Historical archaeology is a form of
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
dealing with places, things, and issues from the past or present when written records and oral traditions can inform and contextualize cultural material. These records can both complement and conflict with the archaeological evidence found at a particular site. Studies focus on literate, historical- period societies as opposed to non-literate,
prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
societies. While they may not have generated the records, the lives of people for whom there was little need for written records, such as the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
, slaves, indentured labourers, and children but who live in the historical period can also be the subject of study. The sites are found on land and underwater.
Industrial archaeology
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...
, unless practiced at industrial sites from the prehistoric era, is a form of historical archaeology concentrating on the remains and products of industry and the Industrial era.
Definition
According to the overall definition given here based on methodological and theoretical aspects
classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about i ...
or
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
as well as
medieval archaeology
''Medieval Archaeology'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the archaeology of the medieval period, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in 1957 by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and is publishe ...
are disciplines of historical archaeology. In practice, however – mainly in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
– historical archaeology refers to the modern, post-1492 period, which in Europe is often referred to as
post-medieval archaeology
Post-medieval archaeology is a term used in Europe to describe the study of the material past over the last 500 years. The field is also referred to as historical archaeology, a term originating in North America, and common in countries impacted ...
.
Notable historical archaeologists
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Judy Birmingham
Jean (Judy) Birmingham is a prominent English historical archaeologist, who has been based in Sydney, Australia, for most of her career.
Biography
Birmingham received her MA in Classics from the University of St Andrews in 1953 and latter at ...
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John L. Cotter
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James Deetz
James Deetz (February 8, 1930 – November 25, 2000) was an American anthropologist, often known as one of the fathers of historical archaeology. His work focused on culture change and the cultural aspects inherent in the historic and archae ...
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J. C. Harrington
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Ivor Noël Hume
Ivor Noël Hume, OBE (30 September 1927 – 4 February 2017) was a British-born archaeologist who did research in the United States. A former director of Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeological research program and the author of more than 20 bo ...
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Mark P. Leone
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Stanley South
Further reading
* Connah, Grahame. 1988 ''"Of the hut I builded" The archaeology of Australia's history''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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* M. Hall and S. Silliman (eds.) 2006. ''Historical Archaeology''. Oxford: Blackwell.
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External links
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