Lay of the Land

The emergence of Historical archaeology

much of this issue of American Archaeology is devoted to stories about the relatively new discipline of historical archaeology. We report on research in French Québec, the Santa Fe Trail and El Camino Real, and the French and Indian War forts of the English colonies. Unlike traditional archaeology, historical archaeology is concerned with projects that date to the time of writing and have been written about. Its practitioners combine research in archives and libraries with standard excavation techniques at archaeological sites to present a clearer picture of what actually transpired. History, archaeology, geology, and folklore all inform these investigations.

Historical archaeology in the United States evolved into a formal discipline in the 1960s with the formation of the Society for Historical Archaeology and the publication of its scholarly journal. In the succeeding 50 years, it has blossomed into a vibrant branch of learning with innumerable projects spread across North America.

Preserving historical sites is an important goal of The Archaeological Conservancy. We are hard at work on early French, Spanish, and English settlements as well as later American ones. We are preserving sites on the Santa Fe Trail and El Camino Real. We are acquiring French and Indian War forts in the East. The old notion that archaeology is concerned only with ancient times is fading as historical archaeologists expand our knowledge of North America’s recent past.

Mark Michel, President