The Archaeology of Contemporary America

An introduction to the field of contemporary archaeology as practiced in the United States

This book is the first survey of contemporary archaeology, a field that focuses on the study of the past 50 years, in the United States. William Caraher demonstrates the plurality of theoretical and methodological approaches that make this discipline in the US unique, including the application of anthropological methods such as ethnography and oral history and the contributions of collaborative and community-based research.

Opening with a case study of the excavation of Atari games from a municipal landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, Caraher invites readers into discussions of the archaeology of garbage, consumer objects, and digital music and video devices. He then synthesizes research on migrant camps, homelessness, military bases, residential school campuses, and urbanism, and offers a second case study: an examination of temporary workforce housing in North Dakota’s Bakken oil boom.

The Archaeology of Contemporary America explores how American historical archaeology, with its emphasis on consumer culture, race, and social class, provided a foundation for early efforts to apply archaeology to the contemporary world. Caraher also situates US contemporary archaeology in a global context that traces networks of extractive industries, manufacturing, and discard practices that make the American experience possible.

William R. Caraher, associate professor of history at the University of North Dakota, is coauthor of The Bakken: An Archaeology of an Industrial Landscape.