An Archaeological Study of Rural Capitalism and Material Life: The Gibbs Farmstead in Southern Appalachia, 1790-1920 (Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology)

Historical archaeology has largely focused on the study of early military sites and homes of upper class. Research on lower classes was viewed as a supplement to local histories documenting political, military and financial leaders of the 18th and 19th centuries. An Archaeological Study of Rural Capitalism and Material Life will be of interest to historical archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, social historians, and historical sociologists, especially researchers studying the influence of globalization and economic development upon rural regions like Appalachia. Quickly vanishing in our own time, less than a century ago family-operated farms were a predominant way of life in North America. Since the 1600s the agriculture practiced on American farms has been a catalyst of both geographic settlement and economic expansion. During the 19th century, four generations of the Nicholas Gibbs family operated a successful farm in Knox County, East Tennessee. In this book, archaeology and historical information are combined with strands of thought in world systems theory and the Annales school of French social history to explore the influence of rural capitalism upon everyday life and material conditions at a Southern Appalachian farmstead. Focusing upon the domestic landscape, architecture, and household items, consideration of material life reveals the presence of a substantial folk orientation among the Gibbs family that was also significantly influenced by larger trends within national-level consumerism and popular culture. An Archaeological Study of Rural Capitalism and Material Life will be of interest to historical archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, social historians, and historical sociologists, especially researchers studying the influence of globalization and economic development upon rural regions like Appalachia.

Revising his 1998 Ph.D. dissertation in anthropology for the University of Tennessee, Groover (U. of South Carolina-Columbia) offers a study of the Nicholas Gibbs farm in Knox County, eastern Kentucky during the long 19th century. The farmstead represented a rare convergence of a rich and undisturbed site and a plethora of documentary material, allowing archaeological and historical elements to be interpreted in light of each other. The study reveals considerable detail about the daily lives of the residents, and their long-term priorities. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Historical archaeology has focused on the study of early military sites and homes of upper class. This work is aimed at historical archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, social historians, and historical sociologists, especially researchers studying the influence of globalization and economic development upon rural regions like Appalachia.