Written by three archaeologists with years of experience conducting research in the state, this highly useful volume presents an overview of the past 400 years of historic archaeology in Michigan. The authors show how the field has broadened from an early emphasis on locating colonial settlements to more inclusive, community-centered research on Indigenous histories, immigration, labor and civil rights.
Case studies underscore the role of place: two peninsulas framed by the Great Lakes, with shorelines and waterways that powered trade, conflict, resource extraction and industrial growth—and that still preserve submerged sites. The narrative begins with 17th-century French military, religious, and commercial outposts tied to New France and their relationships with Anishinaabe communities, then follows the shift to British control after 1763 and, later, to U.S. administration; Great Britain retained key Great Lakes posts into the 1790s until agreements under Jay’s Treaty took effect in 1796.
The book tracks nineteenth-century transformations driven by lumbering, mining and shipping, then turns to Detroit’s rise with auto manufacturing and migration in the early twentieth century. By 1920, Detroit ranked as the nation’s fourth-largest city, a boom that reshaped neighborhoods and workforces. Later chapters address the social tensions, inequality and disinvestment that accompanied deindustrialization, and highlight collaborative projects that link archaeology with public history.
With plentiful illustrations and a strong scholarly apparatus—tables, notes, references and an index—this volume will be most useful to readers seeking a research-based overview of Michigan’s historical archaeology and the questions it is now asking.
