Lost Lightnin’: Moonshine in the American Southeast in the Archaeological Record

Summary

Moonshine stills are commonly discovered during archaeological surveys and excavations across the American South, where moonshine production holds historical economic importance. Stills are recorded occasionally, but little investigative research is done because of a prevailing assumption that they offer nothing of historical significance. I seek to demonstrate that this assumption is not correct. My major objectives include establishing a chronology and typology of stills, identifying settlement patterns, and determining land use patterns associated with still locations across the Southeast. These objectives create a foundation that goes beyond the sites themselves and investigates the socioeconomic and political factors involved in the processes of moonshining. Evidence of widespread trade networks, multicultural interactions, and social identity are present in the historical and archaeological records of moonshining. My study demonstrates that a deeper investigation of moonshine still sites and distribution networks can provide a better understanding of these interactions in our past. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 844