The Archaeology of Colonialism
Intimate Encounters and Sexual Effects

Examines human sexuality as an intrinsic element in the interpretation of complex colonial societies.

Barbara L. Voss (Edited by), Eleanor Conlin Casella (Edited by)

9781107401266, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2011

368 pages, 70 b/w illus. 17 maps 5 tables
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.64 kg

'… students of archaeology, gender and sexuality will appreciate this balanced and well-researched examination of complex and multi-faceted topics.' Kiara Beaulieu, Canadian Journal of Archaeology

This volume examines human sexuality as an intrinsic element in the interpretation of complex colonial societies. While archaeological studies of the historic past have explored the dynamics of European colonialism, such work has largely ignored broader issues of sexuality, embodiment, commemoration, reproduction and sensuality. Recently, however, scholars have begun to recognize these issues as essential components of colonization and imperialism. This book explores a variety of case studies, revealing the multifaceted intersections of colonialism and sexuality. Incorporating work that ranges from Phoenician diasporic communities of the eighth century to Britain's nineteenth-century Australian penal colonies to the contemporary Maroon community of Brazil, this volume changes the way we understand the relationship between sexuality and colonial history.

1. Intimate encounters: an archaeology of sexualities within colonial worlds Eleanor Conlin Casella and Barbara L. Voss
2. Sexual effects: postcolonial and queer perspectives on the archaeology of sexuality and empire Barbara L. Voss
Part I. Pleasures and Prohibitions: 3. Little bastard felons: childhood, affect, and labour in the penal colonies of nineteenth-century Australia Eleanor Conlin Casella
4. The currency of intimacy: transformations of the domestic sphere on the late nineteenth-century diamond fields Lindsay Weiss
5. 'A concubine is still a slave': sexual relations and Omani colonial identities in nineteenth-century East Africa Sarah K. Croucher
6. The politics of reproduction: rituals and sex in Punic Eivissa Mireia López-Bertran
Part II. Engaged Bodies: 7. Fear, desire, and material strategies in colonial Louisiana Diana DiPaolo Loren
8. Death and sex: procreation in the wake of fatal epidemics within indigenous communities Kathleen L. Hull
9. Effects of empire: gendered transformations on the Orinoco frontier Kay Tarble de Scaramelli
10. In-between people in colonial Honduras: reworking sexualities at Ticamaya Russell N. Sheptak, Kira Blaisdell-Sloan and Rosemary A. Joyce
11. The scale of the intimate: imperial policies and sexual practices in San Francisco Barbara L. Voss
Part III. Commemorations: 12. Life and death in ancient colonies: domesticity, material culture, and sexual politics in the western Phoenician world, 8th–6th century BC Ana Delgado and Meritxell Ferrer
13. Reading gladiators' epitaphs and rethinking violence and masculinity in the Roman Empire Renata S. Garraffoni
14. Monuments and sexual politics in New England Indian country Patricia E. Rubertone
15. Gender relations in a Maroon community, Palmares, Brazil Pedro Paulo A. Funari and Aline Vieira de Carvalho
Part IV. Showing and Telling: 16. Sexualizing space: the colonial leer and the genealogy of Storyville Shannon Lee Dawdy
17. Showing, telling, looking: intimate encounters in the making of South African archaeology Nick Shepherd
18. Obstinate things Mary Weismantel
19. Conclusion: sexuality and materiality: the challenge of method Martin Hall.

Subject Areas: Sexual behaviour [JMU], Archaeology [HD], General & world history [HBG]