| Arcadia presents an example of the many non-agricultural antebellum slave contexts often overshadowed by plantation studies. This thesis asks how these anomalies are to be approached within the larger paradigm of African-American archaeology. From this follows an analysis of the Arcadia Mill Village focused on identity and material evidence of socioeconomic dynamics at the industrial complex. The author compares historical and archaeological data from two possible slave components at the site for functional similarities and differences. This is then considered alongside evidence from both plantation and non-traditional slave sites to determine what the most appropriate basis for material and theoretical comparison is. The author concludes that ethnic, occupational, and economic evidence points to the occupation of the Arcadia Mill Village by industrial slaves, while a higher level of economic freedom could indicate a domestic slave presence at the Simpson Lot cabin. The author recommends that archaeological analysis of non-plantation slave sites focus on the economic limitations experienced by their inhabitants as indicative of social dynamics and power structures. This not only reflects the capitalist world system's affect on labor group relations, but the impact of agency on the negotiation of socioeconomic influence independent of variables like race, status, or ethnicity. |
