The Archaeology of Contact in Settler Societies

In this collected work an international team of experts considers the consequences of colonialism in settler societies from the sixteenth century to the present day. By providing the reader with a global vision of the subject, the book presents an innovative approach to the study of contact archaeology.

Several decades of research into the archaeology of contact in North America have laid the foundations for the global exploration of the archaeology of European colonization. It is significant, however, that archaeologists, unlike historians and geographers, have yet to develop a global account of contact and its consequences. This edited work presents case studies from nations developed from British settlement so as to allow historical archaeologists to examine differences and similarities between the histories of modern colonial societies world-wide. Written by an international team of experts, the work shows that historical archaeologies can assume marvellously different and suggestive forms when examined from the periphery. Furthermore, the imperatives of the periphery could result in different perspectives on North American and European archaeological contexts. The work also examines the role of a global vision of the historical archaeology of colonialism in providing a new basis for the evolution of the 'nation'.