Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Social Identity and Inequality: A Multi-Generational Case Study of the African Diaspora

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Under the guidance of Dr. Laurie Wilkie, Annelise Morris will conduct a research project utilizing archaeological excavations, documentary and oral historical research to examine the lived experiences of free African-Americans on the Illinois frontier. Located in Lawrence County in Southeastern Illinois, this study area encompasses three rural homesteads, occupied from approximately 1827 to the present. This long occupation period offers an opportunity to study the changing economic and social realities for African-Americans from the early pioneer period, through the Civil War and Jim Crow into the 20th century. Ms. Morris will use these multiple lines of evidence to examine how lived social and economic experiences changed for African-Americans through this time period, and how this reflects changing formations of race and social identity in U.S. society. The importance of examining social identities such as race and their relationship to social inequality, throughout anthropological history, been reflected by and through studies of our own societies. Excavations will focus on recovery of materials from household activity areas, such as yard spaces, root cellars, and household interiors. The project will examine ceramic, glass, and metal materials focusing on the stylistic and economic choices being made at these sites. Additionally Ms. Morris will examine zooarchaeological remains, which are expected to reflect the changing livestock economy (from sale to sustenance), food-sharing, and dietary practices. Ms. Morris will also analyze paleoethnobotanical remains (evidence of plants and their consumption at the site) to speak further to dietary practices, and to the home medical and herbal remedies utilized by populations such as this which did not have easy access to outside medical care. This project will these archaeological materials recovered from these 19th and early 20th century farmstead sites, and compare these results with similar sites occupied by non African-American settlers. By examining difference in consumption, stylistic, dietary and other choices, Ms. Morris will explore how the realities of living in a society structured in dominance shaped rural African-American society. This study hypothesizes that by maintaining a rural, self-sufficient farming livelihood, free African-Americans were able to cope with racism through this self-sufficiency. By examining this issue in a 19th century setting, this study is not only a commentary of the formation of our own modern society, but the results can be used to think through this anthropological problem through time. This project is based heavily in community outreach and participation. Ms. Morris is a member of the descendant community, and as such has sought to evaluate and strengthen archaeological relationships with stakeholders, making the area's history and this scientific exploration relevant and accessible to the local community, focusing on incorporation of community interest and knowledge. All work at the site has been and will continue to be open and accessible to public, for visiting, exploring and volunteering. Through this, the project will bring opportunities for community volunteers, students, and teachers to experience scientific and historical research to a rural area where such opportunities are few, and will enrich interpretations of the archaeological past by creating a dialogue with those people for whom this past is still very salient.