Exercising Freedoms: Historical Archaeology of the African Diaspora in Latin America

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Exercising Freedoms: Historical Archaeology of the African Diaspora in Latin America" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Historical archaeology in Latin America is in the midst of a reassessment of African descendant presences, modes of life, and experiences. In this session contributors offer case studies of African diaspora populations living under diverse degrees of control or dependency, ranging from enslavement under direct Royal control to majority African descendant populations engaged in self organization. Incorporating experiences sometimes described as "maroonage" and in other sources as societies of “Free Blacks", and exploring the degrees of autonomy available to enslaved people under Spanish law and variable colonial conditions, papers in this session illustrate the diversity of experiences within African Diaspora populations in Latin America. Participants encourage archaeologists to reconsider the intertwined histories of African descendant and other subaltern groups, such as indigenous peoples. The session emphasizes the continuing connections between these histories and descendant populations today, who are often excluded from heritage discussions under national policies, and considers ways to connect archaeological research with contemporary people.