Cultural interaction and African American identity in plantation archaeology

Culture contact theory was infused into archaeological studies of slavery because of a research interest in understanding the formation of African American identity. Failing to recognize plantation slavery as a special type of contact situation, however, those efforts either relied upon concepts and models derived from the study of European-Native American contact or overlooked relations of power and domination in the interpretations. This essay briefly reviews ways that archaeologists have examined cultural interaction and change in archaeological studies of plantation slavery. It also builds upon current approaches to this study that can enhance our understanding of African American identity within plantation contexts.