The Historical Archaeology of Michigan (The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective)

An overview of archaeological research in Michigan that reveals the history of the state during the past four hundred yearsMichigan has long been an incubator for invention, technology, and creativity.This book explores this legacy through the historical archaeology of the past four hundred years in the state, illustrating how Michigan’s history reflects the broader American experience through themes of entrepreneurship, immigration, capitalism, and civil rights. Written by three archaeologists who have dedicated more than 75 years to research in the state, the chapters in this book describe the construction of encampments and fortifications that facilitated seventeenth-century European colonization, the rise of the fur trade and natural resource extraction, and the impact of land acquisition by white settlers who built farmsteads and logging camps in the nineteenth century.The authors examine Detroit’s urban development, revealing how industrial capitalism led to inequality and segreg