Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism

Transcription

1 Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism

2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOBAL HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY Series Editor: Charles E. Orser, Jr., Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois A HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MODERN WORLD Charles E. Orser, Jr. ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE CAPITALIST WORLD SYSTEM: A Study from Russian America Aron L. Crowell AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF SOCIAL SPACE: Analyzing Coffee Plantations in Jamaica's Blue Mountains James A. Delle BETWEEN ARTIFACTS AND TEXTS: Historical Archaeology in Global Perspective Anders Andren CULTURE CHANGE AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGY: An Archaeology of the Early American Industrial Era Paul A. Shackel HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIES OF CAPITALISM Edited by Mark P. Leone and Parker B. Potter, Jr. LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF IMPACT: Social Disruption and State Formation in Southern Africa Warren R. Perry A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher.

3 Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism. Edited by Mark P. Leone University of Maryland College Park, Maryland and Parker B. Potter, Jr. Sargent Museum of Archaeology Concord, New Hampshire SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC

4 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Historica1 archaeologies of capitalism I edited by Mark P. Leone and Parker B. Potter, Jr. p: cm.-(contributions to global historica1 archaeology) Inc1udes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Archaeology and history. 2. Archaeology and history-united States. 3. Material culture-united States. 4. Capitalism-History. 5. Capitalism-United States-History. 6. United States-Antiquities. 1. Leone, Mark P. II. Potter, Parker B. III. Series. CC77.H dc CIP ISBN DOI / ISBN (ebook) 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers in 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover lst edition A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. AII rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher

5 Contributors D Mark P. Leone, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland Thrrence W. Epperson, Cultural Heritage Research Services, Inc., North Wales, Pennsylvania Matthew Johnson, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham DHI 3LE England Parker B. Potter, Jr., Sargent Museum of Archaeology, Concord, New Hampshire Paul R. Mullins, Anthropology Program, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia Charles E. Orser, Jr., Anthropology Program, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois Margaret Purser, Department of Anthropology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California Alison Wylie, Department of Philosophy, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri v

6 Preface D There is a series of issues to be addressed by any scholar studying capitalism. In addition, there are some issues which must be addressed by anyone concerned with capitalism's material culture and its archaeology. If a scholar of the past chooses to focus directly on capitalism and embeds his or her work in an understanding of Marx, then the existence of classes and their inevitably antagonistic relationship is an assumption. Social stratification is known as class in analysis of capitalist societies and two ideas follow accordingly. First, classes based on wealth and power exist and have an unstable relationship, with a constant and confusing set of negotiations and shifts in power. The objective of this ever unstable dynamic is maximization of profit or accumulation of wealth. Second, while production is the objective of capitalism, a focus on production reveals how society operates to make production successful, and consequently, one must also focus on the place of power. A focus on power reveals that the constant quest for a monopoly on wealth entails the deliberate creation of poverty and the operation of popular opinion, ordinary beliefs, or ideology in the service of both power and profit. Ideology operates to convince many that their lives are stable, and hopeful, and that work and opportunity can yield an improved lot in a rational world where leaders are often thought to have the common good in mind. In the context of power, capitalism creates identity for people. This is a complex issue that frequently calls forth denials of relevance from archaeologists. Such calls are false. Identity exists both for individuals and groups in a way that is important for archaeologists. Capitalism operates to achieve two parts for identity. On the one hand, identity can be assembled and added to, but on the other, some aspects of it are said to be fixed, usually in nature and biology; these, it is claimed, cannot be altered. Anthropologists have understood from the beginning that identity is symbolic, that is, it is created in our minds and then reified. Therefore, identity is cultural. In addition, all cultures have mechanisms by which identity is created and made, and assumed by each member. As vii

7 viii Preface historical archaeologists, we are particularly concerned with how material objects were used to create and sustain the identities of racial groups and classes. An entire group of historical archaeologists also concentrates on the materials of gender. All of us, as authors, in this book are concerned with how identity is actively created from without, and also how it can be actively resisted, accommodated, reshaped, and neutralized within a group. A third issue touches our definition as scholars. What are we to do with our knowledge? Indeed, how do we go about creating it, once we know that one way to create identity is to ground it in the past? If identity is thought to be fixed, as is the case with North American ideas of race and gender, then it is regarded as essential: there could never be an alternative to the way things are. Since capitalism acts to use biology and history to fix identities, our task should not be to cement identities in place, particularly when they are exploitative. Archaeologists normally disapprove of such use, but also normally do nothing to prevent it. Most of the authors in this book believe that their job is to show that the past is created for use now, in situations defined by class relationships and the changing distribution of wealth. Therefore, their task involves assuming that consciousness of existing relationships, including those identified best through historical archaeology, is enough to call exploitative relationships into question. In order to achieve this, there must also be a strong role for philosophical analysis which shows that identities thought to be fixed are not fixed. There must also be a role for showing that identities known to be constructed are not false and, alternatively, that an awareness of the profound place of power in capitalism does not mean that those with less power are powerless to change or challenge the ways they are subordinated. Thus, we must understand that our work is embedded in social change and that, while we are being accurate and empirical, these are not our ultimate aims. Rather, change is our ultimate aim. Douglas W. Schwartz, president of the School of American Research, and his staff organized a successful seminar in Thomas Patterson offered valuable advice at every phase of planning for the conference and volume. He has played a significant role in clarifying the definitions of capitalism used throughout the book. Charles E. Orser, Jr. editor for this series in historical archaeology, led the successful publication of this volume through Plenum Publishing Corporation. We are grateful to Eliot Werner, Plenum editor, for his ready optimism and helpfulness throughout the publication process. Irwin L. Goldstein, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social

8 Preface Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park, and his staff have always sponsored an environment that promoted research and publication. Nan S. Wells and Veronika Wells Leone always provided the supportive environment that made this book possible. Nancy Jo Chabot was indispensable to the creation of this volume through her support. Linda Konski and Andrew 'lbbiason, of the Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, diligently typed and edited many versions of much of the material in this book. This volume was indexed by Julie H. Ernstein.

9 Contents D PART I. ISSUES IN A mstorical ARCHAEOLOGY DEVOTED TO STUDYING CAPITALISM 1 Chapter 1. Setting Some Terms for Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism.... Mark P. Leone Capitalism and Its Parts... 4 The Role of Consciousness Who Creates Consciousness for Whom? Culture and Capitalism How Do We Take Culture apart from Capitalism? Commodities and an Active Role for Things References PART II. WHERE THE QUESTIONS COME FROM Chapter 2. Why Should Historical Archaeologists Study Capitalism? The Logic of Question and Answer and the Challenge of Systemic Analysis Alison Wylie Introduction: Democratizing Forces The Logic of Question and Answer The Argument for Conjoint Uses of Evidence... 29

10 xii Contents Vertical and Horizontal Independence Causal, Inferential, and Disciplinary Independence Generalizing within the Instance: Cables and Tacking Conclusions References Chapter 3. Historical Archaeology and Identity in Modern America Parker B. Potter, Jr. Introduction..., August, Down on the Farm Out at the Craftsmen's Fair And Back Again, to the Real World Three Guides Aronowitz: The Archaeology of Work, Labor, and Service MacCannell: The Archaeology of Cannibalism Miller: The Archaeology of Consumption Two Case Studies Annapolis: The Archaeology of Tourism An Interlude: Vulgar Identity New Hampshire: The Archaeology of "Mass Hysteria" Conclusions References Chapter 4. The Contested Commons: Archaeologies of Race, Repression, and Resistance in New York City errence vv. ~ p p e r s o n Introduction: The Commons and the African Burial Ground 81 The 1712 Rising: Coromantee, Christian, and White Identities 86 The "Great Negro Plot" of Pinkster Day, 1757: The Politics of Spectacle and and Cultural Property The 1788 Petition and "Doctor's Riot" Conclusion: Essentialism, Identity Politics, and the Anti- Racist Struggle References

11 Contents xiii PART III. INTEGRATION INTO CAPITALISM AND IMPOVERISIlMENT Chapter 5. Ex Occidente Lux? An Archaeology of Later Capitalism in the Nineteenth-Century West 115 Margaret Purser Jntroduction: Old Bearings, New Directions, and Sinclair Lewis Capitalism from the West Material Culture of Later Capitalism Some Assembly Required: Material Patterning in Paradise Valley Discussion References Chapter 6. Archaeology and the Challenges of Capitalist Farm Tenancy in America Charles E. Orser, Jr. Introduction Farm Tenancy as a Post-War, Southern Reality Farm Tenancy in America Historical Archaeology and American Farm Tenancy A Brief Note on the Data Sets Conclusions References Chapter 7. "A Bold and Gorgeous Front": The Contradictions of African America and Consumer Culture Paul R. Mullins Introduction Envisioning a Raceless Market: Brand-Name Consumption Desire and Mrican-American Consumption Commodity-Specific Consumer Tactics Ceramics and Market Circumvention Surveillance and Black Consumption Caricatures

12 xiv Contents Fragments of Affiuence: African-American Bric-a-Brac The Contradictions of Capitalist Multivalence References Chapter 8. Ceramics from Annapolis, Maryland: A Measure of Time Routines and Work Discipline Mark P. Leone Introduction Time Routines, Work Discipline, and Self-Surveillance Colonial American Economics Conclusions References PART Iv. BEYOND NORm AMERICA Chapter 9. Historical, Archaeology, Capitalism Matthew Johnson 219 Introduction Space Time Context Material Culture Politics Conclusion: Beyond Capitalism References Index