Sydney NSW Australia (Geographic Keyword)
1-8 (8 Records)
The value of material goods, be it economic, social, spiritual or otherwise, is a key factor in their manufacture, acquisition, use and discard. While changeable, value mediates every phase of the object’s life cycle. It changes over time and amongst subcultures. The consideration of value is fundamental to archaeological interpretation, and yet archaeological theories of value have only recently attracted attention. This is in part a reflection of a broader reconsideration of value across the...
An archaeology of colonial consumption: Sydney trade and material culture, 1788–1901
This is the project archive of an ARC Discovery grant conducted between 2014 and 2018 that explored Sydney’s history as a colonial marketplace at the height of the British empire. It employed emerging digital technologies and pioneering new methods to explore the cost, quality and value of archaeological relics found across Sydney, and underwrite new transnational histories of empire, commerce and consumer culture.
Assessment of historical and archaeological resources of the First Government House site, Sydney (2003)
Assessment of historical and archaeological resources of the First Government House site, Sydney. Resource assessments were carried out for all sites selected for the EAMC during the first stage of the project in order to determine the priorities for analysis.
Exploring the Archaeology of the Modern City project
The ‘Exploring the Archaeology of the Modern City’ project (EAMC) was established in 2001 by Professor Tim Murray of the Archaeology Program of La Trobe University and Industry Partners, to analyse and interpret the large assemblages excavated from historical archaeological sites which are held in storehouses across Sydney. Funding for the project was provided by the Australian Research Council through its Linkage Scheme. The project gave to the analysis of ten discreet household assemblages...
"For the kitchen or nursery”: The Promotion of Willow and Other Common Transfer-printed Ceramics (2019)
This paper explores the promotion of ‘Willow’ and other common transfer-printed patterns in 19th-century trade catalogues and Australian colonial newspaper advertisements. These ‘usual suspects’ (‘Willow’, ‘Asiatic Pheasant’, ‘Rhine’ amongst others) appear in large numbers on historical archaeological sites across the globe. We know from select trade catalogues and ad hoc advertisements that by 1880s, ‘Willow’ and ‘Asiatic Pheasant’, along with Band-and-line wares, were sold as dinnersets ‘for...
Measuring the Quality of Personal Goods: Antipodean Adventures in the Archaeology of Consumption (2018)
The systematic indexation of quality in mass-produced goods offers a new approach for historical archaeology and studies of consumption. The relative excellence of glass and ceramics sherds has proven to be a useful complement to traditional analyses of function, fabric and decoration when studying consumer choice at the household level. But does this approach suit the archaeological study of personal goods? Are the challenges of artifact preservation and assemblage diversification too great?...
Measuring the quality of personal goods: challenges and opportunities for the archaeology of consumption (2015)
The practice of the systematic indexation of quality in 19th-century mass-produced goods offers a new approach for historical archaeology and studies of consumption. This paper will discuss current efforts to expand the systematic measurement of quality of archaeological goods from ceramic and glass to personal goods, specifically footwear and and pressed-metal ornaments (including buckles, buttons and brooches) known as the ‘Birmingham wares’. This has the potential to address another important...
The promotion of personal and domestic goods in 19th-century trade catalogues: similarities and differences (2015)
Nineteenth-century trade and store catalogues are an invaluable source of data about material and consumer cultures. They record in fine detail, small font and recurring lithographs millions of products offered sale to customers around the corner and across the globe. Their utility in historical archaeology has long been acknowledged but rarely exploited. This paper will report on the creation of a dataset of 55,000 items sourced from illustrated catalogues and price lists of major Australian,...