*SE The State of Theory in Southeastern Archaeology

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "*SE The State of Theory in Southeastern Archaeology" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The US Southeast is known for its robust methodology and interpretation of sites (Paleo-Indigenous through the twentieth century) generated in part from the diversity of work conducted by the Works Progress Administration. Yet, it is less known for its creation of theory. Southeastern archaeology focused on applying concepts of culture history and modeling human behavior while adapting theories from other regions (e.g., processual, postprocessual, agency, political economy). This session examines the current state of theory in the Southeast across all time periods and includes economic, political, and social understandings of human culture grounded in methodology with applications cross-culturally. In addition, participants reflect on how the interpretation of archaeological data from the Southeast impacts contemporary social issues like climate change, social justice, and the production of knowledge. The goal of this session is to recognize the diversity of theoretical approaches being developed in the region and to examine the value Southeast archaeology brings to understanding how persons engage with social, environmental, and political change over time. Participants will engage with different time periods, subregions, and methodologies to demonstrate the contributions of the Southeast to archaeological and anthropological theory.