ABSTRACT
Examining the meaning and uses of material culture and recognizing the role of agency are a relatively recent phenomenon in American historical archaeology. Much of the interpretation in American historical archaeology does not go beyond particularistic endeavours and trickle-down theory, and those studying the industrial era often ignore the way people consciously manipulated material expressions to show their dissatisfaction with their new wage labour situation. Recognizing individuals, households, or other small units of a cultural system as active agents that contribute to the archaeological record is one way to go beyond the particularism and positivism that dominate historical archaeology. Under the premise of agency, actors know the way society operates, and individuals act within a pre-existing structure. Actors think and act in a certain way, they interact with each other, and they may reproduce the existing structure. During this interaction, agents may also express power relations through material consumption and the production of goods.
