A Note from the SAA Publications Committee on a Selection of SAA Publications on Race, Inequality, and Decolonization
June 2020
The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black people by police have drawn attention to institutional racism and the effects of long-term discrimination against Black people. Like many academic communities, archaeology has a racism problem. The SAA Publications Committee echoes the statement from the SAA Board and the statement from SAA Editors and stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and other organizations fighting racism and systemic discrimination in the United States and globally. In responding to the SAA Board’s call to “stop, listen, and evaluate how we can each contribute to breaking down inequality,” the SAA Publications Committee has collected a selection of SAA publications and made them free to read to support archaeologists’ understanding more about racism. We also recommend the reading list “Archaeology of Racism” prepared by Professor April Beisaw. We also encourage you to visit the Society of Black Archaeologists website for additional information and events. We recognize that while reading to improve understanding is important, specific anti-racist actions are necessary. We encourage SAA members to share their ideas for actions to support and increase representation of Black archaeologists directly with the SAA Board to advance the Society’s actions on this topic.
In the list below, we highlight a selection of items from the SAA Archaeological Record, Advances in Archaeological Practice, American Antiquity, and Latin American Antiquity that can be read for free through the end of the year. Each editor will provide a relevant editorial in the next issue of their journal.
The SAA Archaeological Record is a full-color magazine encompassing SAA business, commentary, news, regular columns, opinions, and articles. The May 2010 issue was a special issue on race and racism titled “Working Together on Race and Racialism in American Archaeology,” and includes the following:
Dongoske, Kurt, and Larry Zimmerman. 2010. Editors’ Introduction. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):3.
Zimmerman, Larry. 2010. Deconstructing Roger Echo-Hawk (Sort of). SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):4–5.
Echo-Hawk, Roger. 2010. Working Together on Race. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):6–9.
Mullins, Paul R. 2010. Archaeologies of Invisibility and Neo-Racism. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):10–11.
McDavid, Carol. 2010. Race Is Not a Lie—Not Yet. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):12–13.
Yellowhorn, Eldon. 2010. Working Together on Race: The View from Canada. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):14–15.
Kakaliouras, Ann M. 2010. Race Is . . . Only as Race Does: Essentialism and Ethnicity in (Bio)Archaeology and Skeletal Biology. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):16–20.
Echo-Hawk, Roger (2010) Merciless Greetings, Wicked Servants of the Age of Archaeoracialism. SAA Archaeological Record 10(3):21–25.
Also in 2010, the SAA Archaeological Record had an issue on “Conflict Archaeology” that includes this article on race riots (full text freely available on the SAA website):
González-Tennant, Edward. 2010. Community Centered Praxis in Conflict Archaeology: Creating an Archaeology of Redress with the 1923 Race Riot in Rosewood, Florida. SAA Archaeological Record 10(4):46–49.
Additional relevant SAA Archaeological Record contents includes:
Agbe-Davies, Anna S. 2002. Black Scholars, Black Pasts. SAA Archaeological Record 2(4):24–28.
Baumann, Timothy. 2004. Defining Ethnicity. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):12–14.
Baumann, Timothy. 2004. African American Ethnicity. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):16–20.
Brandon, Jamie. 2007. An Introduction to “The Recent Past”: A New Historical Archaeology Column. SAA Archaeological Record 7(5):3–4.
Britt, Kelly M., and Christine Chen. 2005. The (Re-)Birth of a Nation: Urban Archaeology, Ethics, and the Heritage Tourism Industry. SAA Archaeological Record 5(3):26–28.
Castagna, JoAnne, and Lattissua Tyler. 2004. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts Partner on African Burial Ground Research. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):29–32.
Cuddy, Thomas W. 2005. African American Archaeology in Annapolis. SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):6–10.
Davidson, James M., and Edward González-Tennant. 2008. A Potential Archaeology of Rosewood, Florida: The Process of Remembering a Community and a Tragedy. SAA Archaeological Record 8(1):13–16.
Dixon, Kelly J. 2007. When Fancy Gets the Upper Hand of Fact: Historical Archaeology and Popular Culture in the American West. SAA Archaeological Record 7(3):19–25.
Dongoske, Kurt. 2004. Note from Associate Editor. SAA Archaeological Record 4(3):28.
Farrell, Mary M., and Jeffery F. Burton. 2004. Civil Rights and Moral Wrongs: World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites. SAA Archaeological Record 4(5):28.
Fennell, Christopher C. 2008. Excavating Strata of Memory and Forgetting. SAA Archaeological Record 8(1):17–21.
Gifford-Gonzalez, Diane, and Anna S. Agbe-Davies. 2012. The SAA’s Historically Underrepresented Groups Scholarships Fund: A New Opportunity and Challenge. SAA Archaeological Record 12(5):11–16.
Hayes, Katherine H. 2008. Memory’s Materiality. SAA Archaeological Record 8(1):22–25.
Jones, Alexandra. 2011. Archaeology and My Mission to Empower the Youth of My Community. SAA Archaeological Record 11(2):30–31.
LaRoche, Cheryl Janifer. 2005. Heritage, Archaeology, and African American History. SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):34–37.
Little, Barbara, and Paul Shackel. 2005. Preface to Special Section: The Public Meaning of Archaeological Heritage. SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):18.
Marcoux, Jon Bernard. 2020. Introduction: the Role of Archaeology in Telling Charleston’s Complex History. SAA Archaeological Record 20(3):19–21.
Martin,Debra, and Anna Osterholtz. 2012. A Bioarchaeology of Captivity, Slavery, Bondage, and Torture. SAA Archaeological Record 12(3):32–34.
Moss, Madonna L., Miriam T. Stark, Christopher D. Dore, Sarah H. Schlanger, Emily McClung de Tapia, and Joe E. Watkins. 2006. Announcement: Diversity and the Society for American Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 6(3):60.
Mullins, Paul R. 2004. The Invisible Landscape: An Archaeology of Urban Renewal and the Color Line. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):25–28.
Nicholas, George. 2004. What Do I Really Want from a Relationship with Native Americans? SAA Archaeological Record 4(3):29–33.
Norder, John, and Uzma Z. Rizvi. 2008. Reassessing the Present for an Archaeology of the Future: Equity, Diversity, and Change. SAA Archaeological Record 8(4):12–14.
Platt, Sarah E., and Ronald W. Anthony. 2020. Old Sites, New Questions: Returning to the Heyward-Washington House Legacy Collections. SAA Archaeological Record 20(3):31–35.
Praetzellis, Adrian. 2004. Using Ethnicity in Urban Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):21–24.
Pykles, Benjamin C. 2011. A New Archaeology in the New Deal: the Rise of Historical Archaeology in the 1930s. SAA Archaeological Record 11(3):38–41.
Rothschild, Nan A., and Diana diZerega Wall. 2004. The Seneca Village Project: Studying a 19th-Century African American Community in Contemporary New York City. SAA Archaeological Record 4(4):33–35.
Sampeck, Kathryn E. 2011. Understanding Identity: Archaeological Insights from Colonial and Post-Colonial North America and the Caribbean. SAA Archaeological Record 11(4):38–42.
Sattes, Corey A. H., and Sarah E. Platt. 2020. Rouletted Colonoware: African-Style Pottery in Charleston, South Carolina. SAA Archaeological Record 20(3):36–39.
Shackel, Paul A. 2005. Local Identity, National Memory, and Heritage Tourism: Creating a Sense of Place with Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 5(3):33–35.
Shackel, Paul A. 2005. Memory, Civic Engagement, and the Public Meaning of Archaeological Heritage. SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):24–37.
Silliman, Stephen W. 2006. Collaborating on Collaboration: Results of the 2005 Amerind Seminar on Indigenous Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 6(2):38–39.
Therrien, Monika. 2003. Subtle Differences, Refined Discrimination: Lifestyles in Confrontation in Colombian Historical Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 3(4):33–36.
Uunila, Kirsti. 2005. Using the Past in Calvert County, Maryland: Archaeology as a Tool for Building Community. SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):38–40.
Uunila, Kirsti. 2006. Cultural Resources Review in Calvert County, Maryland. SAA Archaeological Record 6(4):24–26.
Zierden, Martha A., Carla S. Hadden, Sarah E. Platt, Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman, Laurie J. Reitsema, Elizabeth J. Reitz, Hayden R. Smith, and Grant Snitker. 2020. Exploring the Cattle Economy of Colonial South Carolina. SAA Archaeological Record 20(3):40–43.
Articles in SAA Journals
Click on the journal name to access the web page where these articles can be viewed for free.
Advances in Archaeological Practice is a digital peer-reviewed journal devoted to sharing creative solutions to challenges in the practice of archaeology:
Acabado, S., M. Martin, and F. Datar. 2017. Ifugao Archaeology: Collaborative and Indigenous Archaeology in the Northern Philippines. Advances in Archaeological Practice 5:1–11. doi:10.1017/aap.2016.7.
Bernstein, B., and S. G. Ortman. 2020. From Collaboration to Partnership at Pojoaque, New Mexico. Advances in Archaeological Practice 8:95–110. doi:10.1017/aap.2020.3.
Colwell, C., and T. Ferguson. 2014. The Snow-Capped Mountain and the Uranium Mine: Zuni Heritage and the Landscape Scale in Cultural Resource Management. Advances in Archaeological Practice 2:234–251. doi:10.7183/2326-3768.2.4.234.
Goff, S., B. Chapoose, E. Cook, and S. Voirol. 2019. Collaborating Beyond Collections: Engaging Tribes in Museum Exhibits. Advances in Archaeological Practice 7:224–233. doi:10.1017/aap.2019.11.
Overholtzer, L. 2015. The Field Crew Symposium: A Model for Initial Implementation of a Collaborative Archaeology Project. Advances in Archaeological Practice 3:50-62. doi:10.7183/2326-3768.3.1.50.
Thiaw, I., and G. Wait. 2018. Presenting Archaeology and Heritage at a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Gorée Island, Senegal. Advances in Archaeological Practice 6:238–247. doi:10.1017/aap.2018.19.
Whittington, S. 2017. Colonial Archives or Archival Colonialism? Documents Housed Outside of Mexico Are Inspiring Archaeological Research In Oaxaca. Advances in Archaeological Practice 5:265–279. doi:10.1017/aap.2017.12.
American Antiquity is the flagship peer-reviewed journal of American archaeology:
Heath-Stout, L. 2020. Who Writes about Archaeology? An Intersectional Study of Authorship in Archaeological Journals. American Antiquity 85, in press. doi:10.1017/aaq.2020.28.
McNiven, I. (2016) Theoretical Challenges of Indigenous Archaeology: Setting an Agenda. American Antiquity 81:27–41. doi:10.7183/0002-7316.81.1.27.
Owsley, D., and R. Jantz. 2001. Archaeological Politics and Public Interest in Paleoamerican Studies: Lessons from Gordon Creek Woman and Kennewick Man. American Antiquity 66:565-575. doi:10.2307/2694173.
Wilcox, M. 2010. Saving Indigenous Peoples from Ourselves: Separate but Equal Archaeology Is Not Scientific Archaeology. American Antiquity 75:221–227.
Latin American Antiquity focuses on archaeological research in Latin America and South America:
Rodríguez-Alegría, E., H. Neff, and M. Glascock. 2003. Indigenous Ware or Spanish Import? The Case of Indígena Ware and Approaches to Power in Colonial Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 14:67–81. doi:10.2307/972236.
Tavares, R., C. Rodrigues-Carvalho, and A. Lessa. 2020. Da alfândega ao Valongo: A entrada dos cativos africanos no Rio de Janeiro no século dezenove sob uma nova perspectiva historiográfica. Latin American Antiquity 31, in press. doi:10.1017/laq.2020.23.
Book Reviews in SAA journals
Agbe-Davies, A. 2009. The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America. Charles E. Orser Jr. 2007. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, xv+213 pp. $25.00 (paper), ISBN-13 978-0-8130-3143-9. American Antiquity 74:577–578. doi:10.1017/S0002731600048848.
Bray, T. 2001. Riddle of the Bones: Politics, Science, Race, and the Story of Kennewick Man. Roger Downey, 2000. Springer-Verlag, New York, xi 202 pp. $25.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-387-98877-7. Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity. David H. Thomas. 2000. Basic Books, New York, xxxix+326 pp. $25.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-465-09224-1. American Antiquity 66:547–549. doi:10.2307/2694263.
De Cunzo, L. 2020. The Archaeology of Race in the Northeast. Christopher N. Matthews and Allison Manfra McGovern, editors. 2015. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. xii+376 pp. $84.95 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-8130-6057-6. American Antiquity 85:194–195. doi:10.1017/aaq.2019.76.
Deagan, K. 2009. The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis: Race and Sexuality in Colonial San Francisco. Barbara L. Voss. 2008. University of California Press, Berkeley, xix+400 pp. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN-13 978-0-520-24492-4. American Antiquity 74:588–589. doi:10.1017/S0002731600048927.
Gokee, C. 2017. Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice. Peter R. Schmidt and Innocent Pikirayi, editors. 2016. Routledge, New York. 324 pp. $44.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-11-3865685-7. American Antiquity 82:618–619. doi:10.1017/aaq.2017.20.
Hantman, J. 2009. Book Review Essay—Indigenous Archaeologies: Decolonizing Theory and Practice. Claire Smith and H. Martin Wobst, editors. 2005. Routledge Press, New York, xxii 408 pp. $75.00 (cloth), ISBN-13 978-0415309653. Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States. Jordan E. Kerber, editor. 2006. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, xvi+379 pp. $75.00 (cloth), ISBN-13 978-0803278172. History Is in the Land: Multivocal Tribal Traditions in Arizona's San Pedro Valley. T. J. Ferguson and Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh. 2006. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, xx+316 pp. $60.00 (cloth), ISBN-13 978-0-8165-2449-0. American Antiquity 74:202-206. doi:10.1017/S0002731600047594.
King, J. 1996. Those of Little Note: Gender, Race and Class in Historical Archaeology. Elizabeth M. Scott, editor. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1994. xiv+215 pp., figures, tables, references, index. $45.00 (cloth); $23.95 (paper). American Antiquity 61:422–423. doi:10.2307/282438.
O’Shea, J. 2011. The Magic Children: Racial Identity at the End of the Age of Race. Roger Echo-Hawk. 2010. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California. 176 pp. $24.95 (paperback), ISBN-13 978-1-59874-575-7. American Antiquity 76:796–797. doi:10.1017/S0002731600042529.
Van Dommelen, P. 2014. Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology. Maxine Oland, Siobhan Hart, and Liam Frink, editors. 2012. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. vi+312 pp. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8165-0408-4. American Antiquity 79:580–581. doi:10.1017/S0002731600003152.