Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

"The Materiality of Race: Recent Trends in African Diaspora Archaeology"

In the early years of African American Archaeology, the focus was on large themes such as poverty, ethnicity, and social inequality. The archaeology was fixed on everything about the plantation. The landscapes, the architecture, the gardens, and the quartering areas.
The early emphasis on slavery often overshadowed the ability for African Diaspora archaeologists to reach contemporary communities or address contemporary issues. Today, there has been a shift toward a more inclusive archaeology of the African Diaspora, one that pushes beyond safe academic boundaries, takes into account the politics of the construction of a diasporic identity, and engaging the needs and voices of descendant and interested stakeholders. This paper will briefly look at some aspects of this journey and the promise of future trends.

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