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Historical Archaeology of the Irish medicine, and the more or less steady process(es) Diaspora: A Transnational Approach whereby a socially excluded group gradually Stephen A. Brighton became part of mainstream American society. Indeed, it is in his analysis of the material cul- University of Tennessee Press, ture of both the Irish and American sites that Knoxville, 2009. 256 pp. $49.95 his text is at its most confident and informative, cloth. considering the subtle nuances of the presence of at least one serving dish at both Roscommon The “Irish diaspora” is a phrase which has cottages, or the shift to “granite” tableware in gained widespread political and social currency, America. The clear importance of tea consump- particularly since its use was popularized by tion at some of the lowest levels of Irish society Irish president Mary Robinson (1990–1997). As will also be striking to some readers. Stephen Brighton points out, however, it is a As might be expected of such a wide-ranging concept that has received comparatively little text addressing topics that have hitherto received academic attention generally, and few historical little academic attention, the book has its faults. archaeologists have addressed the topic at all. The occasional confusion of the townland of Bal- Given this dearth of previous research, his book lykilcline with the barony of Ballintober North is addresses the issue on two levels, discussing defi- unfortunate but hardly vital. Rather more worry- nitions and the potential to create an “analytical ing is the comment that Tara and “New Grange discourse” on the subject, before moving on to [sic]” date “as far back as the second half of address general and specific features of the Irish the first millennium B.C.” (activity at both sites diaspora in America. To do this, he focuses on extends back at least into the late 4th millen- four sites closely associated with Irish and Irish nium). When dealing with 19th-century evidence, American communities in the 19th century––two some statements about the “high” politics of the in the Five Points area of Manhattan, New York, period are simply incorrect. No amount of legis- and two in the Dublin section of Paterson, New lative activity in 1801 could have made Ireland Jersey. At the heart of Brighton’s thesis is the part of “Great Britain” (“officially” or otherwise), entirely reasonable idea that members of the nor can the event realistically be said to have Irish diaspora in America were not tabulae rasae, forced Ireland’s entry into the British Empire. but rather brought long-established social values, If, indeed, this act made Ireland “a subordinate beliefs, and practices with them. Bearing this in colony,” then it should be remembered that it mind, this work also discusses two 19th-century was the only one in the empire which had the Irish sites––a pair of tenant’s cottages in the right to elect MPs, and indeed peers, to West- townland of Ballykilcline, County Roscommon, minster. By the same token, there is no way in then part of the Mahon Estate, centered on which Gladstone’s 1886 Home Rule Bill can be Strokestown House. As Brighton himself points said to have proposed “the restoration of Irish out, the limited number of sites examined is a representation at Westminster.” Of course, Brigh- reflection of the relative novelty of the subject ton’s objective is not to summarize these events, area, particularly in Ireland where excavations of but rather to focus on the “proletarian dias- material postdating 1750 remain very much the pora”—those with few or no skills who occupied exception rather than the rule. a place close to the bottom of the social ladder Brighton’s work is in no way an attempt to in both Ireland and in America––and who have identify a specifically “Irish” or “Irish American” been ignored by many later historians. Nonethe- material culture, but presents a far more subtle less, this lack of concern for basic historical, reading of the archaeological evidence from all geographical, and political information does not six sites, discussing such things as increasing inspire confidence in Brighton’s analysis of other, mass production, wealth, consumerism, diet, less-widely known information.

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):189–190. Permission to reprint required. 190 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2)

Many readers will also be perplexed by Brigh- As Charles Orser points out on the book’s ton’s discussion of “New History,” or revision- fly cover, this work represents an extension of ism. Drawing heavily on Bradshaw, he presents the “archaeology of transnationalism” and offers the school as an essentially political movement, a new, “archaeologically meaningful” theory of anglophone in temperament and approach, which diaspora, with the latter, in particular, having seeks to dismiss nationalist concerns and agenda the potential to extend well beyond the 19th by “evading” key issues such as the Great century, and indeed the Irish American experi- Famine. Given his obvious interest in challenging ence. The book’s concluding pages comment on normative American historical narratives and his the potential for similar approaches to the Irish keen awareness of the importance of myth and diaspora in other parts of the world, or indeed mythmaking to the Irish American community, the experiences of Indian migrants within the Brighton’s absolute rejection of the revisionist British Empire. As one of the first contributions school’s role in assessing and seeking to move to this important subject, some allowances must beyond Irish historical “myth” and grand nar- be made for its less felicitous phraseology and rative is mystifying. While it may very well occasional errors. Undoubtedly, this book will be a “truism” that “the social structure created form a starting point for any future research unequal relations of power based on social dif- and/or debate on this subject, on which note, its ferentiation,” his contention that any historian, or bibliography provides an excellent introduction to indeed archaeologist, working with 19th-century this complex subject. Irish material has ever been in a position to ignore this fact is highly questionable. It is by Stephen H. Harrison no means clear why revisionists in particular School of Archaeology University College Dublin should be singled out as unsympathetic to Irish Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland social issues, and many historians may take issue with this point. 191

Writing About Archaeology archaeological author, each allows different liber- Graham Connah ties and imposes different constraints. This advice Cambridge University Press, is valuable to both new and seasoned writers. The second half of the book deals with prac- Cambridge, UK, 2010. 224 pp., 31 tical, nuts-and-bolts advice and suggestions. b&w illus., 3 maps. $24.99 paper. These range from a discussion of differences among what Connah calls “mosaic,” “narrative,” Simply conducting fieldwork, laboratory and “argument” structures; to the importance of analysis, or any of the other practices that drafts; to voice and word choice; and to the characterize archaeology is not enough to chal- occasional agonies of dealing with publishers and lenge assumptions about the past or aid in referees. Connah acknowledges throughout the understanding the present. Those goals require book that writing can be an idiosyncratic process, that the work not only be done, but also be and thus he is able to strike a careful balance in presented––ideally in ways that are faithful to this section. There are few if any specific direc- the data, while also engaging and accessible to tions; rather, the author references a common the intended audience. That is Graham Connah’s problem (writing while also working fulltime) premise in Writing About Archaeology, and he and draws on his own experience at solving it undertakes the work with the goal of encourag- (waking up early each morning and writing for ing archaeologists to think more critically about three hours, fortified by a large mug of tea). This what and how they write. is not portrayed as the only way to solve prob- The first two chapters comprise an extended lems of time, merely one that might work for elaboration of Connah’s assertion that writing is the individual writer. Similar examples abound. at least as important to the discipline as excava- His point in this large section on mechanics, as tion. The basis of what archaeologists think they elsewhere in the book, is not to instruct how to know about the past rests on more than a cen- write, but to foreground issues for critical consid- tury of published writing. Previous writers have eration, to raise possibilities, and to push writers contributed to this archaeological canon, which to think about their work holistically. means one who wishes to improve his or her A recurring theme is the importance of illus- own archaeological writing has a vast storehouse tration as an aid to, as Connah puts it, “visual of examples to rummage through. Connah’s first explanation.” He devotes an entire chapter to and perhaps most important piece of advice is to illustrations as not only an aid to writing, but a read widely and critically within this canon. He critical part of translating archaeological data for samples selections from 25 archaeological writers readers. In this sense, it is as important to know over six centuries to illustrate varied approaches to when and how to communicate visually as it is the difficult task that such writers face. For read- to use the written word. He includes 31 figures ers, this serves as an effective retrospective, but from published literature to show examples of even more so as a useful “further reading” list. good practices in photography as well as com- Connah seems to view writing as a synthetic puter and hand-drawn illustrations. whole, a system whose ideal functioning depends One minor quibble: writing for electronic out- on all of its parts working together. This begins lets is treated too briefly. Connah raises the valid before writing, with consideration of the people point that long-term storage of and access to who will read the eventual publication, whatever digital data is uncertain. A similar point could be form it might take. His third chapter expands made, however, about small journals, the “grey on the importance of the audience by discuss- literature” of CRM, or more exotic publication ing the differences among monographs, journals, outlets like poster displays. Web-only publications and what might be called “popular publications” are increasingly considered to be a valid outlet like encyclopedias or large-circulation periodicals. for archaeological writing, and there are true Each draws a different audience and, thus for the believers who expect paper archives will someday

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):191–192. Permission to reprint required. 192 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) be a thing of the past. Regardless, a dedicated (p. 7). He makes his peace with this by placing treatment of the specific audiences, limits, and less importance on whether his suggestions are possibilities of electronic publishing would have followed than on the hope that his work encour- been a welcome addition. ages archaeologists to think more critically about A book like this could have easily been writ- the writing process. Writing About Archaeology ten as a polemic, or as a list of dos and don’ts. should succeed in advising and inspiring both Connah’s approach is different. He clearly longtime professionals and those new to the field. enjoys the craft of writing and feels that it is difficult, important, and personal. He notes early John Roby on that he still regards telling people how to Department of Anthropology Binghamton University (SUNY) write about archaeology as a “virtually impos- Binghamton, NY 13905 sible task, as well as ... conceptually arrogant” 193

The Steamboat Montana and ronment of being underwater, particularly in a the Opening of the West low-visibility environment as the Missouri River Annalies Corbin and Bradley A. would be. Chapter 2, largely drawn from Lass’s History Rodgers of Steamboating, provides the historical context University Press of Florida, describing the progression of the expansion into Gainesville, 2008. 160 pp., illus. and settlement of the upper Midwest along the $59.95 cloth. Missouri River corridor, coupled with the evolu- tion of boatbuilding that led to this unique vessel, The Steamboat Montana and the Opening of the pinnacle of wooden-paddlewheel steamboat the West describes the scientific excavation and construction. The historical background covers analysis of this important shipwreck, the largest the period beginning from 1819, when the first mountain river steamer on the Missouri River. steamboat ascended the Missouri River as far as The volume also documents the history of the the Yellowstone River. The chapter also covers ship, as well as the contextual history and the the history of the Montana itself, including what development of Missouri River shipping and has happened to the wreck site over time. The its importance in understanding the expansion book is littered with a wealth of contemporary and settlement of the upper Midwest. The five- images showing the immensity and grandiosity of year-old vessel struck a railroad bridge pylon the Montana, as well as its trials and tribulations. near Bridgeton, Missouri, and was beached in Careful examination of the images also gave the an attempt to save it. The authors make the researchers additional details not available in wry observation that the Montana was “done written descriptions. in,” literally and figuratively, by the railroad, Chapter 3 continues with more historical back- the next step in the evolution of transportation ground but focuses more on river geography systems penetrating the American continent. An and behavior, and how that contributed to the analysis of the hull’s remains reveals technologi- high number of vessels wrecking and strand- cal advances in shipbuilding methods peculiar to ing. Corbin and Rodgers stress the unpredict- Missouri River stern-paddlewheel steamboats that able nature of the river, the destructive power might be called vernacular architecture. Unfortu- of spring thaws, as well as the ever-present, nately these same advances may have been its and often-hidden, snags, the constantly changing downfall in the pilot’s desperate bid to save it navigation channel (thalweg), seasonally chang- after the collision. Corbin and Rodgers surmise ing water levels, and many other problems. This that the advanced design may have factored in chapter is very instructive and provides additional why the vessel could not be saved. historical detail, but there is some repetition from The first chapter details how the remains pre- the previous chapter, and the book may have sumed to be the Montana came to be investi- flowed better if the two chapters were collapsed gated. The wreck site was known to locals as it into one. is visible at low water, and the State of Missouri The latter part of chapter 3 deals with the had identified it as a site worthy of investigation. Montana’s wreck-site formation. Using the With the encouragement of the State of Missouri, information presented in the earlier part of the the East Carolina University Maritime Program chapter dealing with the vicissitudes of the river, targeted the wreck as a graduate student docu- the authors aptly show how that has affected the mentation project. In 2002 extreme low water site since its wrecking. Corbin and Rodgers make allowed the fledgling nautical archaeologists (the the prescient point that “[u]nderwater archaeo- students) an excellent opportunity to learn and logical sites are more fluidly dynamic than their get hands-on experience with a shipwreck in a terrestrial counterparts,” and rightly add: “More- more-or-less dry environment without the added over, sites located in a riverine setting are often burden of being subjected to the foreign envi- exposed to even more severe environmental pro-

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):193–194. Permission to reprint required. 194 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) cesses than those found in deeper calmer water.” dictionary handy to understand better the terms The authors do a good job using the historical that are used, although the authors generally do context of the river’s dynamic vitality to show a good job to try to explain them in the text. how it has affected the site, integrating the docu- For a person with an interest in Western his- mented salvage attempts to propose theories on tory, nautical history, archaeology, and ship con- how these formation processes left the wreck in struction this is an excellent book. This book is a its present condition. good illustrative example of combining historical Chapter 4, “Excavating the Montana” and and archaeological research and would serve as a chapter 5, “Construction and Engineering,” are good case study not only for students beginning the focus of the book and the part that will their careers in nautical archaeology, but also for serve future researchers with the most useful more seasoned veterans on how to assemble a and applicable information. It is with detailed comprehensive report. descriptions, line drawings, photographs, and One minor critical comment refers to the second model reconstructions that this investigation and part of the title, “and the Opening of the West.” documentation will provide a comprehensive data This part of the title seems ambitious to the set to which future investigations should aspire. primary subject of the book. While Corbin and The model reconstruction by the students is great. Rodgers do provide a good historical background, It not only provided a good exercise for the stu- I feel the title is overreaching, and this topic could dents but provided good illustrative material for be an extensive volume in its own right. Consid- this manuscript and enabled the researchers to ering that this vessel sank more than 60 years resolve some questions about the architecture of after the first ascent of the Missouri River by a the vessel. These chapters also provide a baseline steamboat or the opening of the wagon trails, or on what the authors acknowledge is, at this point, nearly 40 years following the accelerated expan- an aspect of maritime studies with little depth. sion into the western territories as characterized by Indeed in reading this book, I often felt there the term “Manifest Destiny” (referring to James K. is not even the proper vocabulary for it, in that Polk’s expansionist policies upon acquiring most using the terms maritime or nautical and other of the western half of the United States after the words relating more to ocean seafaring just does Mexican War of 1846), then this 1884 wreck is a not seem right for this deeply intracontinental contributor, albeit a latecomer, to the true opening riverine environment. Corbin and Rodgers rose of the West. to the task, however, and did an admirable job and sent this reviewer to the dictionary on a Harding Polk II Bureau of Indian Affairs number of occasions. A cautionary note to those Southwest Regional Office not versed in nautical-architecture terminology: it 1001 Indian School Road, NW is well-advised to have a nautical encyclopedia/ Albuquerque, NM 87104 195

Archaeology and the Sea in With the assistance of a small Danish National Scandinavia and Britain Museum team led by Olaf Olsen and Ole Ole Crumlin-Pedersen Crumlin-Pedersen, the site was drained using a cofferdam and excavated using techniques which Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, resulted in the discovery and conservation of Roskilde, Denmark, 2010. 184 pp., thousands of ship fragments that were carefully 309 color and b&w illus. $90.00 brought to the Viking Ship Museum. cloth. The following two chapters explore a wide range of ship finds from the period ca. A.D. As part of the 2008 Rhind Lecture Series 800 to 1300. A survey of the various aspects of delivered to the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- prehistoric and medieval boatbuilding is provided, land in Edinburgh, Ole Crumlin-Pederson presents moving from an ethnographical approach to a an extensive account of his studies of Archaeol- chronological survey of archaeological evidence. ogy and the Sea in Scandinavia and Britain. Discussions in these sections shed light on the The opportunity to listen to a presentation of transitional development of the Viking ship tradi- a scholar’s lifetime research is both a privilege tion by highlighting the changing conditions and and an impressive experience that has been made demands of society that led to the construction accessible to a worldwide audience in this third of swift ships, providing more efficient travel volume of the series “Maritime Culture of the for Scandinavian seamen. Introduction of the North,” published by the Viking Ship Museum sail created new possibilities for Viking traders in Roskilde, Denmark. and settlers. Maritime activities, as well as com- Ole Crumlin-Pederson offers capacious insight munications and trade changed dramatically as into the maritime aspects of archaeology based a result of the conversion of large rowing boats on a personal voyage of discovery that has into single-masted vessels. spanned a period of over 40 years. The book is Ole Crumlin-Pedersen and his colleagues car- structured in six chapters, which correspond to ried out reconnaissance in Roskilde Fjord in order the six lectures directed at an academic audience to gain a general understanding of the maritime in Edinburgh, drawing focus on particular aspects cultural landscape. Instigating a series of inves- of his exploration. tigations of other Danish sites, the excavation of The first chapter is an overview of the study the Skuldelev ships led to the development of of archaeology of maritime cultures and seeks methods for documenting and recording struc- to familiarize the reader with the development tures on the seabed. Norwegian boathouses have of the field, as well as with the geography and been archaeologically excavated and analyzed to cultural framework of Scandinavia and Britain. draw a correlation between the number of farms Here, the ship is emphasized as an archaeologi- in the districts and the number of crewmembers cal object which “reflects several aspects of the aboard local vessels. A seafarer’s cross-slab society for which it was built” (p. 13). Included oftentimes ornaments coastal regions, appearing are satellite-based and hydrographical maps illus- to have indicated during the Middle Ages that trating the maritime orientation of Scandinavia an area was safe for trade. Such crosses may be as a focal point between the North and Baltic understood to represent “a complex relationship seas, drawing on the features of the region that between the king, the church and the trading make it an environment conducive to maritime- community” (p. 143). oriented activity. This section highlights the The author concludes his volume with a discus- Danish region as strong point for archaeological sion of reasons for the high frequency of images investigation, where hundreds of wrecks have of ships in the Viking world in relation to the been discovered; and encouraging the analysis, presence of religious concepts of pre-Christian display, reconstruction, and sea trials of the deities. Here, questions related to ancient Scan- five 11th-century Skuldelev ships in Roskilde. dinavian cosmology have been raised, as symbols

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):195–196. Permission to reprint required. 196 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) of ships have roots that extend from the Bronze enthusiast, the scholar, and the student, but also Age to the 1st millennium A.D. Preoccupation to the general reader as it reaches an audience with the ship motif is prevalent, as excavations of those interested in the fields of archaeology, have uncovered hundreds of burial sites that history, and cultural anthropology. Written in a include deposits of real boats or lines of stones clear and concise manner, the book presents com- erected in the shape of a boat. An overview of prehensive coverage of essential archaeological various interpretations of the boat grave custom findings in a logical and easy-to-follow progres- is provided, illustrating the important role of the sion, with each section organized in a textbook boat in iconography. Monuments of large stone fashion. The text is enhanced by the pictorial ships are often seen as pagan manifestations in representations, a wide array of maps and charts, a period that preceded the acceptance of the as well as various historical documents. Providing Christian mission. Ole Crumlin-Pedersen uses insight into the discipline of maritime archaeol- details from the excavations of large ship graves ogy, Ole Crumlin-Pedersen offers a fascinating at Gokstad, Oseberg, Ladby, and Sutton Hoo to overview of the evolution of basic watercraft into provide a distinction between the richly furnished the sail-bearing ships of the Viking Age. He also graves of the wealthy and the ordinary grave provides detailed discussions of aspects of mari- boats. He argues that the presence of a boat or time culture, establishing a solid archaeological even an image of a boat in a grave had specific base for interpretation. An extensive bibliography, meaning in society, regardless of a person’s sex as well as an index provided at the end of the or position on the modern scale of social status. text is an important tool for both researchers Observations concerning the nature of early boat and students. Ole Crumlin-Pedersen’s experience graves dismiss practical and secular explanations as a maritime archaeologist and explorer makes and instead draw upon religious interpretations, this book quite intriguing and a worthwhile read. such as the idea of the boat serving as a trans- port to the afterworld, as well as a symbol that Courtney Morgan the deceased had a special relationship with the Department of Anthropology East Carolina University Vanir family of gods. Greenville, NC 27858 Archaeology and the Sea in Scandinavia and Britain is a book that appeals not only to the 197

Les modes de fabrication des terres pottery, from the extraction of the raw material cuites communes de production to the sale of the product. The study begins with locale à Québec à la fin du XVIIe the location of clay sites, including pottery trials and clay quality tests. As the author remarks, siècle (Fabrication methods of pure clay sources are rare. The inclusion of locally produced earthenwares minerals (mica, pyrites, and limestone), loam, or in Quebec City during the late organic substances in the clay can threaten the seventeenth century) pottery production in the furnace. Fire trials are Dany Hamel the best method for discovering the reaction of Journal of Archaeology CELAT, No. such impurities to heat. The analysis continues with a description of the extraction process, 27, Quebec, Canada, 2009. 190 including its methods, tools, and shipping tech- pp., color photos, b&w illus. $30.00 niques to the production site. paper. The potter could afterward improve the clay’s ceramic properties by several methods: wintering, All authors are proud of their first publication. drying, cutting, grinding, and washing by decan- This important step in the life of a researcher, tation. Once this stage was done, the craftsman limited in the past to doctoral dissertations, has could modify the clay’s texture by adding sand been extended in the last 20 years to master’s in order to give hardness to the ceramic body. theses in many universities. This aim of giving Whatever improvements he made, the potter, professional recognition to graduate students is above all, mixed and kneaded the clay in order part of a global strategy adopted by the archae- to obtain a homogeneous texture and, when ology program of Laval University, in Quebec turned on the potter’s wheel, a correct shape. City. More importantly, the series “Les Cahiers The next operation, the shaping of the ceramic d’archéologie du CELAT,” ensures a broader objects, may be divided into several stages diffusion of reports about specific sites, tech- ending with the profile desired by the crafts- niques, and methodologies that would normally man. The craftsman’s finishing touches included be restricted to local specialists. polishing the external parts, making a spout, and The subject of this particular book is common- glazing the object. The ultimate process involved pottery production at Quebec City in the later the firing, the cooling, and the storage of the pot. 17th century. Some might object that colonial This is the chaîne opératoire that Dany Hamel French handmade earthenware is not a new establishes for a better understanding of his sub- subject in archaeology networks. On the other sequent analysis. hand, this subject is more than interesting given Chapter 2 is devoted to the material and that these artifacts––widely found on most of the archaeological sources. The author reviews a French North American colonial sites––are crucial variety of artifacts from New France, making for dating and cultural identification. observations about their shape, color, and texture The author introduces his clear study with a in search of information concerning the recon- fair overview of all the archival, material, and structed chaîne opératoire. Amongst his conclu- published references on the topic. He enters into sions, the author discusses the quality of the raw what he calls an ethnoarchaeological approach material, the mixing of the clay, the degree of to explain the structure of his research, based moisture, and, above all, the techniques by which on a comparison of “technical behavior,” as the earthenware was made. The study reveals documented in existing literature and the material the craftsman’s actions and gestures during the evidence from archaeology. shaping of the pottery. Other information con- The first chapter reviews the 17th- and 18th- cerning the firing of the pottery can be obtained century written sources to establish the logical by checking traces of oxidation or reduction of chaîne opératoire (operative chain) of handmade components such as the glaze. The thickness and

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):197–198. Permission to reprint required. 198 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) height of the surface, as well as the shaping of results with the vast array of artifacts presented the lips, spout, and grooves, or the application of in chapter two. a glaze reveal much about the level of profes- The book comes with a fair number of photos sionalism of the potter. and data concerning the artifacts and experi- After reviewing these aspects using material ments performed by the author, which help to and written sources, the author pushes his study evaluate the success (and pinpoint mistakes) in farther by carrying out a series of experiments. the reconstructed chaîne opératoire. The mean- This third chapter transforms the book into an ing of color, texture, marks, and traces on a pot innovative publication. Dany Hamel launches into that are so crucial to archaeologists are clearly a series of trials to reconstruct pottery making laid out in this highly structured publication. Of in 17th-century Quebec City. He is then able course, access to publication is not available to to validate the methods as learnt from historical all graduate students, but is limited to the best and archaeological sources and identify the dif- and most useful works. In this case, it clearly ferent options that emerge during the process of is an example of a very good, precise, and fun- pot making. Every stage is reproduced: from the damental study that ought to be translated into acquisition of the clay, the production of glaze, English and become a reference for archaeologi- the mixing of the ingredients, the making of the cal studies in the areas concerned with French containers on a potter’s wheel, the building of a colonial pottery. furnace, to every step of the firing, the cooling, Bernard Allaire and extraction of the finished earthenware. Once 15 avenue Edith Cavell this is done, he is able to compare his own 06000 Nice, France 199

An Archaeology of Black Markets: resources, diversity of the enslaved population, Local Ceramics and Economies etc.) framed the lives of the enslaved. To cope in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica with the unique character of a “plantation site,” he suggests that archaeologists consider “multiple Mark W. Hauser scales of analysis” (p. 37). Hauser asks, in what University Press of Florida, ways do domestic and local economies intersect Gainesville, 2008. 320 pp. $65.00 with the broader imperial economic system (p. cloth. 68)? Jamaica’s plantation economy was driven by the production of commodities that circulated Mark Hauser’s book, An Archaeology of within the island’s trade networks, as well as a Black Markets: Local Ceramics and Economies larger global system. Hauser writes that tracing in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica, is an interest- the commodities produced and distributed by ing inquiry into the lives of enslaved diasporic the enslaved and “by focusing on institutions Africans of Jamaica via their alternative eco- developed and appropriated by the enslaved, nomic activities. Hauser writes that a discussion we can begin to see ways in which locality of the history and economic development of is refashioned” (p. 37). He focuses on seven the Caribbean has been either generalized as 18th-century sites in Jamaica because each had part and parcel of European expansionism, or been systematically excavated, the 18th-century simplified as negotiations of power and identity components of the sites are identifiable, and each in small locales (p. 10). The peculiarity of the of these sites represents a portrait of the flow of institution of slavery and the growth of a global commodities that were locally produced, as well economy that relied on its existence has drawn as imported (p. 75). the attention of archaeologists and historians Hauser’s study includes the analyses of 18th- alike for quite some time. The double entendre century maps of Jamaica, legislation governing in the title, “black market,” is provocative and the island, historical accounts, other archaeo- literal. These internal markets were considered logical perspectives, and over 5,000 sherds illegal and a product of the enslaved black com- from seven multicomponent Jamaican sites (p. munities of Jamaica. Hauser’s aim is to address 150). Specifically, he focuses on the production the existence and operation of Jamaica’s inter- techniques, the stylistic changes, and the prov- nal slave-operated market system. Furthermore, enance of Jamaican ceramics (pp. 150–191). For he seeks to explore issues surrounding these instance, with 164 sherds, he uses petrography to markets’ coexistence with the larger plantation determine recipes common to ceramic production economy, such as: who the primary social actors from each of the historical sites (pp. 169–170), in these internal black markets were, how they identifying six different ceramic recipes. He circumvented the colonial authorities, and what includes an analysis of pre-Columbian ceramics social networks existed to support the system. from three sites to explore whether there was Hauser frames his research questions by dis- any continuity in the recipes based on the loca- cussing how anthropologists have approached the tion. Through these analyses, Hauser explores study of the African diaspora in the West Indies the relationship between the provenance of the (p. 10). The historical portrait of the Caribbean pottery and the pottery remnants’ provenience in has been colored by what Hauser calls “the insti- order to infer social relationships from the spatial tution of slavery and predatory capitalism” (p. distance between the two (p. 186). 14). Also, the sheer diversity of social actors–– Hauser concludes, “the primary concern ... has indigenous peoples, imported Africans, and Euro- been to understand how these people adapted to pean colonizers––complicates the socioeconomic and transformed the cultural landscape around framework that Hauser attempts to navigate. them using systems of knowledge they brought Additionally, he writes that the particular context with them and refashioned as they went along” of the plantation estate (i.e., the work regime, (p. 192). Hauser asserts that the pottery pro-

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):199–200. Permission to reprint required. 200 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) duced by the enslaved was in competition is presented. Hauser uses the production and with the larger, formal plantation market, and dissemination of ceramics to discuss the nature extended beyond the individual plantation estate. of sociocultural interactions of the enslaved Petrographic analysis indicates that these ceram- within plantation hierarchies. The significance of ics moved between the northern and southern Hauser’s historical materialist approach rests on coastal sites of Jamaica. The analysis supports how the covert economic activities of enslaved the conclusion that the enslaved population of diasporic Africans undermined the larger planta- these 18th-century sites had access to these infor- tion economy and circumvented colonial author- mal, street markets, possibly via the developing ity. Lastly, Hauser limits his own discussion to road system. Hauser states that the “value” of the productive roles of black women. There are ceramic analysis from these Jamaican sites lies already numerous published discussions on the in the “retention of African cultural knowledge” reproductive and productive roles of enslaved (i.e., manufacturing techniques, design repertoire, women of the Caribbean, the reconstitution of learning networks, etc.), the social networks that the community, and socioeconomic practices that supported the movement of commodities that the contributed to the status, health, and nutrition of dispersed African communities produced, and black women and their children. Embedded in the economic impact of these informal markets these discussions are issues surrounding cultural beyond the island of Jamaica. On the other hand, identity, power, gender, and resistance. Hauser’s Hauser dismisses assigning “cultural identity” to study can take its place amongst the latter as it artisans as too hard to establish. He uses the demonstrates the theme of gender and resistance ethnic diversity of dispersed Africans as the within the socioeconomic networks of enslaved, primary reason that African cultural knowledge dispersed Africans in Jamaica during the 18th should be regarded as a sign of general “African- century. ness” (pp. 96–100). Allison Muhammad Singleton has written that how people perceive Wayne State University slavery and the products of slavery is so sensi- 555 Brush Street, No. 1610 tive that it affects how archaeological research Detroit, MI 48226 201

Pestilence and Persistence: Yosemite In order to answer the “whether,” Hull’s first Indian Demography and Culture chapters explore and expand upon the sources of in Colonial California information that she has available to her. Chapter 2 sets the stage for her inquiry with summaries Kathleen Hull of her sources: oral history; historical accounts University of California Press, from the gold-rush period in California; accounts Berkeley, 2009. 392 pp. $45.00 of travelers, naturalists, and journalists; early cloth. anthropological studies of well-known scholars such as C. Hart Merriam, Samuel A. Barrett, and “Survival is a simple concept and a complex Edward W. Gifford; and archaeological data from act.” The opening sentence of Kathleen Hull’s prehistoric and historical sites. Hull proves adept volume on Yosemite challenges the reader to at handling and exploring all of these sources think and to consider what the author is trying and implications for this study. to convey, as well as what the Indians in The next group of chapters considers and Yosemite Valley historically experienced. The expands upon each of these sources, and inter- sentence also tells the reader that the volume is weaves connections from other sources. For going to be well written, clearly presented but example, when reconstructing the date of a par- demanding, and always thought provoking, and ticular epidemic, Hull uses knowledge and infer- the text does not disappoint. Hull portrays the ences from oral history, historical accounts, early story, history, and anthropology of the Yosemite anthropological studies, and dendrochronological Indians during California’s colonial period. Her analysis to do so. Hull takes many different and study is grounded in technical archaeological complex sources and uses them to tell her story study and presented in a very readable and in a simple and straightforward fashion. Her approachable style. grasp of the prehistoric and ethnographic sources, Hull first considers the effects of pestilence, as well as demographic reconstruction for this that is, native depopulation, on the Yosemite Indi- area, is remarkable. She makes the telling of the ans. She does not simply make the assumption complex seem effortless. that European diseases greatly and badly affected Yosemite Valley’s history adds additional the native population. Rather, she considers the wrinkles to the area’s colonial past. From the means, mechanisms, and extent of that depopula- 1850s on, local Indians were directly involved tion and intertwines oral history, archaeological with the industry of tourism and travelers. Indian evidence, and historical accounts to do so. She women worked for the hotels as laundresses and also considers whether episodes of pestilence domestic help, and men hunted and fished to during the colonial period (in its many forms, supply food for the hotel’s dining rooms, as well such as tuberculosis, syphilis, yaws, etc.) were as providing general labor. Native involvement in unique phenomena or another episode of disease the state’s early and growing nonnative economy that all human populations experience and must was a unique situation; in most of California, accommodate if they are to survive. Indians were relegated to the far edges of non- Early in the volume, Hull summarizes the native society. intent of the topics she intends to explore: Chapter 6 addresses two concepts, survival and depopulation, that at first glance seem antitheti- In other words, was colonial-era population decline and cal to one another. Critical to their survival was consequent culture change relatively unique and trau- the Yosemite Indians recognition of their own matic, or was it part of preexisting pattern of change depopulation, and their self-determination to act and accommodation that developed over thousands of years? These questions probe at the very heart of when and to survive. Chapter 7 considers the anthropo- and whether––or which aspects of––colonial encounters logical theories and historical events of their sur- were significant to the culture history of a particular vival. Hull then tackles the consequences of these native group (p. 15). events, at an individual, household, and group

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):201–202. Permission to reprint required. 202 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) level, as well as each of their effects on the Hull concludes that “archaeological data, native archaeological record. She makes the important oral tradition, ethnohistoric accounts, and ethno- point that archaeological analysis has to consider graphic observations can all be drawn upon to the scaling of its approach and its interpretation. both tease apart and reveal the circumstances, The remainder of the volume considers daily timing, magnitude, and outcomes of a colonial- life, and cultural changes and continuity within era native depopulation in North America as both the Yosemite Indian community. This consider- an historical event and anthropological process” ation is thick with archaeological evidence. Hull (p. 283). As Hull notes, this approach creates a concludes that despite depopulation and other “fuller picture.” Hull makes the important point external colonial pressures, daily life of Yosem- of the uniqueness of each set of historical events, ite Indians persisted in much the same fashion and the wise lesson that assumed consequences historically as it did in prehistoric times. To of cultural contact and interaction should always investigate the perceived uniqueness of Yosem- be re-examined and reconsidered in each instance. ite’s cultural setting, she contrasts these patterns It is also a point that is appropriate for any with other examples of populations throughout setting of culture contact, engagement, and its the U.S. that were decimated by precontact dis- consequences, with or without the accompanying eases. Her research shows that native cultural complication of depopulation. dynamism and flexibility were the norm rather than the exception. In the case of Yosemite Rebecca Allen Valley, economic and cultural entanglements had Past Forward, Inc. PO Box 969 an even greater effect than the initial setting of Garden Valley, CA 95633 widespread depopulation. 203

Dictionary of Artifacts and defined, however, but there does not appear Barbara Ann Kipfer to be any rhyme or reason to the selection of Blackwell, Malden, Massachusetts, the types: they are primarily points found in the Great Plains, the Great Basin, the Southeast, or 2007. 360 pp. $124.95 cloth. the Southwest, many of them being Paleoindian types (Clovis, Eden, Folsom, Hell Gap, etc.) or This is ostensibly a book about the words Archaic types (i.e., Hardaway, Le Croy, etc.). The archaeologists use to describe and give meaning Cahokia arrow point rates a mention (p. 52), as to the artifacts they recover from archaeological does the discredited Sandia point (p. 279) and sites, then analyze and describe in publications. the Poverty Point projectile point (p. 251), and The purpose of the book is to provide “informa- even some Peruvian point types are mentioned tive definitions in accessible language about the and defined. vocabulary describing artifacts” (p. vii). Some post-1500 artifacts are also mentioned There are more than 2,000 word definitions and defined here. These include words such as offered in the book about artifacts, primarily arti- majolica, Blue Willow pottery, bone china, Bouf- facts and artifact types from the Old World, and fioulx stoneware, Buckley earthenware, cream- their characteristics. The definitions are by neces- ware, pearlware, and whiteware. sity brief. Only 170 word definitions about arti- In addition to artifact definitions, the book facts that are specific to the archaeology of the offers definitions of specific archaeological cul- New World could be identified in the book, even tures across the world, but again there is an though the author states that “this book attempts Old World focus. For the New World, the book to be cross-cultural and cross-Atlantic in selec- does mention the Adena culture, for instance, tions and definitions” (p. viii). The book seems along with Basketmaker, Mogollon, and Pueblo, to have been written for a British or European the very out-of-date Burial Mound and Temple audience. There are no source references included Mound periods and the early Lithic period, the in any of the word definitions in the book, and a Mimbres culture, the Mississippian culture, and carefully chosen list of archaeological references the Olmec culture. The definition of the Paleoin- that were used in the compilation of the book dian period in the New World strangely suggests to support the definitions, or even as sources of that it represents the “time up to the development information for the readers to investigate on their of agriculture and villages” (p. 229). Likewise, own, would have been a useful addition. the definition for the Woodland period in North The choice of archaeological words that are America also went awry, as it is mistakenly included in the dictionary is eclectic, particularly defined as a “series of distinctive cultures includ- with respect to the inclusion of named types of ing the Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and ceramic and lithic artifacts. For example, pot- Iroquoian” (p. 342). tery types and wares from England are com- The book even provides definitions for con- monly listed and described in the book, along cepts such as the altithermal and the hypsither- with other examples from Greece, Italy, the mal; defines glacial periods in North America, Near East, Japan, China, the Caribbean, South several of which well precede the entry of America (primarily Peruvian pottery types and peoples into North America; provides a defini- wares, but a few examples from Colombia and tion for the Archaic period in North America, Venezuela are also included in the dictionary), and the chronology for the central Andes, among and Mesoamerica (including a sampling of Aztec other words. Somehow, the Kensington Stone, an and Mayan pottery types and wares, as well as obscure stone slab purported to have 14th-century ceramic incense burners), but North American Viking runes, warrants a mention (p. 163). It is pottery types receive scant attention, other than not clear how these various concepts and sites the singular definition of fiber-tempered pottery. are directly relevant to a book about artifact Some North American projectile types are listed definitions.

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):203–204. Permission to reprint required. 204 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2)

Kipfer’s book is likely to be most useful for students and general readers who have ventured into the archaeological field and find themselves overwhelmed by the many words and terms that are used by archaeologists to describe the ancient cultures and artifacts that have been discovered and are being studied. Professional archaeologists in the Old and New Worlds are likely familiar with the bulk of the words and definitions pro- vided herein, especially those words and terms specific to the archaeological record in their geographic region of study.

Timothy K. Perttula Archeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC Austin, TX 78753-4346 205

Beyond the Royal Gaze: Clanship ethnography,” but rather an historical narrative and Public Healing in Buganda “about the ideas and practices that informed Neil Kodesh broad transformations in the contours of African societies” (p. 193). He accomplishes this by the University Press of Virginia, reanalysis and reinterpretation of sets of oral Charlottesville, 2010. 264 pp., traditions that inform on the history of clanship 7 maps, 2 tables. $45.00 cloth. in Buganda. Kodesh argues, and rightly so, that such traditions and histories provide a different Buganda, a kingdom on the shores of Lake perspective than that offered by “official” royal Victoria in present-day Uganda (east Africa), is narratives that were privileged during the colonial perhaps best known in the public imagination for era and, thus, formed the foundation for under- its association with royalty, most recently having standings of Buganda history. Kodesh seeks to been in the news because of the devastating shift historical inquiry away from royal politics fire in March 2010 that swept through Kasubi and towards the role played by other historical (in Kampala), the location of four royal tombs actors, such as spirit mediums and public healers, and a World Heritage Site. In his book Beyond in the formation of the Buganda kingdom. the Royal Gaze: Clanship and Public Healing An argument that runs throughout the book is in Buganda, Neil Kodesh sets out to probe the that an overwhelming concern of Ganda commu- beginnings of the process that led to the emer- nities was the maintenance of communal health gence of the kingdom, as well as to urge scholars (physical, intellectual, and spiritual), which was to refocus their attention on that process rather accomplished by the manipulation of supernatu- than view the early history of Buganda through ral forces by knowledgeable individuals in the the lens of impending statehood. Over the course community––spirit mediums, public healers, and of five chapters and a conclusion, Kodesh argues political leaders. Leaders could win followers that the roots of Buganda statehood lie in the by drawing such powerful individuals under shifting relationships of clans on the landscape, their protection, thus banking knowledge for the the changing role and status of ritual specialists, good of the community. Such leaders would, and the transformation of ancestral, territorialized themselves, often be able to intercede with the spirits attached to shrines into de-territorialized spiritual world directly. There was, therefore, spirits whose mediums were able to extend their little division between the political and religious influence over increasingly large areas and who realms of leadership until the 18th century. were eventually metamorphosed into mythical In Kodesh’s view the emergence of Buganda as clan founders. All of this took place within the a kingdom very much stems from this reorienta- context of an increased concern for public heal- tion of power that took place over the course of ing and collective well-being, partly invoked by four centuries, and the gradual centralization of the tensions arising from concerns about land as ritual power as expressed in the realm of public a result of the intensification of banana agricul- healing. Public healing came to encompass a ture between the 16th and 19th centuries. broad range of activities that helped to maintain As the author states in the book’s conclusion, the moral economy, including: rainmaking, the historians who work on precolonial Africa are control of malevolent spirits, the management of faced with numerous limitations with regard to natural resources, the regulation of long-distance source materials, and often meet with skepti- trade, and the judicious use of morally accept- cism on the part of historians, who work in able violence. Successful leaders were those who other contexts, about the viability of oral tradi- could manipulate these activities for the greater tions collected in the 21st century to inform on good of the community. This can be seen first events 300 years previous. Kodesh’s goal in this in the coalescence on the landscape of clans as book is not, however, to produce an “historical communities with shared interests in promoting

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):205. Permission to reprint required. 206 collective well-being through the manipulation of that led to the creation of oral traditions and spiritual power at clan shrines. Over time these what the nuanced differences between more clans grew to include ever-larger communities, localized traditions can tell the researcher about and the clan rituals and spiritual entities with the historical realities of the context out of which which they were associated came to encompass they arose. This represents a shift from the need an “increasingly larger and more complex politi- to find authoritative versions of such traditions. cal body” (p. 173) that was convinced that its Second, this book provides much food for “collective well-being [was] intimately connected thought in its explication of the ritual networks to the health and prosperity of the kingdom that probably exist on any given landscape, but itself.” The rulers of this political body drew particularly in Africa where many places in the their power from both their political and their landscape operate both as historical aide-mémoire ritual support bases. Public gatherings at shrine and shrine sites. Archaeologists may access the sites could be used to promote political agendas, existence of such networks through the presence particularly in controlling the flow of goods or of ritual sites that have retained their significance promoting legitimate violence. In the 18th cen- into the present-day and in oral traditions, but tury a shift in leadership occurred whereby a they would need to conduct the kind of dense division emerged between those who held ritual analyses of oral traditions, such as those found and political power. The new kings, who now in Kodesh’s book, in order to grasp the full ruled through the strategic control of legitimate ramifications of such networks and how they violence, still had to align themselves in some facilitated other social processes that may also measure with the spirit mediums, priests, and have impacted the material record. diviners who controlled the ritual landscapes Last, it becomes quite clear that it is better of power through acts of collective healing. not to allow the end result of history to blind The later divisions of power between ritual and the researcher to the processes which lead to politics that scholars may take for granted, thus that result. Kodesh argues that the emergence of emerged over time through processes of contesta- the Buganda state has to some extent obscured tion that continued into the 19th century. our understanding of basal processes, in this case Although there is fairly little mention of the clan formation, which allowed such centralization archaeology of this region beyond a reference to take place. This impoverishes our understand- to Graham Connah’s work on the salt trade, ing of the past. This represents a valuable lesson archaeologists working in Africa and elsewhere that both historians and archaeologists should who have access to oral traditions as a compara­ learn. tive source will find much to mull over in Kodesh’s analysis and teasing apart of the Natalie Swanepoel Baganda traditions chronicled in this book. His University of South Africa PO Box 392 work is an example of more recent approaches Unisa 0003, South Africa to oral traditions that address the circumstances

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):206–207. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 207

City and Cosmos: The Medieval patterns, Lilley’s familiarity with medieval World in Urban Form sources allows him to demonstrate successfully Keith D. Lilley how the ideal representation of Jerusalem was central to medieval urban development. University of Chicago Press, This is a solid work that maximizes the use of Chicago, Illinois, 2009. 248 pp., 100 a variety of different source materials. Graphic halftones. $49.00 cloth. representations, historical texts, as well as plays are mined in order to paint an understanding of While architectural studies of the Renaissance how people from the Middle Ages viewed cities. city often begin with linking how the ideal city Black-and-white line drawings serve to strengthen was a physical representation of the human form, the arguments made in the body of the text, studies in medieval architecture rarely discuss while the color illustrations used by the author the overriding Christian ideological undertones serve to underline how interconnected were the that dominated urban planning. Indeed, most ideas discussed in the contemporary manuscripts. comparative studies of medieval urban life focus Similarly, the various city plans illustrate how the on social issues, class and religious conflict, theoretical religious ideas were applied and took trade relationships, and the details of everyday physical forms. urban life. In discussing the medieval city, this study leans Keith D. Lilley, a well-respected scholar who heavily on British materials and has a northwest works in the field of medieval geography, does Europe focus. The author is able to support his justice to the term multidisciplinary analysis in arguments not only from examples in Italy and his newest monograph. This work is different in France, he also draws liberally on urban centers that it uses a broad approach to lay an ideologi- in Latin central Europe. Though one would like cal foundation and then seamlessly weaves geo- the author to expand his discussion beyond Latin graphical, anthropological, and historical informa- Christendom to see if these same underpinnings tion into a truly insightful analysis of the urban were applicable in the establishment of Orthodox medieval world. What emerges is a study that cities, the book does an exceptional job of look- is useful for historical architects, urban planners ing at how ideology was made physical. who work in medieval cities and thus need to The same approach is used by the author deal with the remaining elements of the earliest to look at how the city functioned as a living versions of their particular settlements, as well as organism. From a discussion of a city’s creation, those in more traditional academic fields. the work moves on and looks at how city elites A major point of discussion in this work is viewed their place in the world and their identity. how the idea of the city of Jerusalem dominated The discussion of pageants, plays, and proces- planning and the construction of new urban sions which concludes the monograph serves to centers. Although the author makes a solid case reenforce how central ideology was in the urban in bringing together theoretical understandings medieval world. of Jerusalem and how the idealized form In short, it is a good read. Well written and was referred to in medieval texts, one cannot supported with both primary and secondary downplay the role of the local typography in sources, the work provides both the student and city planning. A city was never established in a the seasoned scholar with a slightly different vacuum, and its location, be it on an island, near and new way of looking at how ideology was a a river, or on uneven ground always influenced critical underlying component in medieval cities. its final form. In a similar vein, while it canbe argued that square-shape plans and the placement Adrian Mandzy of city gates in medieval cities are nothing more Morehead State University than a repetition of Roman urban-settlement Morehead, KY 40351 208

North Carolina: Change and Tradition includes topical chapters on the exploration and in a Southern State arrival of Europeans (ch. 1), establishment of a William A. Link statewide political foundation (ch. 2), and the importation and experience of Africans during Harlan Davidson, Wheeling, Illinois, colonial times (ch. 3). Section 2, “The Revo- 2009. 497 pp. $44.95 paper. lutionary Republic,” details the settlement of immigrants into the Carolina backcountry (ch. 4), One of many key elements in the successful the Revolutionary War (ch. 5), and the establish- instruction of a higher-education course includes ment of new institutions, including the federal the selection of good discipline-based literature. government, the first state university, and move- In addition to being topically comprehensive and ment of the state capital to Raleigh (ch. 6). The a work of sound scholarship, it should also be a transformation from the “Rip Van Winkle” state work that is readable and, it is hoped, interest- to expanded transportation, agriculture, slavery, ing to students. Unfortunately, it is difficult to and Cherokee removal (ch. 7), Jacksonian-era find many texts that meet each of these criteria, politics that eventually led to secession in South- especially with specialized subjects. ern states (ch. 8), and the Civil War itself (ch. 9) This predicament exists in many courses are covered in section 3, “The Civil War Crisis.” focused on the history of a particular state. The Reconstruction (ch. 10), social changes that result stalwart tome used in almost all North Carolina from sharecropping and industrialization (ch. 11), history courses for several decades has been Wil- and the ethnic crises of populism in the 1890s liam S. Powell’s North Carolina Through Four are all part of “Reconstruction and Its Aftermath” Centuries (University of North Carolina Press, (sec. 4). The fifth section begins at the dawn of 1989), which typifies this dilemma. While crafted the 20th century and thematically centers on the with extensive scholarship from the foremost his- modernization of North Carolina, beginning with torian of the subject, Powell’s traditional text has the Wright brothers’ flight, women’s suffrage, an overt focus on political history and is thickly the public health movement, and the progres- written, making it not very readable, even for sive political movement (ch. 13), World War I graduate students. and the resulting cultural renaissance (ch. 14), With the publication of North Carolina: Change the effects of the Great Depression and New and Tradition in a Southern State, historian Wil- Deal, and through World War II (ch. 15). The liam Link attempts to surpass this textbook final section, “Toward the Twenty-first Century,” quandary with a more balanced and accessible details the expanded postwar economy of the general history text. This volume begins with a “Dixie Dynamo” (ch. 16), the active Civil Rights brief preface by Link, which provides a short era (ch. 17), as well as the social and political historiography of previous state histories and changes of immigration and the environmental contrasts this text as an effort to “synthesize a movement in modern times (ch. 18). While large literature, especially recent work, about the each chapter effectively considers its thematic state’s history for student readers” (p. vii). Link topic, chapters 4, 10, and 13 are more especially succeeds in these basic goals, as his text covers detailed and informative on aspects of social his- primarily social history from the earliest Euro- tory than that found within Powell or other texts. pean explorers through the 2008 general election, In addition to the merits of this text previ- and the level of writing is very accessible for ously mentioned, another factor that makes North any community college, four-year college, and Carolina a unique volume is how Link defines graduate students. the state’s past as a series of contradictory pat- North Carolina is comprised of six sections terns. Examples include the conflict between arranged in chronological order, each of which Native Americans and early European explorers, contains three chapters focused on specific topics. which is seen as inevitable based on a detailed The first section, “Colonial North Carolina,” analysis of their respective societies and beliefs

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(pp. 11–13), the difficulty in the establishment 73). There are many statements in the text and of a post-Revolutionary government due to con- data in tables that need references, the use of flicting views between the eastern portion of the which would have bolstered the overall academic state and the backcountry (pp. 130–133), and merits of this publication. Additionally, while the the widening economic classes and social condi- images portray an interdisciplinary approach to tions of blacks who sharecropped, versus whites North Carolina’s history including architecture, who worked in mills during Reconstruction (pp. archaeology, and material culture, the text is 252–257). Each of the 18 chapters thematically solely bounded by historical documents. This defines a contradiction or conflict that shapes the fact may account for the overall limited discus- social, economic, and political patterns of the sion of Native Americans in this volume. While particular era. This approach is particularly effec- the majority of prehistoric and historical period tive in the illumination of many factors during archaeology in North Carolina is admittedly the past four centuries of written history. obscured in grey literature, there are several There are a number of other positive attributes available, scholarly, well-referenced works that to Link’s text. When politics are discussed, provide information on Native Americans, none the effects on the citizen of North Carolina of which is presented or cited here. An index are always considered. There is much attention for figures would have also been a nice feature devoted to the impacts and influence of women to include. and African Americans in almost every chapter. As this review is for Historical Archaeology, At the end of each section, there is a list of is this a work that could benefit archaeologists? suggested readings, many of which are printed The overall social focus would certainly benefit secondary sources that are found in most librar- anthropological archaeologists over the traditional ies. The illustrations are plentiful and appropriate. political foci of similar texts. As such, Link’s Some are familiar and appear in many history work certainly has the ability to contribute texts, such as John White paintings of Native towards social/historical contexts for cultural Americans (pp. 9 and 13), the cartouche of the resource management studies. The approach of Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia (pp. 27 and 55), contradictory social patterns could also provide and portraits of notable figures; while other ideas and opportunities for archaeologists to images are new or rarely seen, such as the bell use excavated data to explore these themes on recovered from the Queen Anne’s Revenge ship- a material level. It also could serve well as a wreck (p. 43), the Newbold-White House (p. quick general reference for an historical date or 75), and the archaeological excavation of a plank name. Given the cited criticisms, however, it will road in Fayetteville (p. 141). While not unique not likely receive much critical use in academic to this volume, the outstanding maps by Mark A. archaeological publications. Moore are well chosen. The quick reference to For archaeologists, Link’s North Carolina: North Carolina’s symbols, governors, and census Change and Tradition in a Southern State is population by decade in the appendix is a nice cautiously recommended with the limitations feature as well. mentioned above. Only time and use will judge Specific criticisms of this work are few but its general acceptance in education courses as an noteworthy. One of the major drawbacks to the alternative to William Powell’s North Carolina use of this text in a classroom or for critical Through Four Centuries or other history texts. research is the overall lack of citations. While reference notes are included at the end of each Thomas E. Beaman, Jr. Wake Technical Community College chapter, virtually the only thing cited within Northern Wake Campus, BA 417 the main text is quotations, a few of which 6600 Louisburg Road did not include citations (e.g., Schoepf on p. Raleigh, NC 27616-6328 210

A Guide to Bone Toothbrushes of the identifying 537 brushes within those 21 types, 19th and Early 20th Centuries and she systematically reviews the range of and Barbara E. Mattick mean dimensions for various parts of brushes and identifies the attributes that distinguish each Xlibris, Bloomington, Indiana, 2010. type. The study includes line drawing and both 82 pp. $41.99 paper. black-and-white and color graphics illustrating the stylistic features of brushes, such as the shape of Historical archaeologists recognize that even handle bases and cross sections, and the appen- the most mundane artifact classes belie compli- dices inventory manufacturers’ brush marks, the cated social histories, but inevitably excavations relationship between brush shapes and chronol- produce artifacts for which there is relatively ogy, and a brush-type timeline. little scholarship on basics like function, chro- Any initial study like this inevitably cannot nology, stylistic variation, or production. Every survey the absolute full breadth of styles within archaeological lab attempts to fill in the gaps even a very restricted class of goods, and Mat- with stacks of obscure reference manuals, old tick’s book provides a starting point for expan- site reports, and photocopied student papers, col- sion and refinement of the picture of toothbrush lector studies, and scattered emails that provide consumption. The issue of dating brushes is key background research on myriad material artifacts. for many archaeologists, and the brushes in the The arrival of web-based research sites and print- study primarily cover roughly a century from on-demand presses now promises to turn many of about 1820 to the 1920s, so earlier and later those obscure but essential background research brushes are surveyed in the historical review but resources into publicly accessible guides that are not part of the typology. Mattick’s brushes would find a home in many archaeology labs. primarily came from a collection without the An excellent example of such a study is Bar- tight dates that might come from some prove- bara Mattick’s A Guide to Bone Toothbrushes of nienced archaeological assemblages. Mattick did the 19th and Early 20th Centuries, which pro- date 124 brushes from archaeological contexts vides a basic history of toothbrushes, establishes using bottles recovered with the brushes, so much a systematic typology, and outlines the variety of the basic chronological information comes of brushes and their uses and chronologies. Mat- from those samples. tick’s book started as a student research paper Nevertheless, even a tightly dated archaeologi- that mushroomed into a book-length survey of cal context will have a lag between production archaeological examples, historical resources, and and discard, and many assemblages are not any a systematic typology of a range of toothbrushes more tightly dated than the primary literature in from the turn of the 19th century well into the Mattick’s study. While these chronologies will 20th century. Mattick’s study begins with a brief inevitably be refined, provenienced collections history of toothbrushes and dental hygiene that certainly will begin to turn the book’s systematic reviews the key production points for tooth- material description into a more powerful analy- brushes and lays out basic chronologies, which sis of toothbrush consumers. This book lays an are obviously among the most critical issues for essential foundation for such studies of the social archaeologists. Some of this toothbrush history dimensions of toothbrushes, but it only briefly is painted using archaeological case studies, but surveys the social implications of dental hygiene much of it is systematic documentary history that and toothbrush consumption and production. will provide archaeologists primary documentary Some archaeologists may be reluctant to be mar- starting points for their own studies. The most ried to the typological classifications themselves, substantive focus of the study is a typology of and Mattick’s confident description that the 21 toothbrush types, and 7 of the types include typological types are “real” risks overstating the a more narrowly defined variety. Mattick -exam general similarities between brushes and gradual ined between 2 and 84 examples of each type, changes over time. Inevitably any typology lumps

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):210–211. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 211 together similar examples of a particular material in limited-run publications that might otherwise good, and some other analyst might break out be unprofitable for most publishers. Archaeology these 21 types of brushes into a different series labs will certainly snap up such reference stud- of types or simply assess particular individual ies in modest but meaningful numbers. Mattick’s brushes based on their unique attributes, so the study provides one solid example of the sort of most encyclopedic study would include the indi- thoroughly researched material culture studies that vidual data for all the 537 brushes in this study. many historical archaeologists will be pleased to Nevertheless, Mattick’s study provides an impor- include on their shelves. tant starting point and a basic reference system. This book also provides a key example of Paul R. Mullins the importance of self-publishing and print-on- Department of Anthropology 413B Cavanaugh Hall demand presses for historical archaeology. All Indiana University-Purdue University, the photocopied notes, student papers, report Indianapolis chapters, and scattered collectors’ literature that Indianapolis, IN 46202 find their way into archaeology labs can appear 212

Archaeology, Theory and the Middle from another time and their experiences? This Ages: Understanding the Early is a thoughtful and well-written discussion about Medieval Past approaching the past through both archaeologi- cal and textual sources, and it brings into the John Moreland discussion familiar philosophers of history, Duckworth, London, UK, 2010. 355 including Marc Bloch and E. H. Carr, as well as pp., 15 figs. $33.00 paper. sociologists with whom many archaeologists are familiar, including Anthony Giddens and Pierre This book should be of great interest to histori- Bourdieu. The “Notes” to this chapter, which are cal archaeologists––in the broadest sense––work- almost as long as the chapter itself, provide both ing everywhere in the world. It discusses many a useful critique of the author’s own 16-year-old aspects of theory in relation to the archaeology text and an updated discussion of the issues, with of historical periods, but it ranges much more more recent bibliographic references. widely than that. A glance at the 43-page bib- Chapter 5: “Ethnicity, Power and the English,” liography gives the reader a quick overview of and chapter 9: “Historical Archaeology––‘Beyond the extensive theoretical and empirical literature the Evidence,’” will also be of particular interest cited in the text. to readers of this journal. The first deals with The book is a collection of nine essays by the issue of identifying the named peoples of the author, preceded by a 36-page introduction early medieval England, such as the Angles, the that sets forth basic principles and concepts. The Saxons, and the Jutes, from the archaeological earliest of the essays was first published in 1994, evidence. The methodology developed here could and it appears here in a revised version. Seven be usefully applied to many contexts around other chapters were published between 1999 and the world in which the linking of names that 2006, and one is to be published elsewhere in appear in textual sources with material evidence the future. All of the essays are accompanied by is complex and problematic. Chapter 9 includes the author’s often extensive commentary and by an interesting discussion of North American updated bibliography. historical archaeology as well as a section on The introduction provides a thoughtful and crit- the importance of writing in the construction of ical discussion of the development of theoretical knowledge. This latter subject is of particular concerns in medieval archaeology from the 1980s pertinence in contact situations in which members on, citing some individuals familiar to North of one society practice writing, while those of American archaeologists, such as Lewis Binford the other do not or are just beginning to adopt and Clifford Geertz, but also many European, that practice. especially British, investigators who may not be While the purpose of the book is discussion so familiar. The author is as concerned with the of theory, theory is regularly applied to specific role of texts as he is with that of archaeology, examples, mostly from archaeology but also from and the interplay between the two different kinds history and ethnography. Chapters 3 and 4 are of sources of information about the past remains case studies in the archaeology of early medieval a major theme throughout the book. The author’s Italy. Chapters 5, 7, and 8 deal with archaeologi- recurrent discussion of this theme as it emerges cal evidence in the United Kingdom. in the different chapters is a special strength of Moreland’s technique of commenting on papers this publication. published between 16 and 4 years before publica- Besides the introduction, three of the chapters tion of this book is very effective. He explains will be of special interest to readers of Histori- what has changed both in the quantity and in the cal Archaeology. Chapter 1 addresses the ques- quality of available data pertaining to an issue tion: “How are we to understand the Middle and in thinking about a topic, he adds further Ages?” and more generally, how can we best detail to his earlier treatment, and he provides approach the problem of understanding people an updated bibliography.

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Since the book does consist of papers pub- This is a very useful book and readers should lished by the same author over a 16-year period, have access to all the references cited. there is inevitably some repetition of material The reviewer would strongly recommend this and ideas, but that is not extensive enough to be book to all archaeologists and to historians who distracting. In some spot-checking it was noted work in periods in which material culture is of that at least a few items cited in the text do not particular importance (which to the reviewer appear in the bibliography (e.g., Spall and Toop means all periods, but perhaps not all historians 2008 on p. 240, Elsner 2000 on p. 273, and would agree). The book is especially important Stewart 2007 on p. 273), and at least one item for archaeologists who work in contexts for in the bibliography is out of order (Wells 2008 which historical records are also available. is after Witcher 2005). It would be good if the Peter S. Wells author could go through the whole text and catch Department of Anthropology any other such problems and add the references University of Minnesota to the bibliography before the book is reprinted. Minneapolis, MN 55455 214

The Bible Unearthed: The Making biblical chronology, questions are only partially of a Religion answered and counterarguments are not explored, Isy Morgenztern and Thierry Ragobert in effect setting up straw-man arguments. On one level, the documentary, presented in First Run /Icarus Films, Brooklyn, four, 52-minute episodes (“The Patriarchs,” “The New York, 2007. 4 parts, 208 min. Exodus,” “The Kings,” and “The Book”), follows $348.00 DVD. a chronological framework, but the intricacies of proving a 7th-century date for the penning This documentary is based on the book with of these events continually forces the narrative similar title, The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s to jump forward in time. This creates a number New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of redundancies, such as dual discussions of the of Its Sacred Texts (although incorrectly titled Merneptah (ep. 2 and 4) and Tel Dan stelae (ep. on the DVD jacket), by Israel Finkelstein and 3 and 4), and separate discussions of related Neil Asher Silberman. The theme of both book events, such as the conquest model described and film is that the Hebrew Bible was written in Joshua (ep. 3) and the settlement period in 7th-century B.C. Judah; its stories make the described in Judges (ep. 4), yet none of these most sense when viewed against the backdrop segments reference earlier discussions, creat- of King Josiah’s cultic reforms, interpreted by ing discontinuities in what should be a flowing Finkelstein and Silberman as part of Josiah’s analysis. This format was probably to allow political agenda of territorial expansion and episodes to be individually viewed (ep. 4 even ideological unification. reintroduces Finkelstein and Silberman), but the Graphically the film is quite nice and moves complexities of following Finkelstein and Silber- over a wide variety of locations including man’s thesis require viewing all four episodes. archaeological sites, libraries and museums in Archaeology is the primary means of investiga- Israel, Egypt, Sinai, Switzerland, France, and tion. It is recent methodological and theoretical England. Megiddo, currently under excavation advances, in which archaeology is viewed as an by Finkelstein, Silberman, and David Ussishkin “independent scientific discipline” (ep. 1), that is particularly highlighted. The documentary have allowed for a rejection of traditional bibli- includes old film footage, such as the early cal archaeology with its positivist approach to the expeditions to Megiddo and Hazor, and pho- ability of archaeology to prove the veracity of tographs of people associated with the history biblical events. By implication then, archaeology of biblical archaeology. There is limited use should be seen as an historical tool independent of computer graphics, but these are used quite of the biblical record. But can archaeology in nicely, such as the intermix of archaeology and this region ever be independent of the Bible? The reconstruction at Megiddo (ep. 1) and its six- narrator seems not so sure, stating “[The Bible] chambered gate (ep. 3), and Arad’s 8th-century is never far from the minds of our archaeolo- B.C. cultic area (ep. 4). gists. It is not possible to carry out digs in the Morgenztern and Ragobert review key events Holy Land without being conscious of the grav- in the history of biblical archaeology and much ity of the situation.” The juxtaposition of these of the traditional linchpins that underlay the statements, an independent archaeologist who breakdown between biblical chronology and seems, nevertheless, to be always conscious of archaeological reconstructions of biblical history. the biblical story, suggests that this grave situ- That, however, leaves little time to provide evi- ation is the constant tension between Bible and dence in support of Finkelstein and Silberman’s archaeology. As if to agree with the implausibil- central hypothesis. In each episode, little more ity of a totally Bible-bereft archaeology, it is to than one or two pieces of evidence are presented the Bible that Finkelstein insists we must turn in for a 7th-century date. While the film aptly order to address the questions of when and by reviews mainstream arguments against traditional whom it was written.

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In a departure from the book, the documentary by sentence juxtaposition linking premise to explores the Hebrew Bible’s relationship to conclusion with inconsistent logic. modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The These problems reflect what I see as the introduction to each of the film’s four episodes central flaw of the documentary, which stems includes reference to modern religious expression, from the understandable challenges of presenting and each episode ends with a pan of Jews in complex ideas in mass-media format. In certain Israel. These introductory and concluding remarks instances the viewer is left with the impression seem tacked on to the film and, thus, come off that the narrator either does not agree or does as if the filmmakers are trying too hard to make not understand the implications of the contro- the film broadly relevant. versy implicit in Finkelstein and Silberman’s There are a few editing glitches; although thesis. While this documentary presents both these do not mar the film’s impact, they reflect mainstream views as well as the more unique the editorial splicing that often juxtaposes only thesis of Finkelstein and Silberman, it does so tangentially related statements. This can be seen without distinguishing between the two. The in hanging phrases, such as when the narrator difference is actually quite subtle, and it would says, “In 1903, the German archaeologist Gottlieb take a complex format, or one dedicated solely Schumacher organized the first digs here ... vast to this issue, to clearly articulate it. The present quantities of material ...” (ep. 1). One can only narrative attempts to do too much! This film, assume that the sentence, which mentions the unfortunately, is a good example of the myriad “evacuation” of Lachish, is meant to refer to its difficulties in presenting sophisticated ideas ina “excavation” (ep. 2). When discussing differences format that requires reducing complex arguments in dietary customs, an awkward statement by the to bite-sized verbiage. In the end, the viewer is narrator states, “The highlands were a population left with a muddle of conflicting statements. that abstained from eating pork ... settled were not a homogenous territory” (ep. 4). More Laura B. Mazow significantly, awkward editing makes even what Department of Anthropology Flanagan Building 225 appear to be a clear-cut cases for the existence of East Carolina University King David (ep. 3) or the dates for the Exodus Greenville, NC 27858 (ep. 2) and premonarchic Israel (ep. 3) obscure 216 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2)

The Recent Archaeology of the Early 16th century: Cartier and Roberval’s Charlesbourg Modern Period in Québec City Royal.” The three papers in this section will William Moss (Guest editor) command the attention of archaeologists on both sides of the Atlantic. Collectively, they tell the Post-Medieval Archaeology, fascinating story of the October 2005 discovery Vol. 43, Part 1 and subsequent study of the Cartier-Roberval Maney Publishing, Leeds, UK, 2009. site at Cap-Rouge, which contains the earliest 257 pp., 101 figs., 17 tables. $49.00 material evidence of French settlement in North paper. America. Archaeologists Richard Fiset and Gilles Samson describe the project objectives, research methods, and evidence for site use, buildings, and L’Archéologie Récente des Débuts de architecture. This is followed by a complementary Québec chapter by Hélène Côté on the archaeological William Moss (Guest editor) collections, including ceramics, glass, and metal Archéologiques, No. 22 and evidence for metallurgy, as well as Amerin- Association des Archéologues de dian pottery. In “From Myth to Reality: Archaeo- Québec, Quebec, Canada, 2009. botany at the Cartier-Roberval Upper Fort,” Julie-Anne Bouchard and Allison Bain present 246 pp., 92 figs., 16 tables. $18.90 the botanical evidence resulting from the flotation paper. of soil from a sample of three excavation units. The Old and New World plant remains include The practice of urban archaeology spread across olives, grapes, corn, cherry, mustard, wheat, and the Americas more than 30 years ago and so we barley, among several others. are in a good position to evaluate its impact. It The second, complementary set of three papers flourishes in cities with appointed city archae- by Pierre Cloutier and Paul-Gaston L’Anglais, ologists, archaeology preservation legislation, a Manon Goyette, and Jacques Guimont describe coordinated approach to research and compliance, the architectural and artifactual significance and active public outreach. Few North American of the Saint Louis Forts discovered under the cities can match Quebec City’s urban archaeol- terrasse on Cap Diamond adjacent to today’s ogy in these areas, as reflected in these two Chateau Frontenac. This chapter is aptly named, journal volumes edited by Quebec City’s chief “Governing New France from the Château archaeologist, William Moss, commemorating the St. Louis.” The authors describe and interpret 400th anniversary of the beginning of continuous elements of the fort dating back to the 1620s, as European settlement in Quebec City. well as later components as the site evolved from In volume 43, part 1 of Post-Medieval Archae- Champlain’s fort to the residence of the royal ology, William Moss has assembled 15 papers on governors of New France. Goyette documents different sites organized according to five main how the original plan of the Champlain fort was themes. Following Moss’s introduction to the intentionally retained even as the building complex volume, the first section, “Before New France,” evolved to meet more formal requirements. These contains two papers. The first is by Louise Filion, descriptive papers could also explore broader Martin Lavoie, and Lydia Querrec, which presents themes in Quebec’s defense. It is noted how environmental data about the Quebec area to the expression of political power of colonial serve as context for some of the papers to follow. governors may be linked with military occupation The next, “A Universe Under Strain,” by Marcel of the “high ground” both at Cap-Rouge and Moussette, examines relations between Native at Cap-Diamond, despite the differences in Americans and the earliest Europeans in the area. time period and function. The urban context of The volume’s second chapter is titled: “An the Saint Louis forts could also be more fully Aborted Attempt at Settling New France in the explored by comparing it with Quebec’s evolving

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):216–218. Permission to reprint required. 217 fortification system as documented previously lend official support to mercantilist policy while by René Chartrand and André Charbonneau. turning a blind eye to evidence of colonial eco- Pierre Cloutier and Paul-Gaston L’Anglais offer nomic self-sufficiency? a detailed analysis of the contexts of the fort’s The last chapter of the volume, titled “Inhabit- household artifacts, especially those pertaining to ing New France,” speaks to other French colonial food. The discovery of kaolin tobacco pipes in sites distributed across Quebec City. In her paper, both locations is of great interest because of their “Québec in the Time of Champlain,” Françoise scarcity at contemporary continental French sites. Neillon presents a synthesis of the historical and Could they signal Quebec’s brief occupation by archaeological information on architecture, mate- the Kirk brothers between 1629 and 1632? The rial culture, and diet of the fledgling town. Her interaction and blending of Quebec’s French and chapter is a welcome reminder of the important British populations is another theme that could urban archaeology conducted in Quebec in the be profitably explored through urban archaeology. 1980s, focusing on the productive sites of Place Historical period First Peoples, who have always Royal, the Saint Louis forts, and the partially occupied the area of Quebec City, must not be sampled farm of Champlain at Cap Tourmente. forgotten either. The challenge of incorporating earlier archaeolog- The third group of papers focuses on the ical data into a new project and the complexity Intendant’s Palace and the development of this of conducting archaeology in an urban setting is area of Quebec City’s lower town. Réginald demonstrated by Daniel Simoneau in “The Semi- Auger, Daniel Simoneau, and Allison Bain apply nary of Québec site.” The focus of this paper is a concept of landscape as a “unifying model the early Hébert-Couillard house site, occupied that includes the natural environment in which by the Seminary of Quebec since 1668. Early the site’s industrial, colonial, and urban modes domestic sites where the presence of women and of settlement evolved” (p. 158). This approach children is documented are highly significant, and successfully integrates site-specific architectural the excavations also revealed much about the and environmental analysis with a broader con- physical evolution of the seminary. The chapter sideration of urbanization to address the ques- also serves as a reminder of the importance of tion: How did this zone of Quebec differ from Quebec as a center for numerous religious orders other waterfront zones such as Place Royal and active in New France and, at the same time, Îlot Hunt? Daniel Simoneau attempts to answer raises the question about the archaeological status these questions in his own separate paper. The of their sites and whether comparative archaeo- paper “Bugs, Seeds, and Weeds at the Inten- logical study would be fruitful. dant’s Palace: A study of an evolving landscape,” The last two papers of the volume focus by Allison Bain, Julie-Anne Bouchard-Perron, on the evolution of the harbor. Serge Rouleau Réginald Auger, and Daniel Simoneau is a skill- examines primary archaeological data from 15 ful application of environmental archaeology, years of excavations conducted at Îlot Hunt, combining archaeoentomology with botanical a development lot capturing the commercial analysis to reconstruct what was supposed to be activities and extension of Quebec’s working a boat basin, but which may have served as a waterfront district. This paper is relevant to port shipyard. The study contextualizes the evolution archaeology studies undertaken anywhere along of the intendant’s building site from a maritime the Atlantic seaboard with respect to the methods site to a brewery, to a palace, between 1675 and results of conducting waterfront archaeology. and 1713, and its palisading in 1690. This study The same may be said of Celine Cloutier’s paper, documents this site as an important port of entry the last in the volume: “The Foreshore of the St. for pests and weeds. How does this setting for Lawrence: An Open Dump?” Her paper confirms the Intendant’s Palace reconcile with the impor- the use of the Îlot Hunt site for refuse disposal tant role of the intendant in managing economic in the 17th and 18th centuries and examines affairs of Quebec? Can it be seen in opposition this in an ecosystem approach, and by drawing to the elevated, strategic, and military tone of the comparisons with archaeological evidence for governor’s residences at the Saint Louis forts? health and sanitation elsewhere in Quebec City. As in the British colonies of Virginia and Mas- The author missed the opportunity to point out sachusetts, did colonial governors in New France how the posh Auberge Saint-Antoine Hotel later 218 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) built on the site adopted the theme of the site’s and English and published by two different own archaeology as decor for its public spaces. archaeological societies, speaks to the qualities The 2009 volume of Archéologiques (No. 22), of cooperation and coordination that characterize also devoted to Quebec’s urban archaeology, con- the archaeology of Quebec City. These works tains the original French versions of most of the assure us that urban archaeology will continue papers published in the Post-Medieval Archaeol- to play an important role during the next century ogy 2009 volume. Because they were published of its history. elsewhere in French, papers by Marcel Moussette and Françoise Neillon are missing. This is a Steven R. Pendery bit unfortunate, as readers in francophone areas Archaeology Branch, Northeast Region National Park Service other than Quebec may not have ready access to 115 John Street them. Regardless, the simultaneous appearance of Lowell, MA 01850 these companion volumes, respectively in French 219

Warfare in Cultural Context: Practice, points apply, but also cases in which they do Agency, and the Archaeology of not, as Wiessner argues for New Guinea, and as Violence Eduardo Neves demonstrates in his chapter on embankments, ditches, and stockades at prehis- Axel E. Nielsen and William H. Walker toric villages in Amazonia. Of course, war and (editors) war honors can be associated with hierarchy and University of Arizona Press, Tucson, elite ideology, as in the case of the ancient Maya 2009. 344 pp. $60.00 cloth. and late prehistoric Mississippian societies of the American South. Charles Cobb and Bretton This book approaches warfare through the lens Giles relate depictions of Mississippian warriors of practice theory, with case studies emphasizing and weaponry on shell gorgets and copper plates relationships between war and other domains to a warrior ideology emphasizing success in of social life. From this perspective, practice is warfare as a major dimension of power, status, social action shaped by culture and history. The and identity, and they identify temporal trends in actors are individuals who are knowledgeable, these themes in Mississippian iconography during experienced participants in their own cultural the early 2nd millennium A.D. Takeshi Inomata settings and who may choose to follow rules and Daniela Triadan note that war was commonly and expectations, or to challenge them. Both depicted in Maya iconography, although actual cultural persistence and change are outcomes battles may have taken place relatively rarely. of social actions that can both reproduce and During the late 1st millennium A.D., the focus of transform social patterns and structures. Social Maya warfare changed from ritualized battles in actions relevant here include participation in fields, emphasizing status rivalry, to direct attacks violent encounters, the development of ideol- on major Maya centers with the intent of sacking ogy related to warfare and violence, and the settlements and monuments. development of mechanisms for making and War is not always conducted to acquire land, maintaining peace. but warfare and violence do shape the built envi- Drawing upon oral history and ethnography, ronment and cultural landscape. Elizabeth Arkush Polly Wiessner traces the development of Enga describes hilltop forts (pukaras) and mortuary warfare and exchange in New Guinea. After towers (chullpas) that dotted the central Andean intense warfare during the 1700s and 1800s, landscape from A.D. 1000 to 1400, after the trade networks collapsed, large tracts of land collapse of the Tiwanaku and Wari empires, and were abandoned, and then regional ceremonial before the spread of the Inka Empire. Arkush exchange networks developed. In the late 1800s identifies concentrations of pukaras connected by and early 1900s, formalized battles known as lines of sight, corresponding to areas with distinct the Great Ceremonial Wars set the stage for pottery types and to the locations of historically exchange, gift giving, and social interaction known ethnic groups, with buffer zones between between villages. Across many areas of New them. Axel Nielsen notes evidence for wide- Guinea, there developed practices connecting spread warfare in the southern Andes between warfare (conflict resolution) with exchange (rec- A.D. 1200 and 1500, and he interprets evidence onciliation and reparation). Despite deeply rooted for feasting and other activities at pukaras and egalitarianism in Enga culture, leaders did emerge chullpas as evidence for the development of during warfare—ceremonial exchange led to even ancestor veneration, one means by which people more-pronounced status differences and leadership anchored themselves to particular places in the roles in Enga communities. midst of conflict and instability. Notably, Nielsen Archaeologists often identify scarcity of land sees evidence for the persistence of exchange in and other resources as major causes of war- the southern Andes alongside widespread warfare, fare, and hierarchy and centralization as major comparable to connections between warfare and outcomes of it. There are cases in which those exchange in New Guinea.

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):219–220. Permission to reprint required. 220 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2)

Taking a longer-term view of warfare in Abandoned and ruined pueblos—some of which Andean prehistory, Theresa and John Topic con- were burned down—were and still are visible on sider changes in warfare in the Peruvian north the landscape, serving as reminders to people of coast region from 3500 B.C. through A.D. 1470. the outcomes of moral shortcomings. At the early end of this sequence are examples This book concentrates on cases of prehis- of coastal sites with piles of slingstones, reflect- toric warfare in the Americas, but it is relevant ing threats of attack and the need for collective to historical archaeology for several reasons. defense. By 1200 B.C., there are stone carvings First, chapters in the book consider the ways depicting warriors and dismemberment of war that warfare and violence shaped the societ- captives. After 1000 B.C., many forts are placed ies encountered by European explorers and on high ground above villages. From A.D. 200 colonists, and the ways those practices shaped to 650, warfare and human sacrifice dominate the native responses to European contact. Second, iconography seen on Moche painted pottery— as Timothy Pauketat comments, many European highly structured combat between elite warriors colonial regimes imposed and maintained peace, wielding clubs and shields seems to have been but in so doing, they often displaced conflict and significant to Moche ideology, cosmology, and warfare to borderland areas. Meanwhile, collapses politics. From A.D. 650 to 750, as the power of of colonial regimes have sometimes contributed the Moche state declines, the focus of Moche to the resurgence of conflict and warfare. Such warfare shifts—stout fortifications and piles of developments have shaped the archaeological slingstones at many Moche settlements reflect record at historical sites, and the prehistoric threats of attacks on settlements. From then on, cases considered in this book (and elsewhere) hilltop forts are common, and warfare is one offer points for comparison. As both Pauketat strategy by which the Inka Empire—and the and Wiessner emphasize, conflict and violence Chimu Empire before it—attempted to dominate can lead to efforts to form alliances—practices of coastal Peru during the 1400s and 1500s. “war” and “peace” both deserve consideration by Droughts contributed to increased warfare in prehistoric and historical archaeologists. the Andes during the early 2nd millennium A.D., All archaeologists interested in warfare will to changes in Maya warfare during the late 1st find much to contemplate in this book, which millennium A.D., and to conflict and warfare in would make good reading for graduate seminars late prehistoric southwestern U.S. As William and advanced undergraduate courses. It covers Walker notes, sedentary villages and farming many world areas and periods of prehistory, became widespread in the Southwest during arguments by authors are framed within broader the late 1st millennium A.D. Droughts led to archaeological and anthropological dialogues abandonment of many areas in the Southwest about warfare, and each chapter develops its own during the early 2nd millennium A.D., and cul- approach to practice theory as an interpretive tural upheavals during this period led to migra- framework. This book moves the archaeology of tions, settlements in cliff dwellings and in other warfare and violence in provocative directions, defensible settings, and aggregations of different primarily by relating warfare and violence to groups in large pueblos. These developments have other domains of social life. parallels in Puebloan oral traditions, which refer to journeys, community strife, famine, floods, Christopher B. Rodning and warfare. Many myths blame witchcraft and Tulane University Department of Anthropology other spiritual activity for the destruction and 101 Dinwiddie Hall abandonment of pueblos, as punishment for New Orleans, LA 70118 misdeeds and moral shortcomings of residents. 221

House of Mourning: A Biocultural time by ordering the archaeological permit to be History of the Mountain Meadows rewritten “so that the human remains could be Massacre reburied at once” (p. 7). This political injunction left Novak and colleagues with just 24 “final Shannon A. Novak frantic hours” to complete the analysis, during University of Utah Press, Salt Lake which time they “performed a kind of analytical City, 2008. 226 pp. $29.95 cloth. triage” (p. xv). Although the information recov- ered does indeed provide a more nuanced look In a time when controversies over the exca- at the lives of the massacre victims, one wonders vation and analysis of human remains in the what additional details could have been gleaned United States bring to mind issues of indigenous had the analysis not been so short lived, or how rights and NAGPRA, Shannon Novak’s House of the conclusions drawn would be altered, if at all, Mourning: A Biocultural History of the Moun- if a larger sample of the massacre victims’ skel- tain Meadows Massacre (winner of the 2010 etal remains had been preserved and recovered. James Deetz Book Award from the Society for Although numerous books have been written Historical Archaeology) reminds us that such on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Novak controversies are not limited to Native American argues that House of Mourning is unique because burials alone. first, unlike so many other accounts of themas- On 11 September 1857, while camped at the sacre, the book is not a moral tale, and second, Mountain Meadows in southern Utah, 121 men, it focuses on those who were killed instead of women, and children, traveling from Arkansas to the killers. By shedding light on those who were California, were murdered by a group of Mor- killed she claims to redress the imbalance found mons and Native Americans, despite a promise in previous scholarly works, all of which focus of protection. On 3 August 1999, 142 years primarily on the killers (p. 6). later, notwithstanding earlier archaeological mea- In the first chapter, titled “Streams,” Novak sures to prevent such a disturbance, a backhoe describes the geopolitical landscape of the employed in the construction of a new memorial Ozarks, from where the Arkansas wagon train at the massacre site penetrated a mass grave that originated, and details the complex migration contained over 2,600 pieces of human bone–– patterns that brought humans, both Native Ameri- the partial remains of 28 of the 121 murdered cans and European Americans, to the region. Into overland emigrants. Seven days later, Novak this context she ably places some of the key began her analysis of the skeletal material with figures of the 1857 wagon train. The chapter is the understanding, as set forth in the archaeo- an impressive demonstration of sound historical logical permit issued for the excavation, that research and analysis by a bioarchaeologist. the remains would be reinterred just one month Chapter 2, “Confluence,” outlines the social later (on 10 September) in connection with the composition of the wagon train involved in the dedication of the new gravesite memorial (p. 7). massacre, focusing on the three main groups Given the fragmented and commingled nature that comprised more than half of the company of the bones, the analysis (especially that of the that left Arkansas. The overall social structure cranial remains) was tedious and time consum- of each of the three groups was typical for the ing. Accordingly, the Utah state archaeologist time period, with young or midstage families agreed to allow Novak additional time to study linked by kinship and marriage forming the core. the cranial remains, while the postcranial remains Added to the three main groups were “satellites,” were to be reburied at the rededication as origi- which were usually friends, neighbors, or distant nally planned. Two days before the rededication kin of individuals in the core emigrant families. ceremony, however, after having been entreated The composition of the wagon train, however, by descendants of the massacre victims, Utah was altered as it traveled west due to accidental Governor Mike Leavitt nullified the extension of death, intentional desertion, and the addition of

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):221–224. Permission to reprint required. 222 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) new riders, resulting in a contingent of some 140 ous fate. To properly evaluate the disease patterns people that converged on Mountain Meadows in identified in the skeletal remains uncovered at early September 1857. Mountain Meadows, Novak uses statistics drawn In chapter 3, “Nourishment,” Novak addresses from the mortality schedule of the 1850 census the socioeconomic status and diet of the Arkansas combined with an understanding of the wide- emigrants. Relying on census and tax records spread cultural beliefs about sickness and health she demonstrates that although the core emigrant of the time. The resulting picture is one that families were, in general, part of the region’s illustrates the “apparent vigor” of the emigrant middle class, there was still a significant eco- party. For example, despite the contemporary nomic distinction between the relatively afflu- prevalence of tuberculosis and other respira- ent emigrants from the northern Ozarks and tory diseases in the Ozark region and along the the less-privileged ones from the south. Adding overland trails, there was no evidence among to this picture is Novak’s analysis of the emi- the recovered remains of the distinctive skeletal grants’ dietary deficiencies and excesses based scars associated with tuberculosis. The same is on observations of their bones. Of the emigrants true for the characteristic bone lesions resulting represented in the mass grave, 5 of 28 exhibited from syphilis––none were observed. Adding to lesions characteristic of iron deficiency (anemia), the picture is the fact that infant mortality among mostly in the form of cribra orbitalia (lesions the core emigrant families appears to have been in the eye orbits). Given the typical low-protein atypically low, as seen in the lack of obvious diet of the time, comprised primarily of corn and age gaps in any of the households. Furthermore, pork, and the fact that the emigrants had been only 3 of the 63 recovered teeth that were not on the trail with restricted food supplies for five fully developed had enamel defects, suggesting months before their deaths, diet alone, although the children and teenagers in the wagon train certainly a contributing factor, cannot exclusively “had been relatively free of prolonged illness” account for such lesions. Later, in chapter 4, (p. 108). One notable exception, however, was Novak describes how malaria and certain gas- the youngest victim in the mass grave (aged five trointestinal parasites (e.g., hookworm) were also years or less), two of whose canine teeth showed likely causes of anemia among the wagon-train four distinct enamel defects, indicating at least riders. Other aspects of the emigrants’ diet and four serious bouts of sickness in the first five lifestyle were observed in their surviving teeth. years of life. Of the 366 adult teeth recovered, 16% were In chapter 5, “Domains,” Novak explores the banded with tobacco resin and 19% had dental gender roles of the antebellum South in order caries, whereas 4 of the 11 deciduous teeth also to understand the presumed daily routines and had caries. Novak suggests the use of stimulants the consequent physical stresses and injuries of such as tobacco and sugar, combined with the the men, women, and children of the emigrant general lack of oral hygiene at the time, can party, both in the Ozarks and along the overland account for these observations. But she is careful trail. She argues that in frontier areas like the to note that, although “from our perspective the Ozarks men generally “took on heavy labor while dental health of the emigrants was poor,” when women were responsible for home, children, and compared to their antebellum contemporaries garden” (p. 123). Interestingly, Novak compares “they were just about average” (p. 84). the social structure and dynamics of an overland Novak’s purpose in chapter 4, “Constitution,” emigrant party to that of traditional mobile bands is to address the postmassacre claims made of hunter-gatherers. In both settings, the routines by Mormons that the Arkansas emigrants were of everyday life were frequently quite public, diseased, especially with syphilis. These claims, “subject to continuous monitoring and social Novak argues, justified the murderers actions sanctioning” by fellow group members (p. 140). because throughout the 19th century diseases At the same time, hunting in both situations such as syphilis were seen as the result of one’s helped forge male bonds, promoted competitive own immoral actions. Accordingly, to claim the display, and was the basis for status and authority emigrant party was “rotten with pox,” was to among group members. Overland emigrant parties view the victims, even the children, as morally like the one massacred at Mountain Meadows corrupt and, therefore, deserving of their treacher- had something that traditional foraging bands did 223 not, however, the gendered social values of the “folk cemeteries,” comprised of a relatively mid-19th century. In this light, Novak particularly small number of graves from just a few related emphasizes the “cult of domesticity” and fraternal families with each marked by simple head- organizations like the Freemasons, both of which and footstones, were scattered across the rural were major aspects of social life in the Ozarks landscape. Funerary practices on the overland in the 1850s. trail, however, often consisted of burying the In the last half of chapter 5, Novak uses her deceased in makeshift coffins and identifying discussion of gender roles and daily life as a the graves with some ephemeral marker. Some backdrop against which she evaluates certain emigrants chose not to mark the graves of those aspects of the human remains recovered at Moun- who died on the trail due to fears that the tain Meadows. In doing so, she is careful to graves would be disturbed by bandits or looters. remind the reader of the limitations of the sample In fact, the overland journey intensified the two she analyzed––especially in terms of the sex ratio main fears of death in antebellum America––the represented (i.e., 3, perhaps 4, adult females, com- fear of dying alone, as in the unknown territory pared to the 10 to 20 males in the grave). In spite of the trail, and the fear of desecration of the of such biases, Novak’s analysis still produced deceased’s body, as by wolves or other feared “some insight into sex differences in both activ- disturbers. Sadly, both of these fears were ity and injury patterns” (p. 132). For example, realized for the 121 men, women, and children whereas the femurs from males in the sample massacred at the Mountain Meadows in early had round midshafts (consistent with reduced September 1857. pedestrian mobility), those from females (n=2) Novak’s account of the massacre itself is were significantly more elongated in cross section strangely incomplete at times. Her portrayal of (consistent with habitual walking and running). the “Utah Rebellion,” which set the stage for the Novak interprets this difference as evidence that massacre, fails to portray adequately the Mor- the women in the sample spent more time walk- mons’ control of the Utah territorial government ing than their male counterparts, who were more at the time. There is no mention, for example, often on horseback. This interpretation is bolstered of the number of federally appointed territorial by the fact that more than one-third of the men’s officials who were rebuffed by the theocratic tibiae in the sample showed lateral bowing or stronghold of Brigham Young, even though it curvature, consistent with prolonged horseback was their scandalous reports to their superiors in riding beginning at an early age. In addition to Washington D.C. that provided a major impetus general morphology, Novak also observed bone for the so-called “Utah War” that historically injuries amongst the individuals represented in frames the massacre. Furthermore, although the sample. For example, her analysis revealed Novak tells the story of the actual massacre in that the lower right leg of males was particularly some detail, there is no explanation of why the prone to trauma, “most likely from the stress and Mormons attacked the emigrant party in the first strain of daily labor,” and that “two-thirds of the place. To her credit, she states in the introduction long-bone lesions were well healed, indicating that to the book that her purpose is not to address the most of the emigrants’ injuries appear to have question of motive, which has been the subject happened prior to the overland trek” (p. 136). In of great historical debate (p. 4); but to recount contrast, only three individuals in the sample (one the details of the massacre itself without pro- old adult male and two young adult males) had viding some understanding of why it happened unhealed bone lesions from injuries they likely seems rather incomplete. A brief summary of received while on the trail. what other scholars have argued regarding the In chapter 6, “Epitaph,” Novak discusses motive for the massacre, even while withhold- antebellum mortuary practices and ideology before ing her own judgment on the issue, would have presenting the skeletal evidence of the massacre provided the reader important information with itself. The Victorian cult of death, complete which to evaluate the tragic event. with its emphasis on elaborate grave markers, In spite of these peculiar omissions, it is mourning clothing, and funeral decorations and clear that Novak is intimately familiar with the mementos, was not quickly adopted in small historical sources related to the massacre as she rural towns in the antebellum South. Instead, uses them skillfully in her analysis of the skel- 224 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) etal remains. Many of the analytical results she although historical accounts of the massacre are presents in chapter 6 were previously published replete with references to the involvement of in Historical Archaeology (37[2]). Not surpris- local Native Americans in the killings, the only ingly, some historical accounts of the massacre material evidence for “Indians” in the recovered were supported by the skeletal findings, while skeletal sample were three “shoveled” incisors, others were not. For example, the skeletal evi- one from a juvenile of indeterminate sex, and the dence confirms that men, women, and children other two from a young adult. Through skillful were killed at Mountain Meadows. Furthermore, historical and genealogical research, Novak both in corroboration of basic historical accounts, demonstrates how a Native American genetic trait nearly all of the young adult males in the mass such as shovel-shaped incisors could have been grave had received a single gunshot wound to introduced into a population of Arkansas “hill the head, while most of the women and children folks,” and identifies actual victims to whom the had been bludgeoned to death. Clear evidence of incisors may have belonged. postmortem trauma, including heavy carnivore In sum, Novak approaches the Mountain Mead- activity and extreme weathering, also confirmed ows Massacre from a novel and expert angle that historical accounts of the shallow burials afforded she, as a biohistorical archaeologist, is uniquely the victims, and other details of the massacre’s suited to take. The result is a well-written and aftermath. Interestingly, Novak observed no evi- well-researched book that deservingly won the dence of scalping, throat cutting, beheading, or 2010 James Deetz Book Award from the Society trauma from arrows, all of which are mentioned for Historical Archaeology. Although readers not in the historical accounts. She is careful to point familiar with the historical details of the massa- out, however, that the absence of blade or arrow cre itself would benefit from reading one of the wounds does not automatically imply that such many books devoted to that purpose first, House activities did not take place during the massacre. of Mourning convincingly demonstrates the value On the contrary, she lists a number of possible of historical archaeology to scholarship by pro- reasons why blade and arrow wounds were not viding interesting and significant insight into the present in the sample, including that such weap- lives and culture of the voiceless victims of this ons may not have been used in the massacre, tragic episode in the history of the United States. or, if used, they might not have penetrated to Benjamin C. Pykles the bone, and, finally, that carnivore activity and Department of Anthropology other postmortem factors may have obliterated State University of New York at Potsdam the evidence of such wounds (p. 173,n11). Lastly, Potsdam, NY 13676 225

Excavating Nauvoo: The Mormons histories in the early 1900s. The passage of the and the Rise of Historical Antiquities Act of 1906 furthered the church’s Archaeology in America mission to become more visible and increase patronage, and it began purchasing places of Benjamin Pykles historic significance for the church. The LDS University of Nebraska Press, spent several years acquiring and interpreting Lincoln, 2010. 416 pp. $62.50 cloth. properties important to the memory of Joseph Smith and Mormonism, including the jail where Benjamin Pykles set out on what he consid- Joseph and his brother were murdered, and ered to be an underexplored task: documenting Smith’s birthplace and boyhood home, to name the development of historical archaeology in a few. As the number of visitors to these sites America. He did this by researching the history increased, so did conflicts between the LDS and of restoration in Nauvoo, Illinois, a town that the RLDS. The RLDS became increasingly con- played an important but poorly recognized role in cerned with how the LDS was interpreting those the maturation of historical archaeology. Pykles’s sites, as the two groups diverged when it came thorough research in Excavating Nauvoo traces to Smith’s later teachings and practices, foremost historical archeology (which was less then three of which was polygamy. The RLDS placed the decades old) from its introduction at the site origin of plural marriage and unorthodox temple as an aid to restoration, to its dismissal from ordinances on Brigham Young, while the LDS the project when new leadership in the fund- claimed these facets of the religion came from ing institution no longer viewed it as important. Smith. This is where one of the most important The result is a detailed account of how different and interesting aspects of Pykles’ book arises: entities interpreted the same site to accomplish who owns the past? their own (often opposing) goals, how many of As the LDS and RLDS kept acquiring proper- the basic studies used in modern archaeology ties in Nauvoo, the federal government became were applied in the excavations of the Mormon interested in the town when in 1935 the His- temple, and how the 25 years of excavations at toric Sites Act was passed, which authorized the Nauvoo mirrored the disciplines’ development National Park Service (NPS) to make an histori- across the nation. cal and archaeological survey of the town. From The history of Nauvoo is covered briefly: a national standpoint, Nauvoo was the origin of Joseph Smith and the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) the Mormon Trail, which stood alongside the had been persecuted and driven out of their Oregon, Santa Fe, and Overland trails as major homes five times in 10 years. In 1839, Smith factors in the country’s westward expansion. The found refuge in Nauvoo, Illinois, and he and NPS therefore recommended that the state of the church quickly founded a town along the Illinois acquire all of the land formerly part of banks of the Mississippi River. They remained old Nauvoo and restore the town as a cultural there for six years before Smith and his brother memorial, as well as begin undertaking restora- were murdered in 1844. Smith’s chief apostle, tion efforts on the scale and style of Colonial Brigham Young, completed construction of the Williamsburg. Nauvoo became one of the coun- Nauvoo Temple started by Smith and prepared to try’s first National Historic Landmarks in 1961. evacuate the city as tensions rose. In February of Even before any restoration began, the LDS 1846, their westward migration began, ending in and RLDS supplied their own sets of interpret- Salt Lake City. Those who chose not to follow ers. Archaeology entered the fray first, in 1961, Young remained in Nauvoo and became the when backhoe trenches were dug across the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day temple lot to identify the building’s foundations. Saints (RLDS). The following year extended these excavations As part of the church’s proselytizing and and, after enduring personnel conflicts, Nauvoo preservation efforts, the LDS published various Restoration Incorporated (an LDS entity) sought

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):225–226. Permission to reprint required. 226

J. C. Harrington (who had been at Jamestown the archaeologists, church leaders, and docents and with the NPS) to lead their archaeological sponsored by each church. efforts. Harrington subsequently directed five This book was engaging to read and it kept years of restoration archaeology with the purpose me interested through its duration. Two criticisms of providing information that would contribute to arise, however. First, Pykles does not include a authentic restoration. The focus was on surviving map of the site anywhere in the book. There is architecture, not artifacts. a map showing where Nauvoo is within the state Harrington hired Clyde Dollar to help with of Illinois, and Harrington’s map of the temple excavations and to eventually take over as Har- excavations (which, notably, is on the reverse of rington entered retirement. Soon after excavations the SHA’s Harrington Medal), but no layout of began, Dollar proposed expanding archaeological the town itself. This was an unfortunate omission, studies to develop chronologies for ceramics, especially since there is so much discussion of nails, and bricks, as well as develop better exca- the different buildings and areas excavated. vation methods. This was not received favorably. Second, I found the repetitive identification of As church leaders changed and time passed, the key players in chapters 2 and 3 to be almost archaeology was compromised for the sake unbearable. Too frequently, Pykles reminded the of religious proselytizing, and excavation was reader of a person’s role. This is understand- discontinued. Pykles furnishes a result of these able if the book were not intended to be read compromises: the reconstruction of a cabin that a chapter at a time, or if one were expected more closely resembles a 1930s NPS cabin rather to skim through the text, but frankly, I enjoyed than an 1840s log structure of Nauvoo. Pykles’s writing style so much that I could read As archaeological work by the LDS was these larger chapters in a single sitting. Perhaps reaching its peak, the RLDS took up excava- a “Cast of Characters” in the beginning of the tions in 1969. Their archaeologist, Robert Bray, book would have been more suitable. recognized the scientific value of archaeology Otherwise, the foreword by Robert Schuyler and managed to balance his research and the was interesting, since it put Pykles’s work into larger restoration goals. Pykles’s final chapter the context of how historical archaeology is focuses on how archaeology at Nauvoo fol- understood today. The appendix is also useful lowed the five steps that Robert Schuyler intro- because it lays out a timeline of archaeology at duced in his foreword: the field’s five stages of Nauvoo, with the archaeologists, areas of study, development. sponsors, and results. Perhaps one of the best aspects of Pykles’s This is an engaging book that provides the book is his coverage of how the past is inter- reader knowledge of a site so unknown, yet preted. At this single frontier site, the RLDS so important, in the development of historical wanted to memorialize Joseph Smith. The LDS archaeology. While Williamsburg may be known believed Nauvoo should be a monument to the for its reconstructions and significant archaeology pioneers who fled to Utah and demonstrate the under Ivor Nöel Hume, Nauvoo should also be stamina of the Mormons. The U.S. govern- known for helping historical archaeology find ment, namely, the NPS, wanted Nauvoo to be a its way. romanticized version of national history in which Alicia Valentino early settlers conquered the untamed frontier. The Northwest Archaeological Associates/SWCA, constant negotiation of these three entities over Inc. the course of decades is further appreciated when 5418 20th Avenue NW, Suite 200 considering the changes in personnel, both among Seattle, WA 98107 227

Mission and Pueblo Santa Catalina to rediscover the locations of Spanish missions de Guale, St. Catherines founded on the Atlantic coast of La Florida in Island, Georgia: A Comparative the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Work on St. Catherines Island, which ultimately Zooarchaeological Analysis produced the assemblages at the heart of this Elizabeth J. Reitz, Barnet Pavao- study, began in 1974 under the direction of the Zuckerman, Daniel C. Weinand, and American Museum of Natural History. At this Gwyneth A. Duncan time a regional archaeological survey sampled American Museum of Natural all areas and time periods of human occupation History, New York, New York, 2010. on the island, further defining the edges of mission and pueblo archaeological deposits. 275 pp., color illus., maps. $30.00 What followed was a 15-year excavation of the paper. site’s Spanish-period materials, concentrating first on the mission and working its way out Historical archaeology and the study of New to include the pueblo. Over the course of this World colonialism have gone hand in hand since work some 70,000 faunal specimens (animal-bone the inception of the discipline. While early prac- fragments) were recovered for inclusion in the titioners in the eastern United States focused so zooarchaeological study that forms the backbone much initial attention on the material remains of of this published volume. the British colonial project, the last four decades As one would expect from a work coauthored have witnessed a flourishing of Spanish colonial by experts in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, archaeology in the southeast­ern U.S. (Florida, contact-period Native American subsistence sys- Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina). Spear- tems, and the scholar who literally [co-]wrote the headed by Kathleen Deagan’s work at St. Augus- book on zooarchaeology (Elizabeth J. Reitz and tine, the research of this archaeological armada Elizabeth S. Wing. Zooarchaeology. Cambridge has grown to encompass a number of missions University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1999), this and ranchos in what was formerly the imperial volume is an exemplar of how such a substantial province of La Florida. faunal analysis and comparative zooarchaeological Reitz et al.’s contribution to the “Anthro- study can and should be undertaken. The synthe- pological Papers of the American Museum of sis of bioarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental, and Natural History,” Mission and Pueblo Santa zooarchaeological data harnessed in understanding Catalina de Guale, St. Catherines Island, Geor- dietary choice and subsistence strategy on St. gia: A Comparative Zooarchaeological Analysis, Catherines Island is worthy of emulation. Most comprises a twofold project within this broader significantly, for purposes of scientific control and field. The volume builds out from a thorough reproducibility, the appendix includes a detailed analysis of the faunal remains (animal, bird, and outline of the methods and materials employed in fish bones) from the mission and pueblo onSt. analysis. Such an inclusion fosters a uniformity Catherines Island, setting the zooarchaeological of practice within the discipline, helping facili- data within the fluctuating cultural and natural tate future regional studies by overcoming those environment of the Georgia Bight. From here a differences in field-collection strategy and data more expansive discussion of the variability of analysis that typically inhibit full comparisons Spanish colonial foodways, understood through between site assemblages. The need for greater excavations and zooarchaeology from the rest of consistency between practitioners, from field Spanish Florida and across the Spanish Americas, excavators to zooarchaeologists, is the mantra of is brought to bear. this volume. The archaeological site of Santa Catalina In addition to a transparent methodology and de Guale was first located as part of the data set, Reitz et al. provide a wealth of robust, Georgia Historical Commission’s 1950s quest nuanced environmental and dietary interpretations

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):227–228. Permission to reprint required. 228 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) of pre-Hispanic Guale and mission-period Guale outlying missions, if Santa Catalina de Guale and Spanish foodways. A major part of the proj- is any indication, did not prove the bedrock ect is testing documentarily derived theories that upon which to build Iberian-style subsistence Spanish missions in the New World were simple strategies within the region. The overarching mechanisms of dietary acculturation among theme and ultimate conclusion of these analyses natives on the frontier, given the missions’ status and discussions is that colonialism is a variable as outposts bolstering Iberian-style foodways in and adaptive process, one that alters the habits, the region through the husbanding and circulation especially the foodways, of the colonizers as of domestic livestock to the provincial capital in much as it impacts the lives and lifeways of the St. Augustine. The means of approaching this indigenous who are colonized. issue are laid out very clearly throughout the Mission and Pueblo Santa Catalina de Guale, work. From their synthesis of precontact indig- St. Catherines Island, Georgia: A Comparative enous dietary practices and subsistence strategies Zooarchaeological Analysis is well worth the in the area, the authors are able to hypothesize price and time to read. The weakest section of what a “traditional” indigenous foodway would this volume may be the first chapter, covering look like in the assemblage excavated from the the historical and thematic setting for the project. pueblo at Santa Catalina de Guale. These native Here anthropological theory and historical back- dietary components and strategies are held up ground are introduced in such a scattered way as against those elements of Iberian foodways that to, at times, become disjointed and contradictory. it has been presumed the friars would have Fortunately these problems resolve themselves brought with them in their effort to “civilize” over the course of the volume, more than making the people of the Florida frontier. Assemblages up for a somewhat muddled beginning. In the excavated from both secular St. Augustine and end, one is left with a solid argument highlight- the religious headquarters of the Franciscan order ing the ambiguities and adaptability of creolized in St. Augustine are used as models of what a colonial foodways in the Spanish New World. diet aspiring to Iberian traditions might look like While this volume provides an excellent model within the mission complex and pueblo of Santa for the zooarchaeological specialist to follow, the Catalina de Guale. text is not so specialized as to exclude a more The conclusions drawn from this close zoo­ general archaeological audience. The connections archae­ological study contradict those expectations the authors draw between field and lab methods for indigenous acculturation that supposedly lay are crucial and should be taken into consideration at the heart of the Spanish colonial ethos, as set by anyone designing an excavation, whether or down in official colonial injunctions. Contrary not the volume’s wealth of information on Span- to imperial schemata­­­––and much to the chagrin ish colonialism pertains. of officials in charge of the colony––foodways in Spanish Florida defied central control (as Megan E. Edwards evidenced in the Gulf Coast smuggling of cattle Department of Anthropology University of Chicago to Caribbean markets) and saw Spanish settlers’ 1126 East 59th Street (including padres’) diets conforming far more Chicago, IL 60637 to indigenous traditions than vice versa. The 229

Mining in a Medieval Landscape: Plymouth, were owned and worked directly by The Royal Silver Mines of the Tamar the Crown from 1292. A substantial series of Valley account rolls survive for their operation until 1349, after which they were leased out to private Stephen Rippon, Peter Claughton, entrepreneurs. These accounts were examined and Chris Smart not only for their more obvious information on University of Chicago Press, organization, production processes, and finance, Chicago, Illinois, 2009. 200 pp. but also for their topographical insights. This $36.00 paper. was combined with other documentary sources and detailed reading of maps and the surviving archaeological landscape. The focus of the project Despite the importance of silver in the medi- was on the medieval mines, but the landscape eval economy, the archaeology and history of analysis wisely extended to the modern period. silver mining has been largely confined to spe- This enabled a long-term view of landscape cialist publications, especially journals. This is in change and the recognition of relict features, for contrast to France where Marie-Christine Bailly- example, air shafts and water leats. The final Maitre and her colleagues have produced a string chapter of the book presents a landscape charac- of monographs and semipopular books over the terization of Bere Ferrers parish and its environs. last decade. The current volume concentrates on It dissects patterns of field shapes and settlement the medieval silver industry of the Tamar Valley, plots to define different “character” zones, thus which lies on the border between the historic shedding light on its long-term settlement and counties of Devon and Cornwall. It chronicles the land-use history. Bere Alston, a 14th-century results of an interdisciplinary, two-year research planned borough, whose origins are linked to the project funded by the Leverhulme Trust, in which silver industry, is included in this analysis. two landscape archaeologists (Rippon and Smart) The silver ores at Bere Ferrers lay in north– collaborated with an economic historian who spe- south running veins. Deep mining was the norm cializes in the silver industry (Claughton). and, thus, the workings are of particular techno- The value of the book to the student and logical interest. Both audits (tunnels) and manual general reader is enhanced by chapters plac- haulage were used to drain these workings. The ing the industry in a national and international expense of drainage, as mining got deeper, cur- context. Chapter 2 discusses the results of wider tailed the industry from the late 14th century. research on the metal industries of the southwest, The increasing demand and high price of silver covering copper, iron, gold, and especially tin, saw the introduction of water-powered suction-lift as well as silver. A further chapter examines pumps in the 1470s. This new technology was the medieval silver production of Bere Ferrers only developed earlier in the century in Italy and in relation to other production centers in Brit- was in use in central Europe by the 1450s. Its ain and the Continent, and especially Coombe transmission to Britain is by an unknown route, Martin in north Devon. The importance of but illustrates that technology transfer must not technology, lordship, charcoal supply, competi- necessarily be seen as a product of a post-1500 tion, and economic cycles are all acknowledged revolution. The ore was taken elsewhere to be in understanding change within the industry. A processed and smelted. It was heated in a fur- more-detailed analysis of production at Bere nace to produce metal, and then in a refinery Ferrers follows, combining insights from docu- or cupellation hearth which produced silver and mentary analysis with fieldwork. As with many litharge (lead oxide) as its end products. The mining landscapes, early workings have often litharge was then processed in a furnace to pro- been obscured by larger-scale, later extraction, duce saleable lead. Documentary evidence shows though detailed analysis showed that some medi- the use of water-powered bellows to power the eval features did indeed survive. refinery from the 1290s. It is also suggested that The silver mines at Bere Ferrers, north of

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):229–230. Permission to reprint required. 230 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) the furnaces were water powered from at least supply of silver, amongst other factors, played a the early 14th century, though on circumstantial crucial role in its cyclical nature. This book is evidence. Water power was certainly used in the highly suitable for students of history, archaeol- 15th-century “fynyngmyll,” which combined fur- ogy, and geography who will gain insights into naces and cupellation hearth. The smelting sites interdisciplinary methods of landscape research, proved difficult to locate exactly, though possible medieval technology, and economic history. The sites were identified. clearly written text is enhanced by translated Few would wish to apply the term capital- extracts from original documents and by numer- ism to the European Middle Ages. Nevertheless, ous drawings and photographs. recent decades have seen a revisionism of the classic view that commercialism was superficial Paul Courtney or confined to the towns. By the 13th century, 20 Lytton Road Leicester LE2 1WJ UK the economy was highly dependent on a silver- based coinage and mercantile trade, and the 231

Lost Laborers in California: Native record only provided the framework for the study, Americans and the Archaeology which required archaeological data for a more of Rancho Petaluma detailed analysis. The archaeology of Rancho Petaluma had pre- Stephen W. Silliman viously been focused on the elite ranch-house University of Arizona Press, Tucson, complex, revealing little information on native 2004. 250 pp., 24 b&w illus., 12 existence. Silliman focused geophysical survey tables, 4 maps. $24.95 paper. and excavation on the presumed areas of native housing and waste disposal. He was faced with Archaeological and historical research in the formidable handicaps. Little of the shallow site Hispanic borderlands of North America has was stratified. It was highly bioturbated and it blossomed exponentially over the last 30 years, was impossible to separate precontact materials initially with the Columbian quincentenary. Schol- from some Mexican-period artifacts. No evidence ars now have an amazing amount of data on the of residential structures remained, either of tradi- period of exploration and the subsequent Span- tional housing of poles and thatch or of adobe ish colonial period at their command. Nowhere construction. There was a wealth of domestic arti- is this more evident than in California, where factual evidence to document the diet and material research on missions, presidios, and pueblos has culture of the rancho’s laborers. Many traditional flourished. Unfortunately, this research has not artifacts were used in food processing, indicat- developed equally for each time period. Schol- ing a continuation of a part of traditional dietary ars know much more about the details of the practices. Fishing with nets was a major activity. prehistoric, Spanish colonial, and Anglo peri- Metal artifacts were available for a variety of uses, ods than about ranchos of the Mexican period including cooking, construction, adornment, and (1821–1846). Even more is now known about hunting. Workers had access to alcohol in glass Russian and Asian settlements in California than bottles, which were often recycled into a variety about Mexican ranchos. This discrepancy is due of flaked tools. Ceramics were all imported and to the brevity of the time period in question, consisted of refined earthenware, stoneware, or the personal interests of researchers, the rapidly porcelain. The rancho was definitely within the changing fluid conditions of the times, and sev- system of world trade but supported no local pot- eral other factors. Silliman’s volume is a major ting industry. Both native and introduced plant and contribution toward filling that gap. animal species comprised the worker diet, with Rancho Petaluma of “General” Mariano Vallejo cattle forming the bulk of protein. represents perhaps the most important private Silliman does a remarkable job of synthesizing rancho of northern California, owned by the most the strands of historical evidence with the archae- powerful political player during this period in the ology of the site. Native labor was the key to north. Silliman draws on diverse historical sources, the access to European goods. The archaeological both for comparison and for specific data on the assemblage appears to be associated with indi- lives of native workers on the rancho. The author viduals involved with the permanent ranch-house demonstrates the value of such research, while duties of the missionized workers, rather than noting the fragmentary and sometimes conflicting the herding and harvesting duties of seasonal nature of the sources. Following an overview of residents. Women who were trusted household the rancho in California, the author details the servants materialized part of their identities with archaeological evidence for Rancho Petaluma. He colonial goods, while the men negotiated their is able to extract valuable information about the identities outside rancho life. This volume rep- treatment of workers, their diet, and daily labor resents a major contribution to the understanding activities, though the material and spatial aspects of the role of agency in native acculturation on of labor are seldom mentioned. The documentary the Spanish borderlands. The conclusions of the

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):231–232. Permission to reprint required. 232 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) research are the result of the author’s skill and perseverance when dealing with one of the most fluid and elusive periods in California history.

Robert L. Hoover 1144 Buchon Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3704 233

Bioarchaeology of Ethnogenesis among populations, and it is this phenotypic in the Colonial Southeast trait that Stojanowski uses in this analysis. The Christopher M. Stojanowski author does not assert that genes alone prove ethnic identity; rather, that genetic traits can be University Press of Florida, used in conjunction with material culture and Gainesville, 2010. 256 pp. $69.95 historical documents as evidence for ethnicity. cloth. By statistically controlling for genetic drift and population size in the analyses, Stojanowski was Bioarchaeology of Ethnogenesis in the Colo- able to gain insight into gene flow and migration nial Southeast offers an innovative biocultural patterns of the populations being studied. approach to understanding the evolution of One of the main goals of the book is to inte- ethnic identities among Native American popula- grate both historical and archaeological data with tions. Ethnogenesis (the process through which bioarchaeological and evolutionary genetic analy- new ethnic identities emerge or evolve) among ses in order to interpret models of ethnogenesis. Native American communities during the colonial Due to the unusual combination of data sources, period has received substantial attention from Stojanowski has structured the book in a non- anthropologists. The majority of bioanthropo- traditional format. The first chapter gives a clear logical research conducted in Spanish colonial and well-written explanation of model-bound pop- Florida focuses on creating community health ulation genetics and the statistical methods used profiles, most prominently via the La Florida in the research. After a brief overview of histori- Bioarchaeology Project, directed by Clark Spen- cal and bioarchaeological research conducted in cer Larsen. Bioarchaeology of Ethnogenesis in Spanish colonial Florida, Stojanowski presents the the Colonial Southeast complements the current results of his genetic analysis. The samples were body of knowledge by using a genetic perspec- not as genetically variable as hypothesized, which tive to interpret patterns of phenotypic variation was an unexpected finding, given the large geo- as evidence of ethnogenesis among Christianized graphic area of these populations and the wide Native American populations living within the range of cultural, political, and linguistic diversity Franciscan missions in La Florida during the identified in the historical record. The lack of Spanish colonial period. Stojanowski uses tooth genetic diversity is reflective of the great extent size as the phenotype under consideration, which of intertribal biological integration. During the has numerous benefits over using bone in terms transition to the mission period, the population of preservation and ease of statistical analyses. structure changed little, but between the early This book argues that in addition to material cul- and late mission periods the population struc- ture and historical narratives, biodistance analy- ture changed from isolation by distance to no sis and patterns of phenotypic variation can be structure at all. Both of these transition periods used as indicators of social identity. Stojanowski show that only a single biological population was asserts that evidence of ethnic emergence can be present in La Florida after 1650. seen through patterns of gene flow that directly Chapters 2 and 3 link biological and cultural reflect human behavior at the community level realms of experience and introduce the interpre- and, therefore, can be used as evidence for tive framework used throughout the analyses. communal recognition of identity. Although Sto- Stojanowski proposes that biological changes janowski does not explicitly state how the term directly reflect social changes in the populations ethnicity is defined in this analysis, he does studied. The author uses the phases of change make a good case for using odontometrics as a (separation, liminal, and reintegration) derived nonbiased reflection of phenotypes, which allows from Hickerson’s generalized model of ethnogen- him insight into patterns of gene flow that have esis as a model for the process of ethnogenesis not been consciously altered by the people being in La Florida. It is not until chapter 3 that Sto- studied. More specifically, molar size is variable janowski explicitly states how the terms identity

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):233–235. Permission to reprint required. 234 and ethnogenesis are used in his analyses. The Florida during the 17th century and were not discussion of these concepts would fit better in just Creeks enticed there by Spanish trading. chapter 1 with the discussion of the other con- Following a concise overview of Seminole his- cepts used throughout the book. tory, Stojanowski argues that internal disruptions Archaeological literature and historical eth- within the Creek community coupled with shifting nographic data presented in chapters 4, 5, and alliances among Spain, England, and the various 6 complement the previous biological results. indigenous groups were the main reasons for the Chapter 4 focuses on the separation phase of eth- emigration. While this chapter interprets early nogenesis, which occurs when the populations are Seminole history within the context of ethnogen- living in a transitional social and political envi- esis, the dataset used in the current analyses lacks ronment (i.e., when previous alliances, rivalries, any “Seminole” samples, so this hypothesis needs and political systems lose meaning). He discusses further testing, a fact that Stojanowski is quick the tribal-zone perspective, in which well-defined to point out. ethnic groups develop specific strategies to deal Chapter 8 returns to the biological data, where with outside populations for access to resources the dataset now includes samples from the Geor- and power. The tribal-zone perspective requires gia interior to supplement the previous analyses increased intergroup conflict, of which there is presented in chapter 1. The inclusion of these no evidence, as Stojanowski points out. Due to new populations allowed Stojanowski to evaluate this increase in intergroup conflict, ethnic ties how thoroughly the Georgia samples were inte- become strengthened. Political integration through grated within the Florida populations both prior marriage and warfare can also strengthen these to, during, and after Spanish contact. The early ethnic ties. The increasingly stronger ethnic precontact period results showed that the Timucua ties expected in the tribal-zone perspective are samples, regardless of geographic distance, were seemingly at odds with the separation phase, genetically closer to each other than to the geo- which expects severing of existing ethnic ties. graphically closer Muskogee samples. The late Stojanowski interprets the separation phase as a precontact period samples show that population decline in ethnic consciousness, however, rather affinity changed from previous periods. During than a literal ethnic disintegration. both of these periods the Georgia coastal and Chapters 5 and 6 focus on the liminal phase of interior populations were biologically integrated ethnogenesis, when previously existing social ties through interbreeding. During the protohistoric are replaced with new ones. Objective stimuli, period, however, the Georgia interior populations such as the slave raids and the repartimiento became more biologically integrated with western policies, receive attention in chapter 5, while Florida. This shift in mate-exchange patterns is subjective stimuli (i.e., the way people respond similar to the change in ceramic technology, and to objective factors) are described in chapter 6. reflects the effect of European contact on interac- Chapter 6 is perhaps the most humanistic chap- tion patterns. ter in this book, as it discusses daily life and The last chapter gives a clear and concise human experiences during Spanish colonization of summary of the entire book. While each chapter Florida, including the burial practices and overall conceptually builds upon the previous chapters, health of the various populations. Table 6.1 pro- it is not until chapter 9, when everything is vides a comprehensive and concise summary of brought together, that the reader gets a true previously published health and pathology data sense of how ethnogenesis actually occurred for for populations in La Florida, which shows that these populations. Stojanowski concludes that the after 1650 the overall health experience became ultimate reason for Seminole ethnogenesis is the homogenized. Stojanowski also provides evidence emigration of differing communities from Georgia that the process of ethnogenesis continued for into Florida. This geographic distance led to an several decades after the Spanish missions were increasing social distance––thus, beginning the destroyed in 1706. process of ethnogenesis. Chapter 7 delves into the reasons for the proto- The organization of the various chapters is Seminole emigrations into La Florida. Stojanowski unorthodox. Stojanowski justifies his decision to proposes, as have others, that the emigrants were include the results from the genetic analysis at from the same ethnic groups that had lived in the beginning by pointing out that these findings REVIEWS 235 are essential to understanding the overall argu- perform the methodology of population genetics ment. Given that few readers will be familiar will be able to understand the analyses performed with every aspect of the analyses given in this in this book. Bioarchaeology of Ethnogenesis in book, it would have been helpful to place all of the Colonial Southeast will contribute greatly to the overviews in an initial chapter rather than the current body of knowledge on the indigenous spread throughout the book (e.g., it is not until people living in Georgia and La Florida under chap. 7 that readers are given a brief history of Spanish colonialism, and presents a new method the Seminoles). With its holistic perspective, this for understanding population dynamics. book will be useful to those interested in Spanish colonial Florida and those who want to expand Crystal M. B. Vasalech the use of population-genetics studies in their Department of Anthropology East Carolina University research. With the thoroughness that Stojanowski East 5th Street describes his methodology, readers who are unfa- Greenville, NC 27858 miliar with or not confident in their ability to 236

The Sea of Galilee Boat (p. 171), as in his reference to Cobra helicopter Shelley Wachsmann gunships passing overhead. For Wachsman, the Texas A&M University Press, boat and its excavation are a time machine (p. 188) that juxtaposes the ancient and the modern. College Station, 2009. 442 pp., This book is written for a popular audience 92 b&w photos, 32 line drawings, and draws upon a general audience’s interest in 2 maps. $23.00 paper. the Galilean Jesus, an audience that was estab- lished by the media who dubbed this watercraft The Sea of Galilee Boat, copyright 2009, is “the Jesus Boat” (pp. 25–26,111,182). A less- the third edition of a book originally published successful attempt is also made to draw in a by Plenum Press in 1995 (acknowledgements Jewish audience (p. 380) with a chapter entitled set the original manuscript in 1994). A second “The First Jewish Naval Battle,” and in the edition was released in 2000 by Perseus Press, 2000 postscript an unabashed appeal to the Israel which reprinted Plenum’s text. This third edition Defense Forces to hold the swearing-in ceremony is marketed on the book’s cover as the “First for naval cadets at the boat (p. 380), presumably Texas A&M University Press Edition,” which in a similar fashion to the swearing-in ceremo- makes the reader immediately question the need nies that were formerly held atop Masada. for this new edition under a new publishing The book includes a preface, acknowledge- house. Unfortunately, in the end it seems little ments, prologue, 12 chapters, epilogue, 2 post- more than a marketing strategy. cripts (one added for the 2000 reprint and one The narrative takes place around the salvage added in 2009 for this latest edition), notes, excavation of a 1st century wooden boat buried bibliography, glossary, illustration credits, and in the mud of the Sea of Galilee and exposed an index, including a pictorial index of nautical due to drought and subsequent lowering of the terms. Wachsmann makes no pretense of provid- sea level. The story of the clearing of the boat ing an archaeological field report or an historical from its mud overburden, of the adventures text, but his sparse use of endnotes sometimes including feats of balance and improvisation adds more confusion than clarification to his in excavating and documenting its construction research; it is not always clear to what infor- details and its history, and of the challenges of mation a citation refers. Photographs and field its conservation, including gaining control over sketches document each step of discovery. Illus- the sea, are entwined with narratives of the his- trations and maps outline the places mentioned tory of underwater archaeology in the Mediter- in the text. Line drawings explain technical ranean and its founding personalities, and legends construction terms. Some of the line drawings, and myths surrounding the Sea of Galilee and the however, are poorly reproduced and some of the history of that area at the end of the 1st century photographs are too dark to see adequately what B.C./beginning of the 1st century A.D. Wachs- is being discussed. Cartoon graphics are also mann focuses on two events that provide an his- included that add to the popular and folksy tone torical context for the boat: Galilean seafaring as of the book but only tangentially fit the narrative. described in the Gospels (chap. 4) and Josephus’s While the book serves as an interesting tale–– account of Jewish/Roman clashes in Galilee part “adventure story” part “whodunit” (pref- (chap. 6). A number of underlying themes run ace)––one wonders as to the need for this new through the narrative: community and volunteer edition. Little if anything has been updated in involvement inspired by the excavations; Israeli the text. This is obvious from the references to improvisational skills (e.g., using cacti needles organizations whose names have changed and instead of rusting metal straight pins, pp. 80–81); people who have since passed away. This makes and a sense of the movement of time, sometimes some of his explanations confusing. For example, flowing, as in his description of chronological he compares bureaucratic differences between the sequences and pottery typologies, or “jarring” Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):236–237. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 237 in 1986, when the rescue operation was taking additional information they may provide about place, with the Israel Antiquities Authority of the boat or its history. As the tone of the text “[t]oday” (pp. 31–32). A footnote stating that the is to carry the reader along during the process chronological context of this statement refers to of discovery, it is disappointing at the end to be the 1994 manuscript would help to clarify his left out of the adventure. The reader would also point. Additionally, it would be helpful to note like to be “enthralled”! that books, such as Wachsmann’s Seagoing Ships Two additional points are made in this short and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant, cited postcript—exclamations over the number of as “in press,” have since been published. visitors and the promotion of a tourist industry The only addition, then, is the second post- surrounding the boat, and the death of J. Richard script. Here Wachsmann mentions that research (Dick) Steffy, ship reconstructor, who was instru- is still ongoing but describes little of the find- mental in providing initial observations about ings beyond the recognition of additional types the boat’s construction and asking many of the of wood used in the boat’s construction (5 types research questions. One must therefore assume for a total of 12) and in the keel (1 more for that this Texas A&M publication was printed to a total of 3). It would have been nice to read address both these developments. While it may, some conclusions related to these new observa- however, be a touching tribute to Steffy’s found- tions. What, if anything, can this information add ing role in the field of “underwater archaeology” to understanding freshwater-ship construction at (pp. 126–129), those to whom this is addressed this time or this particular vessel? O. Cohen’s seem too small an audience to warrant further final report on the conservation process is noted, editions of the text. When one compares this but no new information or further processes are postscript with the postscript written for the here discussed. Wachsman does describe being 2000 printing, one is struck by what little is “enthralled” while lying under the boat with Dr. here contributed. Jerome Hall while Hall points out construction Laura B. Mazow and repair details that could not be seen previ- Department of Anthropology, Flanagan 225 ously (p. 382), but Wachsmann provides no clues East Carolina University as to what these new discoveries were or what Greenville, NC 27858 238

Arqueología de la Boca del This study is based on the author’s doctoral Riachuelo. Puerto urbano de dissertation and on the framework elaborated Buenos Aires, Argentina by José Luis Lanata in 1995 for analyzing the properties of the archaeological record in Tierra (The archaeology of la Boca del del Fuego. Its main goal is to apply this model Riachuelo. Urban port of Buenos to a completely different historical assemblage––a Aires, Argentina) modern port––in order to differentiate in time and Marcelo Norman Weissel space archaeological landscapes over a time span Archaeopress, Oxford, UK, 2009. of some 300 years (A.D. 1700 to 2000). Employ- 192 pp., color illus., maps, figs. ing contemporary landscape theories, the study topics include commercial and domestic space £39.00 paper. usage. The book, written in Spanish, is structured in three sections with separate chapters and an Archaeology is intrinsically connected with the abundance of maps, graphics, and pertinent illus- construction of the infrastructure for transporta- trations: (1) “Puerto del Riachuelo-Ribera de la tion of goods and people. Long before rescue Pampa” (introduction, “Condiciones ambientales archaeology had emerged, the excavations used y de poblamiento,” “Objetivos e hipótesis,” and for building roads, railroads, channels, bridges, “Marco Teórico”); (2) “Midiendo el Puerto y la harbors, and mines created a assemblage in ciudad,” which includes “Métodos y técnicas,” which engineering techniques met with the “Áreas de estudio y formas del registro,” “Datos objects studied by the antiquarians. In the 19th y comparación de paisajes arqueológicos,” and century, geological archaeologists would find in “Resultados y discusión;” and (3) “Puerto y public work the space for defining prehistoric ciudad,” which contains the conclusions. The times. Excavations created the conditions for book includes four extensive appendices: the observing things buried by time and history, for first presents relevant environmental information making visible what was deeply buried in the (geology, geomorphology, and biogeography); the earth. Moreover, they shaped the techniques that second, historical information, archival research, would constitute the core of modern archaeology: and a compilation of maps; the third contains the surveying, measuring, and recording. tables summarizing the typology and dating of Whereas modernization of landscape unearthed the materials; and the last appendix refers to the the distant past, this study of the urban archaeol- secondary––or derivative––results. The volume ogy of the port areas of Buenos Aires, in par- finishes with a section devoted to bibliography ticular the port known as La Boca, reconnects and archival sources. archaeology with its own history. Historical The main conclusions of this study are the archaeology is used to understand the processes following: (1) the urban occupation of the port that the installation of the port of Buenos Aires in La Boca involved a peculiar landscape of arti- had unleashed since the 18th century. Excavation facts that changed along the defined time span; in this research meant not the creation of a new these archaeological landscapes had not occurred landscape, but the means to find the traces of the before the 18th century; and (2) the homogeneity lives and works connected to former excavations of instruments was conditioned by the variability and older human landscapes. By appealing to of the process of spatial configuration (“la homo- “the properties that structure the archaeological geneidad del instrumental estuvo condicionada record and shape the variability of the human por la variabilidad del proceso de conformación settlement of the La Boca neighborhood, this del espacio,” p. 96). Whereas early sets of arti- research aims at discussing the phenomenon facts are homogeneous (with the prevalence of of the urban port” (p. 1) and “the relationship activities related to alimentation), at the turn of between the factors of variability of urban and the 19th century one observes a growing rel- harbor artifacts” (p. 13). evance of other categories of artifacts, connected

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):238–239. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 239 with hygiene, medicine, cosmetics, communica- decades that historical archaeology there has tion, and play. Finally, the author concludes that received the attention of scholars and students. the occupation of the urban space of the port of This book has to be understood in the context of La Boca is heterogeneous, including evidence of an emerging field of research, whose practitioners labor and domestic practices that stimulated dif- and mentors were not trained in the complexity ferent strategies of configuration, consolidation, of history. The author made extraordinary efforts and maintenance of the system of spatial occupa- to use archival and historiographic resources, tion (“la ocupación del espacio portuario urbano including the incorporation of a bibliography de La Boca del Riachuelo es heterogénea; con related to other urban contexts. The main source prácticas laborales y domésticas que impulsaron of inspiration comes neither from the history of diferentes estrategias de conformación, consoli- the city nor the history of technology, but from dación y mantenimiento del sistema de ocupación the theoretical models used for times, spaces, del espacio,” p. 97). and societies––Tierra del Fuego in nonindustrial For an historian of science originally trained times, the archaeology of hunter-gatherers––that in archaeology, this study poses some questions are intrinsically different from urban modern related to the history of archaeology in Argentina: settlements. The complexity of historical inquiry first, the choice of a writing style that appeals to is absent in this book, which turns it into an a peculiar American archaeological jargon that interesting methodological approach. Its actual favors neither the nuances of the Spanish lan- relevance relies upon the new bridges that had guage nor the circulation of the book beyond the to be created in Argentina to bring together texts, archaeologists used to this terminology and lin- facts, and artifacts. guistic style; second, the conflicting relationship that archaeology still has with the field of his- Irina Podgorny tory. Studied in connection with natural sciences, Museo de La Plata––CONICET Pasco del Basque, S/N archaeology in Argentina has focused on native 1900 La Plata, Argentina peoples’ distant past. It was only in the last two 240

The Archaeological Survey Manual through more random selections of survey. Each Gregory G. White and Thomas F. King is explained in a fashion that anyone would be Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, capable of achieving through experience. Field methods are presented with roles for both the California, 2007. 184 pp. $29.95 experienced and the novice archaeologist, with paper. the former as an active instructor. This section discusses special landscape considerations such This book is a new manual of archaeological as dense vegetation and unique land features, survey largely devoted to updating the practice which are troublesome during survey, but the beyond guidelines set out by government orga- importance of sampling these areas, despite their nizations decades ago (e.g., The Archaeological difficulty, is emphasized and appropriate solutions Survey: Methods and Uses or TASMU), and are offered. The hypothetical survey is used to since the expansion of public archaeology. The show “what if” situations to defend the need for authors seek to familiarize the reader with the careful consideration and planning in approaching tools and methods of the survey of landscapes any project to ensure it is done well. for archaeological sites. They are specifically A good section highlighting the responsibility interested in sites that require a trained eye to to publish and remain connected to the wider locate, as opposed to standing structures or other archaeological community is the manual’s final cultural resources that are nonarchaeological in chapter. There are good links to professional nature. Presenting an introduction to the world organizations for guidelines on publishing and of survey, this manual may seem somewhat ethical concerns. The topic of encouraging the involved, but the authors adequately cover every inclusion of an array of professionals in survey aspect of survey. is broached, including the involvement of descen- A brief history of archaeology in the United dants of groups who lived and worked in the States is covered, along with an updated view on area in the past. The number and variety of the benefits of “promulgation” of survey under sites found can increase greatly with a larger and state or federal guidelines, all while the authors more diverse team. stress the need to remain flexible and capable The instructional utility of this book is very of adaptation to any given circumstance. A great good because it assumes little experience with section of tools of the trade follows with step-by- the subject while not becoming preachy in tone. step instructions for compass, GPS, and standard Instructors and employers alike might find this maps. Readers may find themselves learning new volume useful for familiarizing undergradu- terms associated with cartography and geology ates, graduates, and employees alike with the through context-specific and clear examples. The terms, equipment, and practice of archaeological authors are mindful of problems that may arise survey. As mentioned, the approach of walking in the field with certain equipment and rightly the reader through the use of tools would be suggest practicing with these field aids prior to helpful for any novice of the discipline. The entering into a survey. Most importantly, the book has well-partitioned chapters that would authors are able to explain the importance of allow for easy use in an archaeological methods researching the geological history and previous course, a specialty survey course, or a fieldwork studies in a hypothetical area. They explain the project or season prior to setting out upon the need for this research, citing the failure of this landscape. The authors even use the names of practice in the past as cause for limited under- famous archaeologists in naming the features standing of many archaeological landscapes. of the hypothetical landscape. The book makes The second portion of the book is devoted to good use of previous works and provides updates the pacing, scanning, and recording practices of with a litany of websites that cover archaeologi- field survey. The authors compare and contrast cal survey and standard research procedures for methods of scientific rigor with cancelling bias the entire United States. The primary appendix

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):240–241. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 241 contains a list of websites pertaining to survey sure, most will find some small differences of standards for U.S. states and territories. Finally, opinion with particular approaches to survey, as the book contains 25 pages of modern-styled all surveys are approached differently; the authors forms, illustrations, and other resources, as in do accomplish their goal of presenting basic previous survey guides such as TASMU that it guidelines, however. seeks to update. Wisely, the authors are quick to The book covers research, equipment, and remind the reader that there are more resources practice while shedding new light on changes to and guidelines outside this book that should be these important elements of survey over the past considered when attempting a survey, and web- few decades. White and King are able to convey sites are included. what is important while still having a wide-rang- Few problems exist within the text, which ing view of the possibilities in the field. Informa- speaks to the consideration White and King tion provided is apt and consistently posited, as used in constructing the manual. The authors’ suggestions with alternatives are described, and backgrounds and experience in the western it is understood that the reader should learn the United States resonate throughout the book, skills of research, as well as field methods, to be and especially in discussion of the Public Land good at archaeological survey. The Archaeological Survey System not applicable to Texas, the Mid- Survey Manual is a clearly written text provid- South and Atlantic states, and New England. ing introductory information and an explanation Some of the websites have changed URLs, but of survey’s role in the discipline of archaeology. for the most part the new sites can be found It contains an appropriate balance of exacting using the information provided. The book is methodology with a mind for exploration and not meant to accompany one into the field self-teaching through experience. alongside the plethora of gear discussed early in the volume. That said, the resources provided Joseph Roberts Department of Anthropology would be easy to copy and use in the field, as 231 Flanagan Building the authors are very aware of the practicality East Carolina University of constructing gear from experience. To be Greenville, NC 27858 242

The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology which is touted in northern New Mexico schools of Conquest: An Indigenous as a “bloodless” victory by Spanish Catholicism Archaeology of Contact over devil worship. Wilcox views this regional myth as symp- Michael V. Wilcox tomatic of far more insidious concepts held University of California Press, by mainstream America: that European/Native Berkeley, 2009. 334 pp., 52 illus. American contact inexorably led to the cultural $39.95 cloth. and demographic collapse of the latter; that the spread of European-borne pathogens and For the past decade or so Native American concomitant expansion of European settlements beliefs and values have successfully intersected were the prime agents that wiped out native with scientifically based archaeology. Native communities en masse, causing an unintentional/ American archaeologist Michael Wilcox is a guilt-free conquest; and that present-day native practitioner of this symbiotic approach, termed peoples have adopted European American cultural “Indigenous Archaeology.” In The Pueblo Revolt values to such a degree that they lack legitimate and the Mythology of Conquest: An Indigenous cultural affinity with their precontact ancestors. Archaeology of Contact, Wilcox applies his Wilcox contends that the origins of these theories study of historical period Jémez Puebloan sites are attributable to Spanish borderlands historians in north-central New Mexico to refute what he who for decades have either ignored or down- believes are flawed historical and archaeologi- played Spanish colonial brutalities against native cal interpretations regarding Spanish/indigenous peoples; and to the primacy of the post-1960’s interactions in Nuevo Mexico during the 16th processual approach in archaeology (i.e., the New and 17th centuries. In his estimation these inter- Archaeology), which Wilcox believes requires its pretations are nothing more than self-deluding, practitioners to replace ethnographic and histori- Eurocentric myths. cal texts in favor of scientifically derived data. Certainly, events of the Pueblo Revolt are As a consequence, he sees processualists who based in fact. In August 1680 Pueblo leaders of study the Pueblo world as having dismissed the a carefully planned insurrection launched a series relevance of contemporary Puebloan traditions of attacks against Spanish civil and religious as either uninformative or misleading. According institutions. Within a month those who survived to Wilcox, it was the enactment of NAGPRA the terrific onslaught fled southwards to the in 1990 that forced otherwise recalcitrant, data- safety of El Paso del Norte. After 80 years of driven archaeologists to consider native view- subjugation Pueblo communities became free of points regarding cultural continuity, acculturation, the cross and sword, having achieved one of the and tribal affiliation (pp. 9,38,244). most successful indigenous revolts in the history His rationale for opposing processual archaeo- of the Americas. Unfortunately for the Pueblo logical interpretations now established, Wilcox world, in 1692 Governor Diego de Vargas with then uses the Pueblo Revolt as a case study for a small army of colonists and native allies set refuting what he views as processual archaeol- out to reclaim the lost province. The revolt was ogy’s emphasis on disease, demographic collapse, nonetheless a partial victory: to avoid further and acculturation to justify its “theoretical dis- insurrection Spanish authorities were forced to engagement with living [Puebloan] peoples” (p. recognize Pueblo land rights, and native religious 28). To prove his point Wilcox notes that recent practices were tacitly permitted. Myth building archaeological research within the Jémez region began soon after the reconquest was completed. of north-central New Mexico identifies periodic For example, it is a treasured belief in New reoccupation of Jémez pueblo sites on defensive Mexico that Vargas was welcomed by now-con- mountainous terrain during the 16th and 17th trite Puebloans. To this day the city of Santa Fe centuries. He argues that the depopulation of annually hosts a fiesta in honor of La Conquista, pueblos within the northern Rio Grande valley

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):242–244. Permission to reprint required. REVIEWS 243 was due not to pandemic disease, but rather the reasons. For example, the author has drawn a result of periodic native population shifts to the sharp distinction between those archaeologists Jémez region. Although possessing marginal agri- who study ancient Puebloan adaptations as a cultural potential, this region nonetheless provided result of environmentally deterministic actions a modicum of safety in times of physical and largely beyond the control of humans, and those emotional stress, thereby permitting a seamless who view Puebloan ethnogenesis as a direct continuity of Puebloan lifeways in the face of result of multiple factors of human agency. A Spanish hegemony. Both oral native histories book review is not the best forum for entering and written records of the events surrounding into the fray as to which theoretical school is the the 1680 revolt are referenced by Wilcox to best approach. Suffice to say that this reviewer support his major premise: Puebloan peoples agrees with Wilcox’s premise that Spanish- were never conquered as per today’s Eurocen- introduced pandemic disease was not a factor in tric viewpoint. Rather, they successfully resisted decimating Puebloan populations; to date, pro- and consequently are still with us, their cultural cessual-grounded archaeological research in New singularity virtually intact. He extrapolates from Mexico has yet to identify physical evidence of the Pueblo world’s apparent success story to all postcontact mass mortalities. Instead, historical Native Americans, that is, their continued exis- documents and native oral histories are replete tence is living proof that acculturation, disease, with accounts of Spanish colonial ultraviolence and military conquest did not destroy the cultural directed at both Puebloan and nomadic peoples identities of Native Americans. alike. These same data sets have been referenced This book is organized in three general sec- by various well-respected borderlands historians tions. The first section (chap. 1–3) explains the since at least the mid-20th century, which chal- origins and theoretical basis of indigenous archae- lenges Wilcox’s claim that this genre of historical ology, the concept of the “Invisible Indian,” and research has intentionally whitewashed Spanish a discussion of ethnicity theory. Together, these colonial excesses in deference to modern-day chapters form Wilcox’s theoretical framework. Hispanic sensibilities. The second section (chap. 4–6) examines primary Exception must also be made to Wilcox’s historical documents related to Spanish politics, occasional employment of the straw-man argu- the concept and motives of militant Christian- ment approach, wherein he oversimplifies present- ity, and the motives behind the slave trade and day, data-driven archaeological methods in order entradas of the 16th century. The final section to refute them. This approach permits him to (chap. 7–8) integrates historical documents and conclude that such methods hold relevance only archaeological data in a more focused study of when incorporated with native viewpoints, with the archaeology of the Pueblo Revolt. Chapter 8 the latter given implicit primacy in the final is also a summation of Wilcox’s argument that interpretation. Certainly one can legitimately the future of archaeology in North America must argue that when the New Archaeology made its include the active engagement of native peoples. debut during the 1960’s and 1970’s its propo- The author argues that indigenous archaeology nents erred if they considered Native American is the best approach for all archaeologists who points of view meaningless when interpret- desire meaningful contributions to the fields of ing the past lifeways of their ancestors. It is ethnography, history, colonial history, and post- wrong, however, to assume a direct correlation colonial and indigenous theory. exists between the sometimes flawed theoretical This is a thought-provoking book, especially excesses that occurred over a generation ago and for those interested in Pueblo history, ethnogra- research approaches employed by today’s proces- phy, and archaeology. The author is commended sual archaeologists, whose professional ethics and for identifying the Pueblo Revolt as a worthwhile often close working relationships with Native topic for in-depth ethnoarchaeological research. Americans are not necessarily the result of a Such research holds added value when it is used nudge from NAGPRA. In fact, ethnoarchaeol- as a baseline comparison with other worldwide ogy never went out of style in New Mexico, as indigenous revolts that occurred on numerous evidenced by the hundreds of such studies that occasions against various colonial powers. Read- bracket over 60 years of research in the state, ers also may find this book provoking for other maintained by New Mexico’s Laboratory of 244 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2)

Anthropology––Archaeological Records Manage- ment Section. Indigenous archaeology’s worthy goals, so eloquently expressed by Wilcox, are not dissimilar from the overarching research goals of American archaeologists who see themselves first as anthropologists, and who understand that synthesizing multiple lines of evidence may lead to logical interpretations of the past.

Charles M. Haecker PO Box 209 Cerrillos, NM 87010-0209 245

The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi: A Historical Wilkie examines the construction of male white- Archaeology of Masculinity at a ness as symbolized by material culture in a small University Fraternity community that shifted constantly, the fraternity. The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi focuses on the Iota Laurie A. Wilkie chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity through historical University of California Press, and archaeological evidence dating from 1870 to Berkeley, 2010. 360 pp., 61 illus. 1956. The fraternity commissioned its first residence $60.00 cloth. on the University of California at Berkeley campus in 1876. It was replaced in the same location by America seems to hold a certain place in its a new house in 1910. Wilkie’s excavations with cultural memory for traditionally white Greek students revealed undisturbed areas, including a fraternities on college and university campuses. courtyard, construction sites, house foundations, and Shaped in part by Hollywood caricatures, in a trash dump dating from the period 1876 to 1909, part by lived experience, Greek fraternal orga- 1910 to 1956, and ca. 1923. The finds track trends nizations conjure a particular set of associations in changing roles for men in American society. dependent on the viewer’s own social location. Together, they present a place-specific snapshot of Laurie Wilkie, in her book, The Lost Boys of group formation and everyday life that speaks to Zeta Psi: A Historical Archaeology of Masculinity broader issues of the periods. at a University Fraternity, demonstrates that the In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, white development of white masculinity in fraternities men in America, as a group, entered into an has a material component, and that studying it identity crisis. Middle-class gender roles during can help contemporary Americans understand the the Victorian era had been clearly defined for forces of whiteness that still shape society. whites, with men in the public sphere as wage Wilkie’s book comes at a time when a number earners and women in the private or domestic of fields that study America are at a point of sphere as protectors of the household and moral self-review, but archaeology itself has yet to standard-bearers. The establishment of middle- come up to speed with issues of whiteness. For class white men as the standard against which this reason alone, Wilkie makes an important all others were measured became integral to and useful contribution that is a new tweak on American society. By the late 19th century, old studies of white, privileged men. Traditional their social, economic, and political dominance history worked by removing white men from was questioned as never before, as a result of broader American cultural contexts and bestowing abolitionists, suffragists, and others who agi- them with power, as if it were a natural entitle- tated for equality, as well as increasing social ment. Over the past 30 years or so, historical and cultural diversity in everyday life. Fraternal archaeology has contributed valuable data and organizations at colleges and universities joined perspectives regarding the broader American other groups organized by white men to escape context in which those white men lived. The industrial society and the female-dominated discipline supported new knowledge about cul- domestic sphere. Greek-letter societies, however, tural diversity and the multivalent properties of emphasized a shared identity predicated on group materials in relationship to cultural identities. cohesion. They resulted in both an elite, white, Wilkie’s previous work in African American masculine identity for the times, as well as a archaeology, for example, detailed the common “good-young-boy network” (p. 3) to carry it on and divergent relationships of whites and blacks after graduation. Wilkie points out the resonance with their material culture as told by the histori- of the network in life beyond the campus, but cal and archaeological record. In The Lost Boys does not demonize the fraternity brothers or of Zeta Psi, Wilkie contributes to a new thrust deem them unlikable (p. 260). in American studies: reexamination of the privi- Even though serious academic consideration has leges of whiteness and the white man. To do so, not been afforded to white fraternal organizations

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):245–246. Permission to reprint required. 246 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) in the form of college fraternities, Wilkie argues mashed together over time. As a result, it can that they are important institutions to consider. The support interpretations of group cohesion and a Zeta Psi experience at Berkeley shaped the racist community mentality that obscures agency and and sexist ideologies of the fraternity’s young white individual thought. One question rising from the men that enabled them to advance strategically in book concerns the degree to which archaeology at American society. In their postgraduate lives, Zeta Zeta Psi supports stereotypes about fraternity life Psi brothers held significant economic, educational, simply because individualized data is unavailable. political, and social positions that influenced The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi is written clearly society in California and America at large. and with a minimum of jargon. It would be Wilkie’s analysis flows from symbolic con- useful to a broad range of audiences as a unique nections between people, their things, and the look at the material evidence of fraternities in meanings between them. I wondered, however, American history. Archaeologists, of course, how the evidence might provide a critique of will find its data useful, particularly in light of the turn-of-the-century paradigm for gender roles. Wilkie’s interpretations of their meaning to the If the powerful created the paradigm to support development of American white masculinity. their power, does the existing evidence provide Historians can draw on the usefulness of docu- leverage for its critique? Wilkie does bring in mentary information yielded by an archaeological specific information about the power of Chinese approach, such as the lists of brothers in turned employees or women to influence the men, but in wall panels. Professionals in material culture general the evidence seems to support an exist- studies can use the book to understand the rela- ing argument. I also wondered about alternative, tionships between commonly available materials less-intentional explanations for the presence and community identities in microcosm. The of particular artifacts beyond the attribution of book will appeal in particular to undergraduate sons following their mothers’ ways. Is evidence students and, without a doubt, generate good available about the families who sent their sons conversations in class, but will also be useful to the fraternity, particularly their material pur- at the graduate level. Overall, the book cross- chases? Were only certain tablewares available? cuts disciplines to address the academic themes Could a lack of life experience have resulted of whiteness, gender construction, identity, and in certain choices that might not otherwise be hegemonic relationships between social locations. made? Furthermore, to what degree does the existing evidence support an illusion of group Teresa S. Moyer cohesion––admittedly, a difficult question to National Park Service 1849 C Street, N.W. assess. The archaeological record tends to support Washington, DC 20005 group or community ideologies better than those of individuals because of the way artifacts are 247

Untimely Ruins: An Archaeology as irrelevant and their only monuments noted at of American Urban Modernity, all, mounds, as inconsequential. The concept of 1819–1919 Untimely Ruins is a reflection on the lack of time depth in American culture, but also relates to the Nick Yablon continuing cycle of construction, destruction, and University of Chicago Press, rebuilding that the author sees as characterizing Chicago, Illinois, 2009. 400 pp., American cities. Therefore, “ruins” of no great 76 halftones. $25.00 paper. age are found in the midst of new buildings and exemplify the uneven (and negative) aspect The subtitle of this impressive and complex of development characteristic of urban existence. book might be confusing to archaeologists, for “Real”––that is, classical––ruins are not to be the author, in using the phrase, “an archaeology found in the United States. Yablon notes that of American urban modernity,” does not use there is cultural conflict as to whether the absence the term as do most archaeologists. There is no is good or bad. American ruins are described as discussion of stratigraphic implications or the “instant” and “barbaric”; they are not the outcome complexity of urban landscapes. Instead, Yablon of a gradual evolution from new to old to ruin. is referring to a variety of temporal dimensions The issue of modernity is crucially important to that can be observed in examining the materiality the author, with its cycles of construction/destruc- and construction of American cities. As well, at tion, the consequent recycling of neighborhoods, several points in the work he employs the conceit and the ways in which those living in urban of a future archaeologist finding a modern city modernity both embrace and reject it. and not knowing how to interpret it, which is The chapters are arranged in a roughly chrono- reminiscent of Miner’s The Nacirema of 1956 or logical format, but one of the main themes of Macauley’s 1979 Motel of the Mysteries. the book is the complexity of temporality as The author raises an issue that is particularly dimensions are folded back on one another, both relevant for historical archaeologists: the inter- in the works cited and in the author’s approach connections between present (the contemporary to them. His discussion of “future anteriority” past) and older periods. It is tempting to see demonstrates the nostalgia that coexists with the author’s interest in the uses of the past as “the complex and obscure conditions of urban evidence of an incorporation of archaeological modernity” (p. 246), and the flattening of time perspectives into a broader cultural frame, an and mixture of present and past used by some of “Archaeological Turn,” in Shannon Dawdy’s the writers he cites. Spatial dimensions are also phrase. In any case, the volume is worth read- implicated, particularly in examining American ing, especially if one is interested in urban life. perceptions of the classically constructed Euro- It is written within the intellectual framework of pean landscape. American (and cultural) studies and draws exten- Yablon presents an extensive set of literary sively on works of literature from the 19th and works commenting on American cities and urban early 20th century to provide data and insight. life, from Dickens and Melville to Jack London The author uses the trope of “ruin” as a point and H. G. Wells, including Ambrose Bierce and of entry for many forms of commentary. Begin- Mark Twain, a number of writers of utopian and ning with Tocqueville’s “What! Ruins so soon!” pulp fiction, and at least two diarists of New York the initial discussion (which remains a thread City, Isaac Lyon and Philip Hone. These authors throughout the volume) focuses on the newness offer differing perspectives on urban construction of America’s landscape. Whereas such a depiction and urban life. It is odd that Mike Davis was during the 18th century might not be surprising, not included, as his Dead Cities would provide later writers such as Henry James also comment apt comparisons to the earlier material cited by on “insistent newness” as an American attribute. Yablon. The catalog of ruins includes log cabins This perception, of course, treats Native Americans and deteriorating bridges, unsuccessful banks,

Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(2):247–248. Permission to reprint required. 248 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(2) decaying churches and cemeteries, inner-city often, and it was financed by major speculators decrepit housing, the physical remains of San in the U.S. and England who pulled their sup- Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and port early. New York appears often in the book, the first skyscrapers to be taken down. The list as perceived by Dickens, Melville, Lyon, Hone, includes grand and vernacular structures, some Wells, Henry James, and some pulp and science- created by neglect, some by disaster, and some by fiction writers. The author provides a significant the insistent push in this time period for continual account of the mid-19th-century process of spatial development and redevelopment. segregation of New Yorkers by class, race, and It is not surprising that Benjamin may be the ethnicity and its resonance today. His discussion theorist most often cited in this volume, espe- of the reconstruction of San Francisco and the cially in the latter portion of the book, which failure of Daniel Burnham’s Beaux Arts redesign takes note of his fascination with no-longer to be adopted is also an analysis of the nascent functional objects (including structures) and their project of film photography promoted by Kodak “after-life.” Benjamin’s accounts of such things for use by “everyman.” In addition, the discourse clarify the temporal complexities that adhere to on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, in recycling of objects resulting from “capitalist pro- 1909 the tallest skyscraper in New York City, is cesses of artificial obsolescence” (p. 246) rather an excellent account of the importance of capital- than a natural decay. In accounts of 19th-century ism’s demand for continual construction. Paris Benjamin is not totally negative about The only flaw in the book, from my perspec- these processes, noting their positive potential tive, is that it is so dense. In a brief review, it is and ability to reveal hidden truths (p. 272); he truly impossible to discuss all its ideas. It would is unwilling to characterize modernity either as also have benefited from a clear statement of the destructive or creative. author’s viewpoints. The volume contains a great The chapters in this book are quite different deal of fascinating material but it does, in truth, from one another. Each makes a contribution. have to be excavated. Particularly appealing was the discussion of “the paper city” of Cairo, Illinois, as a fantasized Nan A. Rothschild future western capital, which was destroyed by Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027 two coincident situations: it was unwisely located at the juncture of two rivers which flooded