It's hard to beat Mike Schiffer's book "Formation Processes of the 
Archaeological Record."


Robert L. Schuyler wrote:
> Colleagues:
>
> I need your advice on some suggested articles for a new undergraduate
> course being constructed here at Penn. The course will be on "The
> Anthropology of the Americas" and cover the entire New World from the
> first peopling up to the present. It will be one of the few courses
> at Penn, maybe the only one, to treat the Americas as one unit of
> study. A primary purpose will also be to demonstrate a general
> (cultural, lingusitic, physical and archaeology) anthropological
> approach to the subject.
>
> Although I will not be a primary teacher of the course I am
> suggesting readings for major topics. I came up with some very good
> Ideas on key topics that Historical Archaeology could address (e.g.
> creolization - Ferguson's book; early settlement - the Kelso
> Jamestown book; other ethic groups - Wegar's edited volume on
> Overseas Chinese, etc. etc.). Suddenly we realized that everyone was
> doing the same thing- all suggesting BOOKS. We would have had poor
> undergraduates reading about 30 books in one semester.
>
> I am going to keep the Kelso book in play but I need to suggest
> ARTICLES in place of the other books and I could use your help. What
> would be a good article - probably involving a case study rather than
> a theoretical discussion - for the following:
>
>          (1) Early colonization (besides the Kelso book). For
> example, what is Henry Miller's best article to show all the interesting
>                  discoveries on English adaptation in Maryland?
>
>          (2) Creolizations - Ferguson's (or some other) best article
> that summaries his book.
>
>          (3) European conquest - but archaeology of - anything on the
> Aztec Empire or something from North America?
>
>          (4) African American Archaeology - slave period and/or free
> communities.
>
>          (5) Asian American Archaeology - Wegar's best article or
> something else?
>
>          (5) Archaeology of Race
>
>          (6) Ethnic Identity
>
>          (7) Archaeology of class
>
>          (7) Contemporary socio-political setting for Historical
> Archaeology (e.g. what is the best article about the issues around the
>                  African Burial Ground in NYC?).
>
> Any suggestions?  I want Historical Archaeology to be involved in as
> much of the course as possible so prehistoric archaeology
> (Precolumbian Americas) will not dominate everything.
>
> thanks,
>
> Bob Schuyler
>
>
>
> Robert L. Schuyler
> University of Pennsylvania Museum
> 3260 South Street
> Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
>
> Tel: (215) 898-6965
> Fax: (215) 898-0657
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