Publications

Archaeology, at its best, renders communities that are under-represented in traditional historical narratives discernible. Such communities in New York include those of enslaved, formerly enslaved, and free African American people. The Introduction to this NYSAA Bulletin explores the two research themes pursued by five of the authors who presented papers at the October 1, 2022, NYAC Fall Symposium entitled “Exploring African American Contexts in New York Archaeology.” Weed and Merwin summarize the papers while focusing on the research themes of site types and culturally-defined objects that were pursued by the presenters. Weed and Merwin concluded that the papers in the volume, along with others presented at the October 2022 NYAC meeting, represent a significant contribution to our understanding of African American archaeological sites in New York State, especially those outside of urban centers.