Overview

Americans have long identified themselves with material goods. In this study, Paul Mullins sifts through this continent's historical archaeological record to trace the evolution of North American consumer culture. He explores the social and economic dynamics that have shaped American capitalism from the rise of mass production techniques of the eighteenth century to the unparalleled dominance of twentieth-century mass consumer culture. The last half-millennium has witnessed profound change in the face of a worldwide consumer revolution that has transformed labour relations, marketing, and household materialism. This pathbreaking research into consumption examines the concrete evidence of the transformation in individual households, across lines of difference, and over time. Mullins builds a case for how interdisciplinary scholarship and archaeology together provide a foundation for a rigourous, sophisticated, and challenging vision of consumption. Given that the material culture so often encountered by historical archaeologists speaks to the consumption patterns of past peoples, it is an essential and overdue addition to the historical archaeologist's canon.

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9780813044163

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Reviews

Matthews has offered a bold new interpretation of the archaeology of capitalism. This book will take historical archaeology in exciting new directions of inquiry. --Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America

"""Matthews has offered a bold new interpretation of the archaeology of capitalism. This book will take historical archaeology in exciting new directions of inquiry.""--Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America ""Explores such topics as European-Indian relations, early colonial culture change, urbanization, and mass consumption.""--Chronicle Review ""Examines the material culture of capitalism in America and illustrates its development from the colonial to the modern eras. It is the first comparative treatment in archaeology to do so.""--American Archaeology ""Does a very good job making sense of an exceptionally complex scholarship on capitalism that is routinely invoked in historical archaeology. . . . This book is a sound primer for undergraduate and graduate students alike.""--Paul R. Mullins, author of Race and Affluence ""A scholarly and fascinating study, enhanced with useful indexes, bibliography, and much more, making a core addition to any historical or economic history collections in community and college libraries.""--Midwest Book Review"

Does a very good job making sense of an exceptionally complex scholarship on capitalism that is routinely invoked in historical archaeology. . . . This book is a sound primer for undergraduate and graduate students alike. Paul R. Mullins, author of Race and Affluence

Explores such topics as European-Indian relations, early colonial culture change, urbanization, and mass consumption. Chronicle Review

Author Information

Paul R. Mullins, professor of anthropology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is the author of Race and Affluence: An Archaeology of African America and Consumer Culture and Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut.

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