ABSTRACT

How can we use the past to make sense of the issues and problems that concern us in the present? Mark Leone, the leading critical theorist in historical archaeology, urges archaeologists to view their discipline as an activist pursuit. This volume is partly his autobiographical reflection on a thirty five year career, part a collection of Leone’s classic writings on Annapolis, Williamsburg, Shakertown, St. Mary’s, and other key sites, and part a synthesis of his current thinking on how historical archaeology can engage the cultural and political issues of our time. Critical Historical Archaeology is an important summary of the work and thinking of one of our most thoughtful, influential archaeologists.

part I|52 pages

Why Excavate?

chapter 1|10 pages

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

chapter 2|8 pages

Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

chapter 4|8 pages

Establishing Site Significance

part II|86 pages

Excavating Ideology

chapter 7|12 pages

Technologies of the Self

chapter 8|12 pages

Ideology at Work as Religion

chapter 9|14 pages

Mormon Fences

chapter 10|10 pages

Mental Instability

chapter 11|18 pages

Subversive Genealogy

part III|66 pages

Changing Things

chapter 12|12 pages

Public Tours

chapter 13|18 pages

A Lthusser at Work

chapter 14|20 pages

Exhibits

chapter 15|12 pages

The Ending