Assumptions and Assemblages: Variation in Material Consumption across the Rural–Urban Divide

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the home site of Louisa McWorter, an African-American widow and landowner who resided in the town of New Philadelphia, Illinois in the mid-nineteenth century. Archaeological and historical evidence demonstrates that McWorter achieved economic success in agriculture, which enabled her to support a large family, grow her landholdings, and fully participate in the local market economy. Excavations at the McWorter home site yielded an assemblage that closely resembles the assemblages of European-American households at New Philadelphia while contrasting with patterns of consumption observed at African-American sites in more urban areas. These comparisons suggest that the consumption choices of McWorter and her European-American neighbors were shaped by similar economic and social stresses that differed from those faced by African Americans in larger cities. This study demonstrates that the life experiences and consumption constraints of demographically similar but geographically disparate groups should not be assumed to be equivalent.