Historical Archaeology in Detroit: Sixty Years and Counting

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Research, Interpretation, and Engagement in Post-Contact Archaeology of the Great Lakes Region" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This presentation recounts the origins of historical archaeology as both a profession and a practice based on the work of the first generation of urban archaeologists in Detroit. Last year, 2020, marked the 60th anniversary of the first professional historical archaeology excavation in Detroit, led by Dr. Arnold Pilling at the Michigan Consolidated Gas Company site. Drawing from field notes, photographs, and unpublished reports and collections housed in Wayne State University’s Grosscup Museum of Anthropology, I first trace the evolution of historical archaeology in Detroit. I then reflect upon how Detroit-based historical archaeologists contributed to shaping the then-emergent discipline of historical archaeology through their application of particular methods to project designs (e.g., survey, excavation, oral history, archival research), integration of archaeology into construction projects, work with the communities whose histories were represented in recovered remains, and involvement in the founding of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Research, Interpretation, and Engagement in Post-Contact Archaeology of the Great Lakes Region   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology