic. To accomplish this myriad survived both Prohibition and the Great Depres- of goals, the City of Reno and the Union sion, and explored Reno’s ethnically diverse Pacific decided to lower the existing railroad population in chapter 6 by focusing on African grade below ground surface creating a sizable American businesses in the city’s heart. While mitigation project requiring investigations by it is nearly impossible to explore an entire archaeologists. As the original builders of the community’s history in just a little under 200 1860s Union Pacific grade did not excavate pages, Ringhoff and Stoner underpin the most below the ground surface, the archaeological significant archaeological results of ReTRAC history of Reno remained capped and preserved by using mundane features such as cisterns and until this project. Western Cultural Resource bottle dumps to construct a narrative of Reno’s Management, Inc. received the contract to identity over time. investigate the ReTRAC corridor and in the It is without question difficult for archaeologi- process uncovered sites ranging from prehistoric cal texts to meet the demands and interests of campsites and burials to African American– both professional and public readership, though owned and –operated businesses of the mid-20th The River and the Railroad succeeds in bridg- century. All the sites, artifacts, and historical ing these divergent groups. Ringhoff and Stoner

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):167–168. Permission to reprint required. 168 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) create a template for other place-based archaeo- history. The River and the Railroad is highly logical studies of active, or even inactive, com- recommended for scholars of the American West; munities by illustrating the potential for creative urban development; and the impacts railroads use of multiple lines of evidence to investigate had, and are having, on communities throughout the historiography of a community and explore the United States. It is hoped that other place- real and perceived identity at the city level. based archaeological metanarratives can employ The authors also do an adequate job of relating the template established by Ringhoff and Stoner complicated archaeological ideas and jargon to to use the results of large contract-archaeology the investment level of public readership and projects to explore the unique circumstances accomplish the task of making even sewer pipes of community growth, change, and identity and cisterns of interest on a broader level. Illus- construction throughout the world. As Ringhoff trations chosen for The River and the Railroad and Stoner note: “If we remember only the also provide both professionals and the public mythical tales ... and forget the real lives— with a fascinating glimpse into the history and those often mundane, sometimes wonderful, archaeology of Truckee Meadows residents. occasionally terrible tales of everyday—we do The success of the book is the result of both the place and ourselves a disservice” (p. 4). both the investment of the authors, who have a continued attachment to the community Chris Merritt today, and the quality of the source material, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Supervisor’s Office with the ReTRAC Project providing a literal Salt Lake City, UT 84138 trench through Reno’s midsection, opening up a substantial slice of the area’s long cultural 169

India on Transferware: A Compendium used their work, and also highlights the potters’ of Indian Scenes on Transferware alterations of the scenes to create drama and panorama in the much-reduced space of plate together with Their Source Prints wells and pitcher sides. Michael Sack Plate marleys and pitcher rims also draw Transferware Collectors Club, San on these illustrations, mostly through repeti- Francisco, CA, 2009. 234 pp., color tion of floral elements from or suggested by photos and illus. $45.00 paper. plants in the aquatints. Cartouches with animals indigenous to parts of India—also drawn from Landscape painters and novice engravers Thomas the original paintings or sketches—punctu- and William Daniell trekked from Calcutta to ate the floral embellishments, and some of Delhi between 1789 and 1791. They returned to these marley and rim patterns are specific to England in 1794 with images of Indian cities, a particular manufacturer, even if that maker temples, mausoleums, people, plants, and animals; remains unidentified. For artifact cataloging, images that appeared on the products of Britain’s these peripheral designs are as important as and earthenware potteries during the first half of the perhaps more important than the central scenes. 19th century. Michael Sack’s compendium of One of the weaknesses of this volume also is transfer-printed scenes from India pairs ceramic its principal strength. Side-by-side images ease examples, mostly from his personal collection, comparisons. The trade-off: repetition of aqua- with the aquatint sources of the design elements. tints that consumes valuable space in this small Each pairing includes specific information on the format book (9 × 7 in., 23 × 18 cm), reducing scene, artist, potter—where ascertainable—and the printed scale of both pot and aquatint, and dates of production based on the date of publica- making minute comparisons difficult. Publica- tion and the active years of the potter. Although tion in a larger format likely would mitigate narrow in scope—Indian scenes on pre-1842 the problem but increase the cost of this richly British ceramics—Sack’s inexpensive guide is a illustrated book. All of the photographs are welcome, authoritative addition to the archaeolo- color, including those of makers’ marks, and gist’s library. overall dimensions of each vessel appear in their Transfer-printed scenes of India were particu- captions. Sack included sources for the photo- larly common between the years 1810, when graphs and a bibliography, but the book is not the Daniells’ portfolios of aquatints and those indexed. Glare and, in some instances, unbal- of their contemporaries were published, and anced lighting mar some of the photographs, but 1842, when Britain passed its Copyright Act. the losses are aesthetic, not functional. Prior to copyright protection, potters engraved Michael Sack brings a collector’s sense to parts of published images onto copper plates, this work, and his intended audience appears combining and rearranging elements to adapt to be transferware collectors and, perhaps, two-dimensional rectangular images to three- curators and appraisers. He suggests some of dimensional surfaces. They did so without the factors that may have contributed to the paying royalties and without securing permission consumer appeal of Indian scenes: interest in to alter images from artists or publishers. Pot- the subcontinent, pride in British dominion, and ters marketed these transferwares throughout the he offers the opinion that the American market British Empire and in the Americas, capitalizing preferred darker blues and other colors, while on Western romantic traditions and pride in race British consumers preferred light and medium and empire. Other published artists from whom blues. Sack does not offer supporting data, but potters “borrowed” include Lt. Col. Charles that is not within the scope he set for himself. Ramus Forrest, Capt. Thomas Williamson, and These are points on which archaeologists might Capt. Robert Elliott. Michael Sack provides suc- accumulate and share information with collectors cinct accounts of each and of the potters who and curators.

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Attribution of transfer prints recovered from in topographical surveys. They met the growing securely dated contexts to specific publications demands of publishers for saleable copy and lei- and landscapes aids attempts to understand aes- sured classes for knowledge about remote places thetic aspects of consumer choice. Analysts can into which Western empires expanded. Those look for patterning, or lack of patterning, in the images also met the needs of manufacturers to categories of named scenes and relate them to expand their markets, providing content for fash- other aspects of material culture: e.g., styles of ion. In the same way that archaeological study flatware and decorative hardware recovered from brought Roman designs to European Renais- archaeological deposits, and book and painting sance architects and dynastic Egyptian images titles recovered from journals, store or shipping to early-20th-century furniture makers, students receipts, and probate inventories. Michael Sack’s of Raj-era landscapes, architecture, and customs book is too narrow in scope to realize this kind brought marketable ideas to 19th-century British of research, but it is an important adjunct to the potters; and like the archaeologists, they did not broader data provided online on a subscription share in the bounty. basis by the publisher, the Transferware Collec- tors Club (). James G. Gibb Images painted and sketched by professional The Lost Towns Foundation, Inc. Annapolis, MD 21403-4203 and amateur artists were intended for publication 171

M. de Garsault’s 1767 Art of the His personal collection of shoemaking tools and Shoemaker: An Annotated equipment allows him to make statements about tools shown in the manual and archaeological Translation specimens, and then make realistic comments D. A. Saguto (translator and about their use. This information is of great annotator) use to archaeologists who recover leather goods Colonial Williamsburg in association and mysterious tools. At present, Saguto is the with Texas Tech University Press, master boot- and shoemaker at Colonial Wil- Williamsburg, VA, 2009. 285 p., 80+ liamsburg. For years, archeologists and museum fig. $65.00 cloth. curators went to Saguto and Peterkin for information on shoes recovered from projects. All that raw-data recording enhanced Saguto’s Saguto worked from Garsault’s Art of the understanding of both historical footwear and Shoemaker to produce a work of great utility the contemporary literature. To a large extent, to archaeologists, living historians, and museum that knowledge is only present in passing as it interpreters. This book has been long awaited relates to points about the manual. because the author has painstakingly made it so The importance of footwear, especially archae- useful. His labor of love is obvious in the details. ological footwear, is that it is very mundane and Leather often survives on both underwater common, yet can provide a wealth of informa- and terrestrial sites. Much of the leather is the tion about technology and, often, the humans remains of footwear and, to date, there has been who wore particular specimens that survive. no comprehensive and accurate explanation of Aside from highly curated, atypical museum shoemaker terminology, practices, and tools. examples usually associated with elite folk, That situation has been rectified by Saguto’s most footwear is not seen as museum quality. labor of love. By working from a 1767 trade This mundane “commonness” is precisely why textbook, Saguto provides a baseline from which it should be recorded. The archaeological speci- to expand and include its other editions, includ- mens are far more typical and more revealing of ing German and Italian editions. This research technology and people than what the elite wore. means that terminology from most of Western There are also more examples of them, and Europe can be placed in context. relevant patterns can emerge from their study. Saguto is eminently qualified to undertake There is also specialized knowledge, not this work. He has a wealth of experience in always clearly articulated here, that from very this field and was practically trained in- creat minimal surviving elements, such as the stitch- ing shoes from raw materials, as well as ana- ing where a shoe’s upper forward elements were lyzing shoes from archaeological and museum connected to the rear portions, it is possible to collections, and documentary research. He identify the type and style of the footwear. was mentored by the dean of American shoe There is an extensive bibliographic essay on analysts, the late Ernest Peterkin, and has pro- the history of the Art du Cordonnier (Art of the duced museum-quality reproductions, as well shoemaker) that includes materials from foreign as field record archaeological examples. He editions. Saguto points out that Diderot’s ency- has presented years of distilled experience in clopedia did not include a shoemaking essay scholarly papers, published proceedings, videos, even though it did include shoemaker’s tools and articles about shoe- and boot-making history that are shown in this book and archaeology, both in the United States and The translation of the 1767 text is presented internationally. His understanding of the shoe- first. This section has illustrations taken from maker’s tools is seen in this work’s illustrations, the original, as well as examples from other and the photographic illustrations are the result sources where needed. Many of the illustrations of long, practical experience using these tools. are of tools. The tools are also listed under

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“tools” in the index, but it is necessary to first quick reference. Since many are very obscure, know the tool’s name. The plates from the their inclusion is only the starting point for original French edition follow the translation. interlibrary loan demands. A wide-ranging, very Photographs of original tools and accessories useful glossary is included. follow the plates and amplify the text. The The text does not read easily, both because photography is excellent, allowing for a clear it is 200-years old and because it is an arcane understanding of the tools. The explanatory text topic. That said, it was not written for modern for the images is concise and, in many cases, readers, and the translation accurately reflects the original item is dated. the original. Anyone who works through the The color photographic section includes text will be amply rewarded. Others will still archaeological examples from the author’s files, find Art of the Shoemaker helpful because the as well as museum specimens. The annota- images are so good. Archaeologists working tion for these artifacts is very useful. Close-up where leather is likely to be recovered will details showing stitching from dated shoes will find this text a most important addition to their be useful for archaeologists, especially for prop- bookshelves. erly identifying the shoe part. This text is not simply a translation, as it Lawrence E. Babits includes references to works in other languages Maritime Studies East Carolina University as part of the annotation and commentary. The Greenville, NC 27858-4353 bibliography is subdivided into topics that allow 173

Archaeology and Cultural Resource effective, recognized profession able to track, Management: Visions for the Future influence, and ultimately manipulate legislation Lynne Sebastian and William D. Lipe and regulations affecting cultural resources. She summarizes the lessons that have been learned (editors) over the years, reminding readers that any University of Arizona Press, Tucson, “vision for the future” must take into account 2010. 368 pp., 11 fig., 10 tables. what has worked and what has not worked in $34.95 paper. the past. Lipe outlines the public benefit of a “values based approach” to archaeological This edited volume by Lynne Sebastian and resource management; these values include pres- William Lipe addresses some of the still-unre- ervation, research, cultural heritage, education, solved issues in cultural resource management aesthetics, and economics. He notes the coun- (CRM) raised by participants in a 1974 seminar try’s sites are important to a large and diverse series held at a Virginia retreat called Airlie set of “publics,” which collectively outnumber House. The contributors hope the 12 chapters those who call themselves archaeologists and in this book will serve American archaeology as resource managers. In exchange for public sup- an impetus for dialogue and debate on how to port, Lipe sees it as archaeologists’ responsibil- make CRM projects yield both better archaeol- ity to provide benefits to those publics in ways ogy and better public policy. that optimize the use of renewable archaeologi- In 2007, Sebastian and Lipe brought together cal resources over the long term. eight other participants for a School for Advanced The next three chapters examine specific Research seminar entitled “Archaeology and aspects of the historic preservation process: Public Policy: A Vision for the Future.” Collabo- identifying historic properties, evaluating the rators brought a great deal of practical experience significance of archaeological properties, and with compliance or CRM archaeology, either in mitigating projects’ adverse effects on sites. agencies or as consultants, or both. The group Pat Barker advocates a regional approach to comprised federal-agency archaeologists; state his- resource management that focuses on outcome toric preservation officers; CRM business owners; rather than process. He argues that decisions “CRM archaeology elders ... with institutional about identifying and managing archaeological memory,” experience with tribal programs and resources should begin with land-use planning issues, and perspectives representing the eastern and be carried out on a programmatic rather and western United States. than a case-by-case basis. Sebastian’s chapter Sebastian introduces the book and summa- contends that the use of National Register of rizes the public policy goals for preserving Historic Places eligibility criteria is insufficient the national heritage that were established by as the sole means of determining which sites Congress in the National Historic Preservation will be given further attention and which will Act and other laws. She notes that the topics be ignored. Instead, she suggests establishing chosen, which represent the basic processes and criteria based on significance viewed in the decisions of CRM archaeology, have received context of a broad-based regional summary. less broadscale scrutiny within the profession Moving beyond the limitations of an eligible than have the issues of curation and education. vs. not-eligible decision-making process is not a An underlying theme of the book––learning simple thing, and Sebastian wisely poses ques- from both the mistakes and successes of past tions and identifies needs toward strengthening archaeological efforts and moving ahead––is decisions regarding eligibility and significance. introduced via a tongue-in-cheek account of a Susan Chandler looks at mitigation of adverse rejected book title. effects on sites. She presents examples of cre- Hester Davis recounts the process by which ative mitigation as case studies and looks at the archaeologists organized themselves into an totality of values associated with archaeological

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):173–174. Permission to reprint required. 174 sites and how best to resolve a wide spectrum values. She promotes broader recognition of of effects on them. these shared values to benefit the resource base, Julia King addresses access to collections data professional practitioners, and the public. and the so-called “gray literature” produced by David Crass treats a “crisis in communica- the many CRM studies across the county. While tion” and evaluates the discipline’s current data availability is perhaps best strengthened at status relative to the objectives set at Airlie a variety of levels––state, region, professional House in 1974. A “media primer” is given groups, etc.––King rightly points out that despite toward enhancing communication by virtually struggles to make collections and report infor- any archaeologist, and strategic recommenda- mation more accessible, CRM reports and data tions on more effective information sharing on have remained underused. T. J. Ferguson argues many levels are offered. Crass ends by saying that the quality of archaeology in the United archaeologists should forego “intellectual intro- States can be improved through more effective spection” and apply their basic anthropological consultation with Native Americans to create skills in communication to the betterment of the collaborative research projects. He describes five resources they research and manage. modes of interaction between archaeologists and In the final chapter the editors bring the descendant communities––colonial control, resis- volume components together and discuss a tance, participation, collaboration, and indigenous vision for the future. They acknowledge posi- control––that affect the conduct and outcome of tive strides made since the 1970s and emphasize CRM archaeology. In addition to studying what the need for quality and cost effectiveness (at archaeologists are interested in, Ferguson feels the same time), as well as the importance of the discipline should address issues and ques- maintaining a link between means and ends. tions important to Native Americans. All in all, this book provides a great deal of The next two chapters concern the improve- food for thought in meeting its stated goal––to ment of CRM archaeology. Douglas Mackey, promote dialogue and debate among colleagues by focusing on archaeological practice, contends to ensure that CRM work continues to yield that high-quality research and modern methods better archaeological results and public policy. and tools are not only central components of good practice but also central to a success- Greg C. Smith ful CRM business. Sarah Bridges examines a New South Associates 835-B Anastasia Boulevard wide range of ethical standards and principles St. Augustine, FL 32080 adopted by archaeological and anthropological organizations, and notes several basic common 175

Death in the New World: Cross- Africa. The major Judeo-Christian traditions of Cultural Encounters, 1492–1800 Europe: Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestant- Erik R. Seeman ism are explored next. In each case, the ars moriendi, or good death, is described for each University of Pennsylvania Press, group. In chapter 2, Seeman describes the first Philadelphia, 2010. 384 pp., 28 b&w Europeans to have sustained contact with native illus. $45.00 cloth. groups in the New World, namely Spanish Catholics in Mexico and La Florida, and English Erik Seeman’s book Death in the New World Protestants in the Carolinas. charts the history of mortuary practices among Chapter 3 details the interactions between the the variety of different cultural groups that inter- Algonquian natives of Virginia and the English acted in the western Atlantic world during the settlers of Jamestown and subsequent colonial initial 300 years of European colonization. I am settlements. Seeman details the ways both not an historian, nor even an historical archae- the Powhatan Indians and the Anglo settlers ologist; nor do I specialize in the eastern United utilized mortuary practices and the treatment States. My expertise in reviewing this book, of the dead (their own and the Others’) for therefore, must lie in being a bioarchaeologist their own purposes. Chapters 4 and 5 describe whose data come from human burials, as well the interplay (often violent) between native as my own research interests in human death- peoples on the one hand and French Catholics ways and mortuary ritual. From my perspective, and English Protestants respectively. Obvious Death in the New World is a wonderful success. difference existed in native-European interac- The book is bracketed by both an introduction tions, due in no small measure to differences in which Seeman outlines his frame of reference in the religious and economic goals of colonial and a conclusion where he briefly explores the powers. In the main, French colonial efforts changing nature of Atlantic deathways after were aimed towards the fur trade and conver- 1800. In between are eight well-written, deeply sion of native souls, while the English were researched chapters that explore various groups interested in natives’ land first, and souls were or time periods. The groups Seeman concen- an afterthought. French Jesuit missionaries used trates on include a variety of Native American commonalities between Catholic and Micmac cultures, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Africans and Huron deathways as a bridge to conver- and African Americans, and Jews. In his intro- sion. The English, Seeman notes, had different duction, Seeman observes that death is a univer- motives for their settlement in the New World, sal human experience. He further notes that this yet in many ways their tactics in interacting common experience, in situations where two or with various Algonquian groups, especially more cultural groups are newly in contact, often in terms of deathways, were quite similar to leads to two reactions: a focus on the com- the French. In both regions, commonalities in monalities of death rites between the groups or mortuary beliefs and practices that emphasized attention to the disparities. These two reactions, inclusiveness were highlighted. This is exem- which Seeman refers to as the inclusive and plified by the attendance of Edward Winslow exclusive, respectively, provide the explanations at the potential deathbed of the Wampanoag for the ways the various groups deploy and sachem Massasoit. As Native American societies redeploy their deathways. faltered and European communities thrived, mor- Seeman sets the stage for his examination of tuary differences were used in exclusive strate- Atlantic deathways in chapter 1 by reviewing gies and power negotiations (by both groups). the precontact mortuary behavior of each of the These latter strategies are exemplified by the groups he will focus on in subsequent chapters. horrors of King Philip’s War, in which denial He starts by examining what is known of indig- of proper burial and desecration of the corpse enous burial rites in both North America and were used on both sides.

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In chapter 6, Seeman tackles the mortuary large measure this mutual understanding leads to beliefs and practices of Africans and, subse- what Seeman terms “death diplomacy,” in which quently, African Americans in the New World. groups form and maintain alliances or punish As he points out, European American slavehold- enemies by engaging in particular funerary rites. ers were not as interested in the deathways of Following this chapter is Seeman’s conclusion, their slaves as they were in those of native in which he briefly reviews broad patterns in groups. Prior to the 19th century, few accounts changing deathways in the Atlantic world after of slave funerals exist, in large measure due 1800. Herein, he draws on seminal works that to the fact that slaveholders had little use for will be familiar to anthropologists who study understanding African and African American mortuary rites, including Philippe Ariès, Arnold deathways; such was the nature of the slavery van Gennep, and Robert Hertz (though he does mode of production. Thus historical archaeology make use of Van Gennep’s rites-of-passage is all the more important to the deciphering scheme in earlier chapters [pp. 130,181]). He of slave burial rites. Seeman certainly makes is correct when he points out (pp. 295–296) significant and valuable use of archaeological that anthropology emerged as a discipline in evidence in this chapter (though the same can large measure as scholars tried to make sense be said of each of his chapters). Despite the of divergent deathways from around the world. exploitive relationship between slaveholders All in all, this is a very successful volume. and slaves, Seeman is effective in documenting The inclusive/exclusive theme is lost somewhat examples of both inclusive and exclusive views in the final three chapters. It is not so much of slave funerals. that the theme is not relevant to the data or that Diasporic Jews in the New World are the the evidence Seeman presents is less detailed, it focus of chapter 7. In contrast to African and is simply that the inclusive/exclusive theme is Native American populations, which eventually not discussed as explicitly as in earlier chapters. adopted many of the deathways of the Chris- I also wish I had had the opportunity to suggest tian groups with which they interacted, Jewish to him Aubrey Cannon’s 1989 article in Cur- communities in the Americas maintained their rent Anthropology (30[4]) for both its theoreti- distinctive mortuary beliefs and practices in cal insights as well as it use of the historical large measure as a way of maintaining their Iroquois as a case example. I think he would unique identity in spite of their frequent status have found it particularly insightful in chapter as minority populations. This boundary preser- 3, where he notes that burial in coffins spread vation was effected through exclusionary tactics from elite English to commoners (p. 100); these towards those Jews who weakened their con- are minor quibbles, however. nection to their faith or community. Thus those Seeman makes wonderful use of a combina- who married outside of the Jewish faith found tion of historical, ethnographic, and archaeo- their access to orthodox Jewish funeral treatment logical evidence to describe Atlantic mortuary circumscribed by, for example, not being granted behavior in nuanced ways. Obviously, the burial within a beth haim (a sanctified Jewish approach emphasizes specific cases, not modal burial ground). Jewish communities, however, patterns drawn from large samples. Yet, Seeman were also inclusive in ways that reflected their draws on such rich case studies and such varied connections to other diasporic Jews and the sources of information that the pictures he influences of their Christian neighbors. paints are evocative. From an anthropological Chapter 8, much like chapter 2, focuses perspective, Seeman is quite careful in his use upon a time period rather than any particular of ethnohistorical accounts. His critical perspec- group(s). In this chapter Seeman explores how tive allows him to use accounts of deathbed 250 years of interaction between Europeans and scenes as sources of information about Euro- natives over deathways played out in the context pean American perspectives on native death- of the Seven Years War. As he explains to the ways. Moreover, he clearly invested time in reader, by this point the exploratory examination learning the details of archaeological research, of deathways was over. Groups were fully cog- for example, when he describes how the pres- nizant and capable of deploying mortuary rites ence of mud-dauber nests within crania from a for either inclusive or exclusive purposes. In Native American ossuary provides evidence for REVIEWS 177 extended secondary treatment of corpses (p. 83). reinforce or mirror economic relations, social I was particularly pleased at his use of these structures, or cultural norms. This perspective, sorts of bioarchaeological reports to “flesh” out while several decades old within archaeology, is his descriptions of various mortuary rites. still a minority approach among those examin- As an anthropologist, of course, the inter- ing deathways. As I noted from the beginning, pretation of commonalities in deathways across I am not an historical archaeologist. Yet, I am various groups is quite appealing. Yet, Seeman convinced that there is much within this book does not neglect critically commenting upon to interest archaeologists working with materials the diversity within each group’s beliefs and dating to the contact and colonial periods in the actions. In this work, Seeman has given us a Atlantic world that Seeman covers. compelling and engaging examination of the ways various groups deployed mortuary ritual Gordon F. M. Rakita in active, intentional ways. Most importantly, Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of North Florida Seeman sees deathways as a vehicle used by Jacksonville, FL 32224-2659 peoples to effect change and not simply to 178

Archaeology at Colonial Brunswick Brunswick,” a manuscript South wrote in 1960 Stanley A. South that interpreted the history and excavations of North Carolina Office of Archives the site. He intended to publish it for sale to visitors at the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson and History, Raleigh, 2010. 308 pp., State Historic Site, but the North Carolina 196 illus., maps, drawings. $20.00 Department of Archives and History had no paper. interest at the time until he carried out more excavations (p. xxii). After the addition of eight What can be said about the work of the ever- new chapters on excavations not covered in prolific Stanley South that has not been stated “Colonial Brunswick,” as well as the inclusion by others in the countless citations and reviews of more recent studies of artifacts and ruins at of his numerous publications, or by himself in the site, South’s resubmission for publication his autobiographical sketches, poetry, and other in 2010 was borne of the same idea, “that the reminiscences? To many archaeologists he is visitors to the site have not had available the a modern Diogenes, whose nomothetic lantern detailed information contained in the twenty of science has guided the theoretical develop- chapters of that manuscript” (p. xxii). Almost ment of the discipline for decades. In fact, one a half century to the month later, Archaeol- would be hard pressed to endure the rigors of ogy at Colonial Brunswick, published by the undergraduate and graduate academic training in agency that originally refused it, remains true American archaeology, much less with an his- to its origins and well meets it purpose as an torical specialty in British colonial sites, without extremely readable, affordable, and informative being exposed to South’s Brunswick pattern of volume that provides a glimpse into Brunswick refuse disposal, the Carolina and Frontier artifact Town for the general public, and more detailed patterns, and the mean ceramic dating technique information for a site visitor or archaeologist. presented in his Method and Theory in Histori- There are no tallied artifact tables or dis- cal Archaeology (1977). cussions of predictive refuse patterns in this A great irony of South’s patterns and tech- volume, as its focus is on the history and niques from that seminal work is that while archaeology of the colonial town and the Civil extremely well known to those in the dis- War–era earthworks of Fort Anderson that were cipline, outside Method and Theory and his constructed over a portion of the site. Some of autobiographical writings very little scholarship the historical and archaeological information has been disseminated about the archaeology and interpretations presented in Archaeology of Brunswick Town itself, a lost 18th-century at Colonial Brunswick may be all too familiar British colonial port on the Cape Fear River in to researchers of Brunswick Town, as much southeastern North Carolina, where he developed of the history and detail of the excavations these ideas. This information was not readily is contained within South’s original fieldwork accessible to the general archaeological com- reports or is published elsewhere. In an effort munity or the public because it languished as to combine the wealth of information about the file reports and notes in “gray literature.” With site and extensive investigations into a public- the publication of Archaeology at Colonial oriented single volume, however, South’s inclu- Brunswick, South completes his publication sion of this information is well warranted, and pattern of making much of his personal past its previous publication does not detract from “gray literature,” such Pioneers in Historical its use here. Archaeology (1994), Discovery in Wachovia The primary text is organized into 28 chap- (1999), and Archaeological Pathways to Historic ters of varying lengths. Each chapter is devoted Site Development (2002) more widely available. to an historical event or specific structure Archaeology at Colonial Brunswick is an within the town and often begins with perti- updated and expanded version of “Colonial nent historical data gleaned from documentary

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):178–179. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 179 sources by South and historian E. Lawrence history of the project. Artifact photographs Lee. This information serves to highlight well predominate in the volume and appear in almost brief biographical sketches of the more famous every chapter without duplication; the majority and influential residents, such as town founder of the photographs provides the best images of Maurice Moore, royal governors Arthur Dobbs the diversity of colonial material culture in a and William Tryon, and customs collector Wil- single volume known to this reviewer. Other liam Dry, and the key events in the history of images, of excavations and artifact processing the town, such as the brief capture of the town and restoration contain familiar participants in by the Spanish in 1748 and the first public the development of Brunswick Town into a demonstration against the Stamp Act in North public historic site, including a young, beardless Carolina. South then details the excavation of Stanley South, his wife Jewel and young son the ruin and the artifacts recovered within, and David, George and Ellen Demmy, Don Mayhew, how they relate to the particular structure or tour guide R. V. Asbury, Jr., and many of the historical event. The majority of these structural African American males who comprised South’s descriptions are more architectural in nature, excavation and support crew. although several chapters also contain humorous While designed more for the general public, anecdotes about the investigations. Through his for the archaeologist Stanley South’s Archaeol- structure and arrangement of the chapters within ogy at Colonial Brunswick provides an outstand- Archaeology at Colonial Brunswick, the reader ing example on how to convey to the uninitiated simultaneously learns not only of the town’s public the use of archaeology as an interpretive history, but the process and discoveries of the aid to historic sites. It also provides an excellent archaeological excavations conducted by South example of archaeology as historical supple- as part of the development of the modern public mentation prior to the development of modern historic site. historical archaeology. This is well conveyed There is also a wealth of additional historical by South in chapter 28, as he compares his information that, for the more serious researcher, work at Brunswick Town to the contemporary supports the primary chapters. An appendix con- investigations of other historic sites in North tains a complete record of the property transfers Carolina that were “conducted under a historical by town lot, as well as a list of people buried paradigm and more architectural than anthropo- on site in the graveyard at St. Philip’s Church. logical in nature” (p. 248). When viewed as a Each chapter is supplemented with copious whole this volume also establishes a very sound endnotes, and there is a bibliography of all and scholarly historical context for the site and currently known primary sources, published related previous excavations on which future secondary sources, articles, and reports related archaeological studies of artifacts and patterns to the history and archaeology of the town and can be based. fort. The volume is also extremely well indexed, Most importantly, Archaeology at Colonial making it easy for a visitor to access quickly Brunswick and the original archaeological work pertinent information related to a specific house- at Brunswick Town it details stand as a testa- hold ruin while on a tour of the historic site. ment to the dedicated and prolific Stanley South, The abundance of figures complement this text whose outstanding contributions to historical well. South’s wonderfully hand-drawn base map archaeology in North Carolina during the 1950s of the overall site and plans for specific ruins and 1960s have now begun to be recognized are superb, as are the pen-and-ink sketches by fully and appreciated. Margaret Bunn, and Don Mayhew’s conjectural drawings of the original structures. These Thomas E. Beaman, Jr. detailed, handcrafted figures represent an almost- Wake Technical Community College Northern Wake Campus, BA 417 lost art in an age of publication dominated 6600 Louisburg Road by simplistic digital images. The numerous Raleigh, NC 27616-6328 photographs of the archaeological investigations and artifacts could comprise a separate illustrated 180

Excavating the Sutlers’ House: munitions found at military sites in the Fort Artifacts of the British Armies in Fort Edward and Lake George area. This is followed by a description of the weapons and ammuni- Edward and Lake George tion found inside the Sutlers’ House. The small David R. Starbuck amount of munitions recovered from this struc- University Press of New England, ture led Starbuck to conclude that this establish- Hanover, NH, 2010. 132 pp., 161 ment was not “a significant source of weaponry” illus. (157 color), bib. $24.95 paper. for British soldiers (p. 46). He also noted that in contrast to British encampments, “no chewed Excavating the Sutler’s House is a result of musket balls,” were found inside the Sutlers’ David R. Starbuck’s 18 years of fieldwork exca- House (p. 48). This comparative format is fol- vating “British military sites” from the period of lowed throughout chapters 3 through 9. The the French and Indian War. The stated purpose fourth and final part of the narrative, chapter of his fieldwork is to generate archaeological 10, contains Starbuck’s conclusions. An example data in order to shed light on the lifeways of of one conclusion is that there is variation in those British soldiers who fought in this con- the type of material culture found at military flict. The sites that Starbuck has excavated are camps and at the Sutlers House in Fort Edward in the area of Fort Edward and Lake George, (p. 108): “The contents of the sutling house in New York, which is the setting for James Fort Edward were often richer––in variety and Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans. in value––than artifacts at the campsites we Starbuck’s interest in the material culture of the have dug, and the house contained numerous British soldier in North America is the subject wine glasses, tobacco pipes, knives and forks, of this recent publication. coins, delft bowls, white salt-glazed stoneware Excavating the Sutlers’ House contains 10 cups and saucers, and even two pewter plates.” chapters and 161 illustrations. The content of A drawback with this book is the cumbersome this popular book is broadly divided into four manner in which data is presented. For example, sections. The first section, chapter 1, provides the types and quantities of artifacts found at both an historical summary of English forts British military sites, including battlefields, are and encampments in this region as well as brief enumerated within the text. In contrast, “artifact descriptions of the archaeological research, and totals” from the sutling house, which also func- in some cases looting, that was carried out in tioned as a tavern, are presented by category these locations. The second section, comprising in the appendix. The former method is a poor chapter 2, provides a summary of Starbuck’s choice as it only serves to interrupt the flow of eight-season excavation campaign inside, and, to Starbuck’s well-written narrative. Since this is a a limited degree, outside “the Sutling House in popular book, the uneven presentation of the data Fort Edward.” This earthfast-constructed building is perhaps a missed opportunity to educate the measures 14 ft. in width and 40 ft. in length. public in how archaeologists make decisions. In Based upon historical sources this structure was particular, if the artifact counts for all sites were in use from “June of 1757 until at least the end presented in a tabular or chart format, then the of 1759” (p. 25). The third part of this sec- readers could better understand how archaeolo- tion of the publication, comprising chapters 3 gists, such as Starbuck, use artifacts to establish through 9, is an identification guide for British the function of a given structure and/or location. military artifacts from the French and Indian Starbuck’s volume also touches upon issues War. Each of these six chapters is devoted to pertaining to public archaeology. To his credit, he specific categories of material culture associated acknowledges the assistance of Matthew Rozell, a with the British army in North America. For high school teacher and avocational archaeologist example, chapter 3, “Weaponry and Ammuni- who brought Sutlers’ House to Starbucks atten- tion,” opens with a discussion of the types of tion. The looting of the house is not unusual, as

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):180–181. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 181 many sites from the French and Indian War have specialists.” Attempting to address the needs of been sampled by individuals armed with metal these three disparate constituencies is a daunting detectors. In some instances this pot hunting task, and I am not sure whether this publication was conducted by the landowners themselves, in meets the needs of his professional colleagues in other cases it is carried out by individuals who the New World. I would recommend this book, are euphemistically engaged in “amateur metal however, to those archaeologists who work in collecting.” Some of the objects collected through parts of the Old World where they are just these activities are illustrated in this book. beginning to do historical archaeology seriously. Excavating the Sutlers’ House contains 157 I have no doubt that reenactors and informed beautiful color photographs of fieldwork, his- laypersons would certainly enjoy this publication. torical maps, and artifacts. Most of the object I suggest that students, both undergraduate and photographs do not contain a scale; however, the graduate, would be another group that would dimensions of the artifacts, in inches, are noted definitely profit from reading this book. in the accompanying captions. These images pro- vide an excellent and informative overview of the B. A. Saidel types of material culture that are present at sites Department of Anthropology East Carolina University associated with the British military. East 5th Street Starbuck penned this publication for “reen- Greenville, NC 27858 actors, historical archeologists, and museum 182

Ritual, Belief and the Dead in Early social belief, and folk belief. By providing Modern Britain and Ireland detailed examples of the treatment of the dead Sarah Tarlow through each of these lenses, she convincingly accomplishes her objective to “find a way of Cambridge University Press, New thinking about the simultaneous occurrence of York, NY, 2010. 238 pp., 1 table, 36 contradictory and incoherent practices and texts” b&w illus. $90.00 cloth. (p. 3). The first section, which addresses religious Tarlow succinctly characterizes her text as beliefs, examines the shift from Roman Catholi- “an interpretive and inter-disciplinary study of cism to Protestantism and claims that “[t]he beliefs about the dead human body,” and as sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation in Europe the title indicates this study specifically focuses was the most significant change in the history of on such beliefs in the early modern period in British attitudes toward the dead and the dead Britain and Ireland; however, she also incor- body in the last thousand years” (p. 19). While a porates some comparative examples from the sweeping statement, her discussion of changes in 19th century, as well as from areas outside the cosmological structure of the afterlife, specifi- Britain and Ireland (p. xi). While neither the cally the elimination of the doctrine of purgatory title nor her characterization explicitly note her and the resulting revision of the deceased’s spiri- primary disciplinary approach, Tarlow’s orienta- tual fate, illustrates an entirely new conceptualiza- tion as an historical archaeologist underscores tion of the nature and importance of the body and her interpretations and evaluations of histori- soul at death. Despite the significant change in cal and folkloristic materials as she compares doctrinal belief concerning the deceased’s spiritual these sources to the presence or absence of separation from the corporeal body at death and corroborating archaeological evidence. Her goal, the dialectic opposition of divine soul and mor- however, is to synthesize discourses about the ally corrupt body, funerary and memorial practices meaning of death and, specifically, the human continued to provide frameworks for perpetuating corpse from disciplines as far ranging as lit- relationships between the living and the dead, and erature, science, law, religion, and sociology for imbuing the physical body with value. with archaeological approaches, toward a more Beginning with the Protestant theological comprehensive understanding of how multiple logic that the body was of little consequence beliefs and attitudes toward the dead manifest and hence should require little or no special in the observable material record. consideration of disposal manner, preparation, What sets Tarlow’s work apart from other burial place, or orientation, Tarlow examines archaeological studies of the dead human body historical documentation and the archaeological is her intentional shift away from an osteological evidence of burials to determine the degree of focus on skeletal remains as a means toward adherence or disjuncture between theology and understanding health and dietary issues, or practice. Additionally, she considers the variation sociopolitical questions of status, prestige, and of burial practices between mainstream and dis- religiosity, to a focus on attitudes and beliefs senter groups (which she interprets as dissenters’ about death and the dead body in particular. By strategy to distinguish themselves from the con- examining theological beliefs about the nature ventional group) and between normative society and fate of the soul and juxtaposing them with and those considered beyond the pale (e.g., the the actual treatments of corpses in different unbaptized or suicides). She concludes that the contexts (e.g., executed criminals, unbaptized division is more complex than a simple dichot- infants, disease victims, “ordinary” deaths, omy of mainstream/subaltern, due to the lack of anatomized bodies, etc.), Tarlow deftly weaves theological directives for many of the mainstream together the five perspectives that form her practices. Protestantism’s rejection of the body as text’s sections: religious belief, scientific belief, spiritually worthless resulted in a greater personal

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):182–183. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 183 and social connection to the dead body. Through- of life and death. In this section’s introduction, out the remaining sections of the text, Tarlow Tarlow’s scholarship is especially cogent as explores how these secularized and emotionally she both substantiates the importance of using based connections both affected and constituted folklore to understand historical worldviews and the attitudes toward the dead body through the consequent behaviors, and cautions the uncriti- early modern period, as notions of individualism cal researcher to utilize only “ethnographically developed alongside advancements in scientific sound folklore” as reliable source material and medical knowledge. (p. 157). This introduction should be required The second section, “Scientific Belief,” reading for all archaeologists and social his- focuses on the growth of anatomy as a means torians hoping to gain a better understanding to know the human body in both religious and of how and why folklore plays a critical role scientific terms, and specifically considers the in peoples’ beliefs about the workings of their reasons for and implications of cutting the body. world. Far from being a review of quaint super- This section relies heavily upon medical and stitions about the dead, this chapter illustrates archaeological evidence for demonstrating that how religious, medical, and social ideas about various motivations, circumstances, techniques, divine or supernatural power and social order and attitudes attending the dissection of human are implicated in complex connections that find bodies often clashed, as rationalist discourses of acceptance and integration, to various degrees, bodies as inert matter contrasted with humanistic in popular as well as erudite belief and practice. perceptions of the recently deceased as a sen- For a text barely spanning 200 pages, Tar- tient individual with continuing rights to privacy low’s work sets a high standard for archae- and deference. ologists committed to multidisciplinary research. In chapter 3, on social belief, Tarlow explicates She expertly establishes the dominant and polar the sociopolitical practices, often dictated by leg- belief frameworks concerning the dead during islation rather than church doctrine or individual the early modern period, then deftly interweaves choice, surrounding the treatment of dead bodies those beliefs with social and folk belief and to illustrate the oftentimes contradictory and praxis to demonstrate that human behavior from paradoxical disjuncture between social praxis and any historical period defies simple or straightfor- religious, scientific, and judicial principles. In par- ward interpretation. Her work confirms that only ticular, she examines the multiplicity of messages through a careful and multidisciplinary approach and attitudes conveyed about “status, gender, legal can researchers hope to come to anything close power, and social self” through treatment of the to a comprehensive understanding of the mul- dead as vehicles of ordering and maintaining tivocal nature of belief in any given context. social structure (p. 104). The final chapter deals with the folk beliefs C. Riley Augé concerning the inherent power of dead bodies University of Montana 730 Birch Point Drive and material directly connected to the realm of Whitefish, MT 59937 the dead as a resource spanning the threshold 184

A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Taiping Rebellion in China, the American Civil Life on Board USS Saginaw War on the Pacific Coast and Central America, Hans Konrad Van Tilburg and the attempted French takeover of Mexico. After the defeat of the Confederate government University Press of Florida, in April 1865, Saginaw continued its remark- Gainesville, 2010. 368 pp., 42 b&w ably active career pursuing the peacetime photos. $69.95 cloth. duties of exploring the inland passages of newly purchased Alaska, augmenting American The still-young and always-fascinating field of naval forces in the still-sovereign Kingdom of nautical archaeology continues to uncover signif- Hawaii, and, finally, exploring the strategically icant pieces of history around the world. Much valuable Midway and Kure atolls. It was at the of this information is available through site end of these latter missions in the Hawaiian reports and government publications, but it is a Archipelago that the ship was wrecked on the somewhat less common event for a book deal- world’s most remote coral atoll, Kure. The story ing with a specific shipwreck to be published of the crew’s survival and rescue despite great for general readership. Even rarer than this is odds is inspiring and fascinating. Van Tilburg a book that both tells an entertaining story and excellently describes the historical significance relates the significance of an overlooked histori- of these events. cal event as important as the wrecking of USS Perhaps A Civil War Gunboat’s best parts are Saginaw, a sidewheel gunboat in the Pacific. the details of the crew’s daily routine and the Hans Konrad Van Tilburg’s new book, A Civil hardships they often experienced on station in War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board such exotic places as the rivers of China, the USS Saginaw, is just such a work. arid coast of Mexico, the icy fjords of Alaska, To date, relatively little has been written and the scorching heat of Midway. Crowded academically on the myriad shipwrecks of the together into a small, leaky forecastle, the crew Pacific or their historical importance. In this of Saginaw typified the sailor of the old navy: regard, Van Tilburg is a leader both in field tough and skilled, but often undependable and research and in publication. Now the Pacific uneducated. Van Tilburg often effectively empha- Islands Region maritime heritage coordinator for sizes the great differences between these men the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- and their officers, most of whom came from tration, the author is a graduate of the Maritime service on the East Coast. His descriptions of Studies Program at East Carolina University the common desertions, insubordination, and in Greenville, North Carolina. Inspired by his the resulting punishments for these offenses mentor, Dr. William N. Still, Jr., “to get out add to one of the book’s main points: life on a there in the Pacific—it’s wide open” (from this mid-19th-century navy vessel was unglamorous book’s dedication), Van Tilburg’s leadership in and difficult. While Saginaw’s crews over the Pacific nautical subjects has resulted in another course of its career may have been instrumental valuable work, Chinese Junks on the Pacific. In in the ship’s pioneering missions, they still had a great leap of historical time periods and ship very hard lives on what was essentially a sailing types, he tackles a very significant U.S. vessel ship with auxiliary steam propulsion. in A Civil War Gunboat. The author’s enthusi- The wrecking of Saginaw on the reef at asm for the saga of Saginaw and its discovery remote Kure Atoll is the climax of Van Til- are palpable throughout the book. burg’s book. As any narrative of this type of USS Saginaw and its crew were true pioneers event should be, the descriptions of the wreck- of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific from 1860 to ing event itself and the crew’s ordeal afterward 1870. The little sidewheel-driven sloop of war are quite vivid. The author does not shy away was involved in many different events during from painting an unflattering picture of life its short career, such as the Opium Wars and on an actual desert isle, Ocean (today Green)

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):184–185. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 185

Island. Daily life in such a remote and desolate its pristine environment. Van Tilburg concludes place, and the tasks that Commander Sicard with a reiteration of the wreck’s historical set out for his crew in order to prolong their importance and of the need to protect such survival, are explored in detail by Van Tilburg. wonderful cultural and environmental locations The author succeeds especially in once again as Kure Atoll and the last resting place of a driving home the historical importance of these Civil War gunboat in the Pacific: USS Saginaw. events. His recounting of the voyage of Sagi- Those interested in the history of the Pacific naw’s gig to seek rescue in Kauai demonstrates Ocean, maritime history, or even Civil War his- the heroism of the officers and the effects that tory now have an excellent book available to their actions and careers had in making the them. A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: navy of today. Life on Board USS Saginaw describes 19th- A Civil War Gunboat ends with Van Tilburg’s century warship technology, living conditions, description of the events leading up to and typical duties, shipwreck, and maritime archae- including the 2006 documentation of Saginaw’s ology all in one source. The research, attention wreck at Kure Atoll. This part of the book to detail, an absorbing narrative, and a good is one of the most detailed, and the author’s description of maritime archaeological procedure knowledge of this subject is quite apparent; are all there. This book belongs on the shelves Van Tilburg is, first and foremost, a maritime of scholar and casual reader alike. archaeologist. He describes the significance of the area where the wreck lies; a part of the Saxon T. Bisbee Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Program in Maritime Studies East Carolina University This is one of the largest protected areas in the Greenville, NC, 27834 world and is notable not only for its history but 186

Microarchaeology: Beyond the Visible embedded in the archaeological record, the Archaeological Record artificial division between macro- and microdata, Stephen Weiner problems of preservation, site-formation processes, and evaluating the (in)completeness Cambridge University Press, of the archaeological record (chap. 2,3), chapters Cambridge, UK, 2010. 414 pp., 100 progressively focus on more specific themes. b&w illus. $36.99 paper. These include the microanalysis of specific materials such as bone, teeth, shells, and In this time of increasing specialization phytoliths from archaeological sites (chap. 4–6); within the sciences, including archaeology, reconstructing pyrotechnological processes of the communication disconnect between areas such things as ceramics and mortar (chap. 7); of expertise also appears to be growing. It is preservation and potential of biological molecules Stephen Wiener’s intention through this book (chap. 8); ethnoarchaeology and the microscopic both to draw attention to this divide and to record (chap. 9); absolute dating and assessing offer means of bridging it. He seeks to equip the quality of dates (chap. 10); and investigations archaeologists with in-depth insights into the into the microscopic record while on site (chap. potential, tools, and conceptual world of min- 11). Perhaps the greatest flaw of the book is eral, chemical, and microanalyses; in other the inclusion of the final section on infrared words, through microarchaeology, the study spectroscopy (chap. 12) as a chapter rather than of that which is not seen with the naked eye. as an appendix. Wiener makes a legitimate point Weiner proposes that despite the inherent dif- that there is no other archaeological literature ficulties in integrating data from different parts on the topic, and the chapter provides clearly of the archaeological record currently studied useful information that should be included, but by different specialists, researchers informed its nature is better suited to an appendix. A in both the archaeological and the natural sci- summary chapter closing the book would be ences will have the conceptual frameworks and useful in its stead. In addition, while it may on knowledge necessary to ask the right questions, one hand be seen as “dumbing down,” a glossary critically evaluate results, and extract as much of terms used frequently throughout the book information as possible from the macro- and would be helpful to both the forgetful scholar the microscopic archaeological records. Surpris- and the novice student. ingly engaging and easy to read considering the Basing the book on his two major interests–– denseness and technical nature of the material biomineralization and archaeology––Weiner’s he presents, Weiner’s enthusiasm for his work focus is clearly on prehistoric habitation sites, is evident throughout the book, and for the mainly located in the dry regions of the world, most part he does an excellent job of taking such as Israel. Many of his examples are enormously complex processes and concepts and applicable to a much wider subject base and making them digestible to the nonspecialist and to broader studies. While the book does not the uninitiated student. claim to be comprehensive, a number of things Divided into 12 chapters with 2 appendices are striking in their absences, however, for and an extensive bibliography, the book is instance, any mention of historical archaeological expressly intended for conceptual enlightenment sites, and for the most part the categorical and not for methodological guidance (although it dismissal of underwater sites. In one respect does offer some). It is suitable both for providing these omissions are understandable, as his a broad, solid grounding in microarchaeology focus is primarily on terrestrial desert sites, and as a reference tool for specific research but on the other hand, historical archaeology questions and analyses. Starting out by outlining is a major field that can also benefit from various concepts, including the interdisciplinary a deeper understanding of microarchaeology, nature of microarchaeology, types of information and the potential for preservation from many

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):186–187. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 187 underwater sites is so phenomenal that it merits photographs, tables, and diagrams throughout more attention; perhaps both topics even merit the book are generally very helpful in illustrat- separate volumes. ing the often-complex concepts he is describing. A fundamental understanding of chemistry An argument that runs throughout the book is assumed, as most discussions concerning is the critical importance of minimizing the structure and diagenesis at the molecular, min- degree of uncertainty of interpretation based eral, and even macrolevels of necessity include on results. By nature of the work, Weiner is chemical descriptors. That being said, in no hyperattentive to both the minutiae of context sense is the discussion so technical that the and collecting and analyzing samples, as well as reader will not gain a basic understanding of the plethora of possibilities for biases and error. important material and chemical signatures, dif- His assertion that in the end, “the evidence ferences, origins, changes, and their import to presented, like all scientific evidence, has to be archaeology. Weiner seeks to make technical evaluated in terms of the degree of uncertainty pieces, such as peer-review articles, more acces- involved” (p. 176) is applicable to both the sible to a wider audience, and generally does a microarchaeological and marcroarchaeological, very good job of tying seemingly mundane or and is a warning that should be well heeded unimportant concepts and processes back into by every archaeologist and every “specialist.” the archaeological record, demonstrating their This book is truly a useful tool in bridging applicability for research, analysis, and inter- the knowledge and communication gaps among pretation. For instance, his detailed discussions those who investigate the multifarious aspects of of carbonates, silicone dioxides, and clays make the archaeological record, but its usefulness can a great deal of sense when one considers both only be effective if people are willing to put in their compositions within artifacts and their the time to read and evaluate critically chemical effects on artifacts when part of the archaeologi- equations, infrared spectra, and the nuances of cal matrix; part of what he terms, throughout the macro- and microarchaeological data. This the book, as “embedded information.” Wiener is a call to archaeologists of all descriptions to does not shy away from noting when something expand both their visible and invisible worlds. is not fully known or understood, and provides extensive references for additional reading Rachel L. Horlings throughout the chapters, sometimes using this 209 Maxwell Hall Syracuse, NY 13244 as a tool to illustrate the connections between archaeology and other sciences. The numerous 188

Households and Hegemony: Early Interactions” (highlighting the impact of deer- Creek Prestige Goods, Symbolic skin trade over time); and “4. Changing Creek Households” (as reflected in archaeological Capital, and Social Power contexts from various occupations/sites). His Cameron B. Wesson concluding chapter (though not labeled as “5”) University of Nebraska Press, addresses the core of his hypothesis in six fun- Lincoln, 2008. 256 pp., 21 illus., 5 damental questions: (1) “Is there evidence of a maps, 5 tables, index. $55.00 cloth. decline in elite control of prestige goods?” (2) “Is there evidence of a decline in elite abilities This compact, small-format book makes for to control surplus foodstuffs?” (3) “Is there a easy handling for those researchers looking decline in the materialization of elite-centered at comparative data on contact-period Creek ideologies in both material culture and spatial cultures of southern Alabama. Its diminutive order?” (4) “Is there evidence of change in size, however, should not deceive the reader the social, behavioral, and material components into thinking this will be an easy sketch. Quite of historical Creek households?” (5) “Is there the opposite is true, as Wesson has compiled evidence that Creek social ranking changed a “thick description” of the cultural pressures from ascribed to achieved during the historical confronted by early Creek societies, the impact period?” and (6) “What was the role of the of European trade goods, the inherent symbolic Creek household in these larger social changes?” capital these goods represented, and the behav- The subsequent appendices offer five sets of ioral consequences they had on the Indian popu- tabular data for burials and storage features from lation in the region. His title, Households and respective cultural periods and study sites (Shine Hegemony, offers a clear insight to the contents 1 and 2, Atasi, and Tallapoosa phases). The well- of his compelling argument and well-founded organized bibliography is multiscalar; topping out conclusions. His use of “household” as a con- at 50 pages (exactly one-fifth of the volume’s textual unit of measure puts the reader directly size), it is both extensive and exhaustive. within this multifaceted cultural institution and Wesson contends (p. 19) that “households have not outside metaphorically peering through an just as much to tell us about the nature of chal- open window, or as some would say, “through lenges to elite hegemony as they do its establish- a glass darkly.” The author chooses the house- ments.” From the onset, the author introduces hold to examine important social, economic, and his topic by providing theoretical and contextual political transformations that occurred during background, advising the reader to rethink cultural the protracted contact period of Creek culture boundaries as not fixed and stationary, but as (three centuries worth), and how these changes shifting and evanescent. The review of previous redefined access and authority. research studies, which focuses on the Creeks as Wesson’s discourse on the subject takes an a diachronic and synchronic population, is thor- almost dictionary approach in that he provides ough if not overly referential, often breaking the detailed definitions of the period, the region, the reader’s train of thought while one is trying to Creeks, the trade goods (prestige vs. common capture the meaning or point being made. In the items), comparative examples, and consequences brevity of chapter 1, Wesson provides definitions of exchange over time. The layout of the book of social agents, hegemony, and households, and is completed in four thematic chapters which according to his dictionary: “social structure is follow his argument: “1. Social Agents, Hege- created by social agents [people] and transmitted mony, and Households” (each category clearly in distinctively human and rational ways” (p. 3), defined and exampled); “2. The Creek Social referring to social agents as social actors who Universe” (here, he uses historical and ethno- possess transformative capabilities; hegemony he graphic records to outline Creek perceptions of defines as a process, continually renewed, - recre self and spiritual Other); “3. Creek-European ated, defended, and modified; and household he

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(4):188–191. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 189 sees as the “fundamental social unit underlying incursions, trading networks, and religious the composition of society, and as such is both missions (p. 58). The author uses this chapter to cosmogram and sociogram constructed of wood trace the cultural, economic, and political impact and flesh (p. 9), and the most common social of European trade goods on the traditional Creek component of subsistence” (p. 11). He further cultures during a 300-year period (ca. A.D. emphasizes that households have just as much 1500 to 1800) in the Tallapoosa River valley to tell us about the nature of challenges to elite of central Alabama. He examines precontact hegemony as they do its establishments (p. 19). settlements through archaeological evidence, Moreover, he believes that households embody comparing the access to and control of certain and underlie the organization of a society at its trade goods (found in burials and storage-feature most basic levels and serve as sensitive indicators contexts) from the earliest of explorations in of evolutionary change in social structure (p. 20). the 1520s by the Spanish, to the French and Chapter 2 then leads the reader to a detailed English competing markets for deerskin trading background of the Creek social universe, culminating from the late 1700s to the early spiritually and politically, and matrilineally. 1800s. He takes issue with other scholars, whom He acknowledges the role of women in Creek he believes oversimplify the depopulation of society as maintainers of the household and Creek tribes in what are described as vectors kinship, the purpose of duality in Creek social of death (e.g., direct and indirect exposure to organization (e.g., red and white moieties and European diseases, depopulation of deer and towns), the powerful positions micos and first other fauna, dependence on deerskin trade to and second chiefs served in political spheres the exclusion of other diversified forms of (citing ethnographic and historical records), the commerce, disintegration of tribal hierarchy and presentation and hoarding of prestige goods, chiefdoms, and loss of land due to encroachment, their symbolic capital, and the social power warfare, and famine). The second part of this they represented and how that changed over important chapter describes the process of time. The second part of this important chapter trade through four separate conduits by which outlines the crux of his thesis, that the prestige- goods were passed to the Indians: down-the-line goods economy practiced by the lower Creeks exchanges from Indians to Indians, travel by continued to function largely unabated until interior groups to coastal European settlements, the quantity of trade materials introduced into the presentation of these goods to interior the Creek households through direct trade with populations by Europeans traders in order to Europeans overwhelmed the authority of the insure alliances, and the outright pillaging of local elite class (micos and chiefs) to exercise European settlements. Wesson reiterates the control over these materials (p. 39). How this findings of many that distance from initial change in power is expressed in the archaeologi- contact with Europeans played a factor in the cal record of these selected towns and house- level of social change the Indians experienced. holds becomes the challenge. The last third of He also points out that those Indians with the the chapter is a discourse on the Creek cosmos greatest access to goods were often those in (the three levels of upper world, earthly world, closest proximity to the European settlements and the underworld); sacred landscapes and or on primary trading paths. The first category places; observable shapes (primordial forms of of the trade goods to gain favor among the round, square, and rectangular); those groupings, Creeks was that of personal adornment, later including round mounds, square ball fields, or to be replaced with functional goods, primarily courts; and the powerful axis mundi or world weapons (such as the guns that were controlled tree. He concludes this discussion by stating that by the elites as late as the 1770s). The author the major source of postcontact cultural change explores the demographic changes brought about among the Creeks was themselves (p. 57), by the interactions with Europeans through the which sets the stage for “Act 3,” the “Creek- deerskin trade (and guns), and the tremendous European Interactions” discussed in chapter 3. impact to Creek culture. The final section of Drawing from a plethora of sources, Creeks’ chapter 3, titled “Euro-American Hegemony,” contact with Europeans is summarized in four confronts the “asymmetrical relationship” the categories: treasure-seeking explorations, military Creeks suffered at the hands of the European 190 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(4) colonists, their trading partners (p. 83), and discern patterns. Emphasizing those trade goods the ceding of large land tracts to cover their he considers to be prestige items (silver, beads, overdue debt. He cites the efforts of Benjamin brass pendants), Wesson compares findings from Hawkins, the U.S. representative to the Indians several data-source sites reflective of Creek of the Southeast, to persuade the Creeks to settlement history (the Fusihatchee, Jere Shine, shift away from commercial hunting (for Jackson, Childersburg, Tukabatchee, and Tin deerskins) and move the men towards yeoman Chaw Way sites). Site maps shown in figures 6, farming (complicating/straining the traditional 7, 8 and 16 are too minute to allow reading of role of Creek women as the agriculturalists). any relevant information, including the legends. This, Wesson so accurately points out, was Keeping this volume compact appears to have an attempt to convert the Creeks to farmers been one primary objective, but these site maps in a veiled effort to capture more of their warranted at least an entire page each, or the lands. Historical sources, however, reveal that critical areas the author wanted the reader to the Creeks resisted farming as a practice, but study should have been enlarged for readability. took up husbandry instead, with many of them Similarly, the summary bar graphs are minimal- raising cattle on dispersed lands, away from ist in presentation and could have used a bit nucleated villages. The internal divisions created more explanation. The figure 11 graph appears by divisive subsistence practices and strained to have been a draft, given the misspelled head- relationships within their own Indian nation ing, and the percentage values shown do not (traditionalists vs. progressives) culminated in match the text. This created some confusion the Creek Civil War of 1813, reaching a tragic for this reader, trying to move between graphic conclusion when U.S. troops, led by Andrew summaries and text flow. Still, there are gems Jackson, killed thousands of traditionalist Creek to be gleaned from the results of this study. warriors at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. This Most readers will agree that houses are impor- event, in tandem with the eventual forced tant places where the practice of culture takes removal of many southeastern Indians in 1838, place, providing more than a protective cover had profound impact on Creek culture and tribal from the elements. government, shifting the institutional power Houses are rich symbolic constructions that away from a single chief and towards the town, embody time, space, choice, creativity, and tra- with community-based decisions (p. 87). Here, dition simultaneously; put simply, households Wesson provides his strongest argument for a are a culture in microcosm. Wesson (p. 115) new approach to understanding this sea change provides comparative discussion between the in the social life of the Creeks, away from what four-structured and the two-structured household he terms the simplistic donor-to-recipient type patterns found among contact-period Indians in of trade-goods exchange and consequence, to a the Southeast, zeroing in on the Upper Creeks. closer examination of the Creek household, the Here he could have expanded his argument primary unit of sociopolitical change. to include household studies recently docu- In chapter 4, the author explores changes in mented in eastern Tennessee and western North demographic, behavioral, and material aspects by Carolina, including Edmond Boudreaux’s work using a variety of analytical techniques to “tran- (2007) on the Town Creek site in Montgomery scend a mere recording of artifact assemblages County, North Carolina, and Chris Rodning’s and contextual distributions of European items studies (2010) on Cherokee households and in Creek households ... to discover potential trade networks in western North Carolina. Citing social meanings as well” (p. 90). If a time- Bartram’s ethnohistorical accounts of his travels restricted reader needs to “cut to the chase,” among the Upper Creeks, Wesson describes the then this chapter is recommended, because here four-dwelling pattern, centered on a square, is clearly the core of Wesson’s thesis. Unfortu- and the uses for each building (receiving hall, nately, here too were the errors in data presenta- kitchen, two-storied granary/livery, and skin tion and less-than-suitable graphics to augment warehouse). He claims that this four-structure his findings. Using analyses of trade items from pattern common among the Upper Creeks stands storage pits, burials, refuse pits, and activity in “stark contrast” (p. 121) to other structure areas, he compares content and distribution to patterns among southeastern tribes during this REVIEWS 191 period. Comparing the Atasi- and the Tallapoosa- study reiterates this finding. He also reminds the phase structures, his argument is further distilled reader that slaves, money, and European domes- to an observation that the size of storage pits is ticated animals, though rarely represented in the equivalent to the size of the household. More archaeological record, also played pivotal roles simply, differences in the size of underground in regulating social power among the Upper storage pits have tremendous implications for Creeks. Wesson has laid a reasonable foundation understanding the social and behavioral aspects for future studies of households as the primary of Creek households, revealing information about unit of analysis in archaeological research, the number of individuals residing therein and households serving as a powerful inauguration the decline in average number of occupants from into the social, political, and economic structures five or six to three or four. of preceding societies. Researchers interested The final chapter expounds beyond mere in the archaeology of the late-protohistoric conclusions and is quite thoughtful and well societies of the Southeast, particularly focusing reasoned, offering the reader a query-and-reply on cultural changes among the Upper Creek format to isolate the salient points of this settlements and their neighbors, should read this study. Drawing heavily on Vernon J. Knight’s handy Households and Hegemony volume. investigations, which describe trade silver and its major alteration to prestige goods and social Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton power during the late 18th century (“the eco- Fort Bragg CRMP Fort Bragg, NC 28307 nomics of ostentation,” as he calls it), Wesson’s