Beyond and Between the Plantation; The Archaeology of "Everything But" in the American Southeast

Much of the focus of American southeastern historical archaeology has been upon plantation life and the plantation system, with the experience of life in urban centers or other institutions often discounted as anomalous in an otherwise agricultural region. Increasingly, scholars have highlighted the critical blind spot this generates in grasping the social, political, and economic networks in the region. This is particularly salient for archaeological studies of urban spaces such as Charleston, Savannah, and others as well as related satellite institutions, which remain understudied despite the dynamism and importance of life beyond and between plantation landscapes. The papers here are intended to complicate the picture of the agricultural southeast and blur boundaries between town and countryside. Topics could include religious and military institutions, urban spaces and places, and the plantation through the lens of its relationship to other cultural forms in the region.