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Labor Archaeology

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Introduction

The rise of industry transformed labor and impacted landscapes, gender roles, and living conditions. Today, in most of the Americas and across Europe, the evidence of these industrial signatures is found in the form of rusting factories, abandoned buildings, deserted mines, scarred landscapes, and decaying cities and towns. These are all reminders of an economy that was once dominated by industrial capitalism for more than a century. While most of the factory production has moved to Asia, many communities in the Americas and in Europe debate about how to use and interpret these abandoned industrial properties. Archaeologists are involved in documenting the industrial past, and this work ranges from recording the engineering and technological feats to studying labor and working-class conditions.

Definition

Labor archaeology is about examining issues of power, resistance, and the affects of industrialization from the perspective of the laboring classes.

Historical Background

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Paul A. Shackel

Authors
  1. Paul A. Shackel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul A. Shackel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Shackel, P.A. (2014). Labor Archaeology. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1618

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1618

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2

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