The Idea of the Past

Abstract

Archaeology, as a discipline with its eye on the past, is itself increasingly coming under historical scrutiny. General histories by Gordon Willey and Jeremy Sabloff (1993) and Trigger (1989) are perhaps some of the more visible artifacts of this process. More focused studies have been produced by a number of other scholars. Archaeological research in the Chesapeake region has a remarkable tenure in its own right, and local prehistorians, albeit most often from the perspective of individual states within the broader region, have likewise begun to reflect on the history of archaeology in this area (e.g., Bastian 1980; Custer 1989; MacCord 1990; Porter 1981, 1983; Weslager 1968).