Abstract
The application of Marxist theory in American historical archaeology has expanded greatly over the past 20 years. More than just a theoretical tool, the rise of Marxism reflects an emerging consciousness within historical archaeology that its subject matter is capitalism, an interest obviously shared with Marx himself. We propose, however, that historical archaeology has proceeded to study the emergence of the modern culture of capitalism without engaging Marx's critique of the political economy of cultural production in any direct way. Instead, much of historical archaeology reifies past cultural formations in place of maintaining a focus on the dialectical social processes through which those formations emerged. We illustrate how a Marxist approach to cultural production improves the foundational historical archaeologies of the colonial American state and African-American ethnogenesis and is the basis for archaeologically-based critiques of dominant American society.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 109-134 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Journal of Social Archaeology |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2002 |
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Keywords
- African America
- Marxism
- Maryland
- archaeology
- critical archaeology
- critique
- ethnogenesis
- historical
- hoodoo
- lifeworld
- state
Cite this
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The political economy of archaeological cultures : Marxism and American historical archaeology. / Matthews, Christopher; Leone, Mark P.; Jordan, Kurt A.
In: Journal of Social Archaeology, Vol. 2, No. 1, 01.01.2002, p. 109-134.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The political economy of archaeological cultures
T2 - Marxism and American historical archaeology
AU - Matthews, Christopher
AU - Leone, Mark P.
AU - Jordan, Kurt A.
PY - 2002/1/1
Y1 - 2002/1/1
N2 - The application of Marxist theory in American historical archaeology has expanded greatly over the past 20 years. More than just a theoretical tool, the rise of Marxism reflects an emerging consciousness within historical archaeology that its subject matter is capitalism, an interest obviously shared with Marx himself. We propose, however, that historical archaeology has proceeded to study the emergence of the modern culture of capitalism without engaging Marx's critique of the political economy of cultural production in any direct way. Instead, much of historical archaeology reifies past cultural formations in place of maintaining a focus on the dialectical social processes through which those formations emerged. We illustrate how a Marxist approach to cultural production improves the foundational historical archaeologies of the colonial American state and African-American ethnogenesis and is the basis for archaeologically-based critiques of dominant American society.
AB - The application of Marxist theory in American historical archaeology has expanded greatly over the past 20 years. More than just a theoretical tool, the rise of Marxism reflects an emerging consciousness within historical archaeology that its subject matter is capitalism, an interest obviously shared with Marx himself. We propose, however, that historical archaeology has proceeded to study the emergence of the modern culture of capitalism without engaging Marx's critique of the political economy of cultural production in any direct way. Instead, much of historical archaeology reifies past cultural formations in place of maintaining a focus on the dialectical social processes through which those formations emerged. We illustrate how a Marxist approach to cultural production improves the foundational historical archaeologies of the colonial American state and African-American ethnogenesis and is the basis for archaeologically-based critiques of dominant American society.
KW - African America
KW - Marxism
KW - Maryland
KW - archaeology
KW - critical archaeology
KW - critique
KW - ethnogenesis
KW - historical
KW - hoodoo
KW - lifeworld
KW - state
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84992828497&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1469605302002001599
DO - 10.1177/1469605302002001599
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84992828497
VL - 2
SP - 109
EP - 134
JO - Journal of Social Archaeology
JF - Journal of Social Archaeology
SN - 1469-6053
IS - 1
ER -