Through a wide range of case studies, this volume surveys Massachusetts’ history from the 17th century to the present, examining Indigenous-European encounters, slavery and its aftermath, industrialization, consumer culture, and major conflicts from the Pequot War to the Revolutionary War. It begins with the state’s natural setting and the ways geography shaped its history, then moves through themes such as cultural entanglement, gentility, enslavement and freedom, Black identity, labor, community, and social justice.
The volume also traces the development of historical archaeology in the commonwealth and highlights the field’s shift toward collaborative, community-based practice, incorporating perspectives from Indigenous people, immigrant groups, and descendant communities long excluded from dominant narratives. The featured sites span the state and draw on avocational, academic, cultural resource management, and public archaeology. With a substantial bibliography, a useful index, and black-and-white images of sites, features, and artifacts, this is a valuable addition to the literature of historical archaeology.
