Shovel Ready : Archaeology and Roosevelt's New Deal for America

"Shovel Ready" provides a comprehensive lens through which to view the New Deal period, a fascinating and prolific time in American archaeology. a In this collection of diverse essays united by a common theme, Bernard K. Means and his contributors deliver a valuable research tool for practicing archaeologists and historians of archaeology, as well as New Deal scholars in general. a To rescue Americans from economic misery and the depths of despair during the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created several New Deal jobs programs to put people to work. Men and women labored on a variety of jobs, from building roads to improving zoos. Some ordinary citizensOCowith no prior experienceOCowere called on to act as archaeologists and excavate sites across the nation, ranging in size from small camps to massive mound complexes, and dating from thousands of years ago to the early Colonial period. a "Shovel Ready" contains essays on projects ranging across the breadth of the United States, including New Deal investigations in California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Some essays engage in historical retrospectives. Others bring the technologies of the twenty-first century, including accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of curated collections and geophysical surveys at New DealOCoexcavated sites, to bear on decades-old excavations. The volume closes with an investigation into material remnants of the New Deal itself. a Contributors John L. Cordell / John F. Doershuk / David H. Dye /Scott W. Hammerstedt / Janet R. Johnson / Kevin Kiernan /Gregory D. Lattanzi /Patrick C. Livingood / Anna R. Lunn / Bernard K.a Means / Stephen E. Nash / Amanda L. Regnier / Sissel Schroeder / James R. Wettstaed This book provides a lens through which to view the New Deal period, a fascinating and prolific time in American archaeology. In this collection of diverse essays united by a common theme, the editor and the contributors deliver a valuable research tool for practicing archaeologists and historians of archaeology, as well as New Deal scholars in general. To rescue Americans from economic misery and the depths of despair during the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created several New Deal jobs programs to put people to work. Men and women labored on a variety of jobs, from building roads to improving zoos. Some ordinary citizens - with no prior experience - were called on to act as archaeologists and excavate sites across the nation, ranging in size from small camps to massive mound complexes, and dating from thousands of years ago to the early Colonial period. This book contains essays on projects ranging across the breadth of the United States, including New Deal investigations in California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Some essays engage in historical retrospectives. Others bring the technologies of the twenty-first century, including accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of curated collections and geophysical surveys at New Deal-excavated sites, to bear on decades-old excavations. The volume closes with an investigation into material remnants of the New Deal itself Introduction : Alphabet Soup And American Archaeology / Brnard K. Means -- The First Stimulus Package : The Wpa And The New Jersey Indian Site Survey / Gregory D. Lattanzi -- Historical Archaeology's New Deal In Pennsylvania / Janet R. Johnson -- Archaeologist #.00000000000000000 : Edgar E. Augustine And New Deal Excavations In The Great Depression Begets A Great Expansion : Field Museum Anthropology, 1929-1941 / Stephen E. Nash -- Project 1047 : New Deal Archaeology In Iowa / John F. Doershuk And John L. Cordell -- The Last Of Wpa Archaeology In Oklahoma : The Clement And Mcdonald Sites / Amanda L. Regnier, Patrick C. Livingood, And Scott W. Hammerstedt -- Trouble In The Glen : The Battle Over Kentucky Lake Archaeology / David H. Dye -- Wpa Archaeology At The Slayden Site, Humphreys County, Tennessee / Anna R. Lunn -- Culture, Time, And Practice : The Shifting Interpretive Potential Of New Deal Era Collections / Sissel Schroeder -- New Deal Archaeology In West-central Kentucky : Excavations At Annis Village / Scott W. Hammerstedt -- Preston Holder's Wpa Excavations In Glynn And Chatham Counties, Georgia -- 1936-1938 / Kevin Kiernan -- The Resettlement Administration And The Historical Archaeology Of The Georgia Piedmont / James R. Wettstaed -- Conclusion : Shovels At The Ready : Work Relief And American Archaeology, Today And Tomorrow / Bernard K. Means. Edited By Bernard K. Means. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Beginning in March 1933 with the excavation of the Marksville mound site in Louisiana, and throughout the next decade, ordinary citizens labored in New Deal jobs programs and participated in archaeological excavations across the United States. Under the auspices of work relief programs, people were provided the opportunity to explore and document American Indian villages and mounds, important historic places, and homes associated with events and people critical to the foundation of the country