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Historical Archaeology is the study of humans in the past that through artifacts, that overlaps with recorded history. Historical archaeologists look at both the material uncovered by archaeologists, as well as historical records in order to make guesses about what happened in the past with the information found. Historical Archaeology is often done by two main groups: professionals and academics.
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Historical archaeologists use many of the same methods of study that other archaeologists do, but they often focus on the recent past. Historical archaeology started mostly in the United States in order to study what has happened since the arrival of Europeans. Many of the first historical archaeology projects were done in sites that were related to Colonial America.[2] Since then, historical archaeology has gone on to cover many different areas of study both theoretical and geographical which are covered below.
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Common theoretical approaches that historical archaeologists use include:
Marxism
This theoretical work draws on the works of German philosopher Karl Marx. It is popular in the field because it thinks about the importance of power and class. In historical archaeology this is useful for studying issues such as labor and studies have been done in sites of labor conflict such as Ludlow, Colorado[1] and Mono Mills, California.[3]
Feminism and indigenous thought
Feminist movements made their way into the work of many historical archaeologists by making the research of historical archaeologists more about gender, sexuality, and reproduction.[4] There has also been inclusion of the thought of indigenous peoples to make archaeological theory less colonial.[5][6] Studies focused on ideas found in Feminism have been done at places such as plantations [7] as well as in colonial San Francisco,[8] and studies using indigenous world views are common throughout the United States.
Heritage and community
Historical archaeologists that do these things usually try to get people in the community much more involved in the archaeological projects they are working on and preserving heritage for future generations.[9] This also means preserving buildings and sites that are architecturally and culturally significant.
Contemporary archaeology
This type of archaeology is focused on using theory and methods common in historical archaeology to look at artifacts from the last twenty years. This is more common in areas experiencing political, social, or economic problems. Contemporary Archaeology also deals with issues such as abandonment and modern Ruination.[10]
An early example of contemporary archaeology is the Tucson Garbage Project begun in the early 1970s and expanded to other cities. To a large extent, the garbage project is about understanding current use and waste of consumer goods.[11]
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Historical archaeology is strongest in North America where it began. In the United States studies that are popular include African diaspora in the American South[12] and Northeast, Asian diaspora in the West,[13] and Colonial America in the Northeast.[14] Historical archaeology has now spread to all other parts of the world but is strongest in North America, Latin America, and other colonized areas.[15]
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