Dear HistArchers,

I am very pleased to announce the publication of my new book, *Sherds of
History: Domestic Life in Colonial Guadeloupe*, University Press of
Florida, 2015, ISBN 13: 978-0-8130-6042-2

For more information, please follow the link:
http://upf.com/book.asp?id=ARCAN001

From the cover:

"A fresh look at the French Caribbean through the many forms of pottery
used by colonists, Creoles, and slaves. Offers a trove of original and
often surprising insights on foodways, gender, ethnicity, health, and even
attitudes about water, cleanliness, and poisoning at this crossroads of the
Atlantic world."--Gregory Waselkov, author of A Conquering Spirit: Fort
Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814

"A unique and focused analysis of the ways in which clay-bodied materials
infused everyday colonial life with meaning and distinction."--Mark W.
Hauser, author of An Archaeology of Black Markets

Ceramics serve as one of the best-known artifacts excavated by
archaeologists. They are carefully described, classified, and dated, but
rarely do scholars consider their many and varied uses. Breaking from this
convention, Myriam Arcangeli examines potsherds from four colonial sites in
the Antillean island of Guadeloupe to discover what these everyday items
tell us about the people who used them. In the process, she reveals a
wealth of information about the lives of the elite planters, the middle and
lower classes, and enslaved Africans.

By analyzing how the people of Guadeloupe used ceramics--whether jugs for
transporting and purifying water, pots for cooking, or pearlware for
eating--Arcangeli spotlights the larger social history of Creole life. What
emerges is a detail rich picture of water consumption habits, changing
foodways, and concepts of health. Sherds of History offers a compelling and
novel study of the material record and the "ceramic culture" it represents
to broaden our understanding of race, class, and gender in French-colonial
societies in the Caribbean and the United States."

With best wishes,

Myriam Arcangeli, Ph.D., RPA