Eventful Archaeology

Life among the tides : recent archaeology on the Georgia Bight : proceedings of the Sixth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 20-22, 2011.

“…However, we should not take this to mean that they were merely passive participants in an event that would eventually lead to the decimation of their lifeways and of their very existence. Quite the contrary, we argue that by viewing the subject of culture contact through the theoretical lens outlined here and derived from Beck et al (2007), we are better able to understand and begin to address the varied ways that multiple groups and individuals experienced such events. The event outlined in this chapter can actually be looked at from multiple points of view, from groups that negotiated the events in varied ways, such as Guale living under the mission system, Guale choosing to move about the landscape, Spaniards who resided at the missions, and stakeholders who remained in Spain.…”

“…We argue that the Beck et al (2007) application of Sewell's reformulation of agency into cultural resources and cultural schemas provides the necessary framework to explore some of the more nuanced aspects of the changes we observe on the coast of Georgia.…”

“…Recent work by Beck et al (2007) and Blanton and Fargher (2008) attempts to mediate many of the problems associated with previous applications of agency theory by drawing on the work of Sewell. Sewell's (1992) refinement of agency and structure, as well as his notion that events are also sources of structural change, has implications for both method and theory in the historical archaeology of colonial encounters.…”

“…Human resources include "strength, dexterity, knowledge, and emotional commitments," and the like, while nonhuman resources are "objects, animate or inanimate, naturally occurring or manufactured, that can be used to enhance or maintain power" (Sewell, 2005: 133). Sewell's (2005: 100, 218) notion of the "event" provides the final theoretical piece that bridges historical thinking with social science concepts (Beck et al, 2007: 833; see also Bolender, 2010). As Beck et al (2007: 833) explain, an "event is defined as a happening or encounter that transforms the articulation of social structures" and events are the "catalysts for durable structural change."…”

“…The entanglement of Spanish colonists and Native Americans in La Florida was shaped both by long-term structures (i.e., cultural schemas) and short-term structures (i.e., resources). Changes in native and colonial cultural schemas, and changes in resources available to native people and colonists in the Georgia Bight, led to ruptures and structural transformations that are amenable to the kinds of analysis and interpretation outlined by Sewell (2005) and Beck et al (2007).…”