Searching the Past, but Finding Our Own Times: Germanna Archaeology Finding Its Way to Activism?

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Archaeology, Activism, and Protest", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Germanna, as a set of sites in Orange County, Virginia, has seen archaeology since the late 1960s. The goals have changed over time. Interest in the site of Alexander Spotswood’s 1720 home (which came to be known as “the Enchanted Caste”) prompted initial archaeological research. Over the course of 50 years, approaches to the site have changed as have the research questions posed by archaeologists. The Germanna Archaeology project restarted excavations at Germanna sites in 2016. Today, we view our project as public archaeology being done in a State and local environment of a contested past, in the form of the educational “culture wars.” In daily practice, the project finds itself in activism. Routine finds mark interconnected communities, including those who’ve been marginalized and pressured by “erasure” – enslaved Africans, African-Americans, and Indigenous peoples. Activism has changed archaeology over the last 30-40 years. What’s archaeology do now?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Archaeology, Activism, and Protest

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow