An Archaeology of (Un)Capital: Hobos, The Great Depression, and a Small Pennsylvania Slate Quarrying Town Called Delta

Summary

Capitalism has always relied on the exploitation of temporary, underpaid laborers. This fact of Capital has never been more clear than during the Great Depression. When faced with joblessness and the loss of their homes, countless persons took to the rails in search of work. These persons found short-term homes in camps near labor centers across the country. Drawing on archaeological, archival, and ethnographic data on a transient laborer camp near Delta, Pennsylvania, we explore the potential for an archaeology of the Un-capital—the places where capital did not flow; the peoples who were either exiled by, or self-extracted from it. We ask two questions: what can we add to the archaeological critique of capital by exploring the material history of those who live largely without access to it? And, what strategies do such peoples employ in order to persist when so neglected by capital? 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Left Of Capitalism: Archaeology, Homelessness, and the People's Critique

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 607