Dirt in the Wounds: Confronting Hard Histories through Public Community Archaeology in Boston.

What is it about?

The majority of Boston’s residents are minorities. These minority residents confront the ongoing effects of racism, including the “hard histories” of enslavement, the civil rights movement, and community displacement. Some white Bostonians are unaware of these complex histories or see them as an unnecessary and uncomfortable politicizing of the past, while others are aware but not personally impacted. Public community cultural-resource management archaeological surveys by Boston’s City Archaeology Program seek to confront these complex histories through recent surveys in Boston’s Chinatown, the Boston Latin School site, and the Malcolm X-Ella Little-Collins House. The complicated and often entangled histories at these sites challenge public perceptions of archaeology by seeking extensive public engagement through community archaeology. This article explores the economic and social issues created by the complicated histories at these sites through the reflections of individuals personally and professionally connected to these community archaeological surveys.

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Photo by Yuval Zukerman on Unsplash

Photo by Yuval Zukerman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The complicated and often entangled histories at these archaeological sites challenge public perceptions of archaeology by seeking extensive public engagement through community archaeology.

Perspectives