Unburied Lives: The Historical Archaeology of Buffalo Soldiers, Fort Davis, Texas, 1869–1875. Laurie A. Wilkie. 2021. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. xxiii + 274 pp. $65.00 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-8263-6299-5. $65.00 (e-book), ISBN 978-0-8263-6300-8.

Abstract

Laurie A. Wilkie ’ s Unburied Lives is a fascinating and welcome addition to the literature. Although it focuses on a specific group, place, and time — the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas, in the early 1870s — the book offers insights for other archaeologists investigating those whose lives are unrecorded or suppressed in our histories. “ Buffalo Soldiers ” is a nickname given to African Americans who served in all-Black Army units created after the US Civil War. Among these units was the 25th Infantry, the people at the heart of Unburied Lives .