Corner stores and bottles : African-American consumption in Indianapolis

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Authors
Rosenberg, Seth Andrew
Advisor
Cochran, Donald R. (Donald Ray)
Issue Date
2008
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (M.A.)
Department
Department of Anthropology
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The majority of African Diaspora archaeology has focused on slavery and plantation contexts, particularly in the American South. Recently, some historical archaeologists have conducted research on the African American, postbellum experience in various settings and geographical locations. A few archaeologists have argued that race and racism were at the heart of American social structure in the antebellum and postbellum world alike. Expanding on current research, this paper compares the glass bottle assemblages from two sites from Indianapolis, Indiana's near-Westside to examine the ways in which race and racism impacted everyday consumption in an early to mid-twentieth century, Midwestern city. These two sites, a residence and a corner store within the same neighborhood, offer a unique archaeological opportunity to study how the relationship between race and consumption is affected by marketing and distribution.

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