ABSTRACT
An archaeologist working on the Gulf Coast of the United States may find herself holding an important piece of the "radio" perhaps some broken local earthenware, a few blue glass beads, a sherd of faience, and a chipped stone projectile point and wonder where to find the other pieces. It is not possible to provide a comprehensive summary of the contributions that archaeology has made to history, either globally or in the United States. It is particularly pertinent in considering the challenges of an inherently interdisciplinary approach like historical archaeology. This is a brief tour, a "windshield survey" that only hints at the breadth and depth of the work that has been done. The author hopes to raise questions and point to our connections with the present and future along the way. As we have seen, one of the ways historical archaeologists organize their questions is to group them under large, interwoven topics like colonialism, capitalism, or consumerism.
