Interpreting the Early Modern World

• Part I. Country Estates/Landscapes: An American Landscape Conversation.- The Archaeology of Estate Landscapes in Eighteenth-Century England.- Part II. Archaeology of 19th century and the Lives of Working People: Section Introduction.- Urban Historical Archaeology: A View from the Golden Gate.- Celebrating Steel City: Historical Archaeology in Sheffield, U.K.- Part III. Conflict and Memorialization: Section Introduction.- "Remembering the Raid of 1704": Writing and Exhibiting Contested Histories in Historic Deerfield.- Monuments, Memory, and Resistance in the Scottish Highlands.- Part IV. Material Culture, Embodiment, Life Course, Identity: Section Introduction.- Stitching Women’s Loves: Interpreting the Artifacts of Sewing and Needlework.- The Intimacy of Death: Expressions of Identity and Grief in Medieval and Renaissance Burial Rites.- Part V. Industrial Housing/Landscapes: Section Introduction.- "You Knew Where you Were": Practicing Class in (Post) Industrial Cheshire.- The Study of the Early Industrial Landscapes of the Swansea Region.- Part VI. Archaeological Biographies: Section Introduction.- The Large Writ Small: Landscape, Archaeography, and the Battle for Meaning.- Biographies of Long Life. Part VII. Commentary.

[The volume] is concerned with the practice of interpretive archaeology on historical period sites, and how approaches differ between the Americas and the British Isles...the organization of this book, which presents one paper from either side of the Atlantic for each theme, allows for comparisons of approaches and ideas. Herein lies the strength of the volume: it is a composite piece, both self-reflective and critical...Together, these chapters demonstrate various challenges, in addition to the importance of developing a context-specific archaeological framework for site selection. This call for contextual research is furthered by Beaudry, who argues in her chapter that the experience of women cannot be wholly determined through the identification of 'female' objects, such as thimbles and bodkins. Her approach thereby challenges the use of norms when making archaeological interpretations... Beaudry and Symonds' collection is a very readable, well-structured volume, and represents the potential of collaborative transnational research for understanding the recent past. Katherine Fennelly, Post-Medieval Archaeology, 42/2, 2012