Archaeology of the Homed and the Unhomed (eBook)

The first comprehensive discussion of the historicalarchaeology of homelessnessIn atime when the idea of home has become central to living the American dream, The Archaeology of the Homed and the Unhomedbrings to the forefront the concept of homelessness. The book points out thathomelessness remains underexplored in historical archaeology, a fact which mayreflect societal biases and marginalization, and it provides the fields firstcomprehensive discussion of the subject.DanielSayers argues that the unhomed and the home have been inherently interconnectedin the real world across the past several centuries. Sayers builds a conceptualmodel that focuses on this dynamic and uses it to generate new insights intopreCivil War communitiesof Maroons and Indigenous Americans, Great Depressionera hobocommunities, and Midwest farmsteads. In doing so, he highlights the socialcomplexities, ambiguities, and significance of the home and the unhomed in thearchaeological record. Using a variety of data sources including documentaryrecords and material culture and drawing on extensive fieldwork, Sayersilluminates how homelessness is created, reproduced, and disparaged by thedominant culture. Thebook also emphasizes the importance of applied archaeology. Through thesestudies, Sayers contends that activist archaeologists have a roleandresponsibilityto share their knowledge to help policy makers and stakeholdersunderstand the unhomed, homelessness, and the American experience in this area.A volumein the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited byMichael S. Nassaney and Krysta Ryzewski