The Use of Oral and Documentary Sources in Historical Archaeology: Ethnohistory at the Mott Farm

Abstract

As it is usually defined, the field of study known as "ethnoarchaeology" suffers from an unnecessary restriction to non-industrial societies. In order to lend support to the contention that archaeology as a discipline should include all ethnographic research concerned with material culture, regardless of the field situation, a project in the oral history of material culture is described. It is argued that when combined with participant-observation, documentary research, and excavation, the collection of oral history can contribute positively to analyses of change and continuity in the patterning of material environments. The potential of this approach is seen to be especially great in the historical archaeology of Anglo-American society.