Description
Book SynopsisThis overview of Australian post-contact history uses material objects such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes. The book offers broad geographic and temporal coverage, and social themes such as gender, status, ethnicity and identity inform every chapter.
Trade ReviewFrom the reviews:
“An Archaeology of Australia since 1788 succeeds in presenting the broad-range of Australian historical archaeology and its contribution to understanding Australia’s past. The authors are to be congratulated in undertaking such a task and setting the scene for the next decade of growth in the field. This is a work that all serious historical archaeologists need, especially those formulating research designs for projects whether they be salvage archaeology or research archaeology.” (Iain Stuart, Australian Archaeology, Issue 72, June, 2011)
“The narrative writing style is accessible for most audiences as they need not be well-versed in Australian archaeology to benefit from this book. … is devoted to well-researched and influential themes of Australian archaeology and comprises figures, tables and numerous intriguing discussions that will precipitate and entice future research. The book was written to ‘present an overview of the material evidence … of Australian post contact history and the conclusions reached by historical archaeology’ (p2) and with much enthusiasm the authors have achieved this aim.” (Melissa Dunk, Eras Journal, November, 2011)
This volume amply demonstrates that it is far too soon to talk of a single archaeology of the modern world...The Lawrence and Davis volume is the first book-length overview of Australian historical archaeology since Graham Connah's The Archaeology of Australia's History was published in 1988. The significant methodological and theoretical changes to this field over the last quarter of a century mean that a new overview of historical archaeology in Australia is long overdue...The comprehensive range of case studies, which are often explicitly and implicitly tied to research outside of Australia, is one of this volume's real strengths...Another strength of the volume lies in bringing this research to a broader audience. Lawrence and Davies are also generally excellent in explaining not just where some topics might be ripe for expansion, but also why they may have been under-studied in the past...It fully deserves to find a wide international audience, both as a quick reference to broad themes and as the definitive detailed guide to specific topics from Australian research. (Alasdair Brooks, Post-Medieval Archaeology, 46, 2, 2012)
Table of Contents1. Introduction
2..Convict origins
3. Aboriginal dispossession and survival
4. Shipwrecks and maritime trade
5. Whaling, sealing and maritime industries
6. Pastoralism and agriculture
7. Gold rushes and precious metals
8. Manufacturing and processing
9. Migration and Ethnicity
10. An urbanised nation
11. Australians at Home
12. Death
13. The Twentieth Century and Beyond
