North American Archaeology. Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology. (Electronic book text)

Lacking the grand-scale, pre-Columbian alterations to landscapes brought about by the repeated rise and fall of states and empires, the focus of North American archaeologists has been on native foragers and villagers. Since the quincentennial of Columbus's voyage, North America has also become a hotbed for studies of culture contact, transculturation, and ethnogenesis. These recent developments have reshaped North American archaeology - bridging the divide between history and prehistory and between the practices of everyday life and global cultural change. North American Archaeology offers readers a rich and informative text organized around central topics and debates within the discipline that are illustrated by case studies from different regions and time periods. Based on the lives of real people and the historical changes that they experienced in the past, these case studies emphasize human agency, cultural practice, the body, issues of inequality, and the politics of archaeological practice. By highlighting current understandings of cultural and historical processes in North America and situating these understandings within a global perspective, this volume will inspire not only students and scholars of North American archaeology but will undoubtedly spark the imaginations of the many individuals interested in the rich history and cultures of North American peoples.