Digging in the City of Brotherly Love
| Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archaeology | |
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| Author(s) | Rebecca Yamin |
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| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Publication date | 2008 |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 0300142641 |
Rebecca Yamin’s Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archaeology presents vital information about Philadelphia’s cultural heritage in a manner quite atypical of archaeological and academic writing. Published in 2008 following archaeological investigations at Independence National Historic Park, Yamin’s work focuses on “people in the past and people in the present” (x). The motivation for the archaeological work performed at the National Park Service site was in preparation for a new interpretive center housing the Liberty Bell in addition to a temporary light show designed to attract a new wave of tourists. Archaeologists working for the firm of John Milner Associates’ cultural resource division were unaware of the capacity of material remains they would find and level at which politics would come to affect the work being done at a National Historic Park.
The level of work performed at the National Historic Park obviously resulted in technical reports in compliance with Secretary of the Interior's Standards. Yet, rather than focusing on the academic arena, Yamin opted to publish a book that is easily understandable for the general public that archaeologists and historians are now trying to incorporate into cultural resource preservation. The book’s text is not overly academic nor does it alienate a potential casual reader interested in Philadelphia’s past, urban archaeology and history, or the politics of cultural resource management. The aim of the book, according to Yamin, is to extend the knowledge of Philadelphia’s symbolic past which focuses on a specific time period and narrative. Through archaeological fieldwork, artifact analysis, and historic documents, Yamin and her colleagues present the past of the everyday people that are typically overlooked during historic interpretation of major events and narratives.
The description of archaeological field methods is succinct and clear. It is apparent by Yamin’s description that archaeological methods vary by site and environment. In the case of excavations at Hudson’s Square, within the modern day mall designed for Independence Hall, methods appropriate for time sensitive urban excavations had to be employed. Yamin was careful to avoid exclusive language regarding information that is normal to those in the subfield. It is highly likely that an interested member of the public could read the introductory chapter and finish with a better understanding of how archaeologists assess what methods need to be used. During the course of excavations, archaeologists discovered a privy that, due to the presence of multiple historic bottles, they assumed to belong to a potential tavern. Further investigations supplemented by historical documentation showed that this was actually the site of William Simmons’ home. Simmons was the principal clerk of the United States auditor’s office in the 1790s, and items specific to his household were discovered in conjunction with those of the surrounding lots. Assuming that this particular privy was filled with multiple household’s trash prior to the demolition of the entire block, archaeologists were able to piece together information about the everyday habits of families living in Philadelphia during this time.
Yamin emphasizes that narrative is a tool for relating to the past, but that the dominant voice in a narrative is typically exclusive of other perspectives. Careful to assert that narrative is a useful tool, but not an entirely accurate window into the past, she incorporates what she calls “narrative vignettes” into her chapters. Taking the description of the material remains discovered at Simmons’ house site and combining it with information gained by reading letters between Simmons and George Washington, Yamin constructed a brief story that will interest readers while maintaining that it is constructed in the present and not representative of actual events. By providing this caveat while simultaneously creating a story, Yamin was able to offer a glimpse into the everyday life of historic people without focusing on the main events that are typically the focus of historical interpretation. Yamin also writes a narrative vignette with the daughters of Simmons as the focal point of the story which highlights the need to include varying gender, race, and class into reconstructions of our cultural heritage. These narratives are a combination of archaeological data and historic documents - items whose value can be summed up in the argument that archaeology is “not an illustration of what historians already know, but rather an elaboration of how specific people lived their lives in periods of history that are known”.
After touching on the use of narrative and the value of combining archaeological investigations with historic documents, Yamin focuses on the political implications of cultural resource managements and interpretation. Because the work described in this book was performed in preparation for a new Liberty Bell shelter, the focus of the National Park Service was solely on the preservation of the Liberty Bell and the associated symbolism of American freedom. Because the discoveries by John Milner Associates did not neatly fit in with the narrative that the National Park Service was pushing to expand, valuable information about the past and its people were overlooked. The excavation and research into George Washington’s prior residence revealed that he brought slaves to Philadelphia. When word reached the public that the Park Service was uninterested in including a narrative about African American history and slavery at the site, there was massive backlash against the National Park Service by interested African American groups, lawyers, members of the public, and local professors. The controversy made its way into local radio shows and newspapers and did not subside until the National Park Service conceded to include African American history at the new location. By the time they agreed to include a multi-vocal narrative of the past, the new Liberty Bell center was already constructed and covered an archaeological feature that may have been perfect for interpreting the history of slaves at the location.
Yamin’s book discusses many topics that are mostly had within the confines of an academic classroom. Her focus on political consequences of archaeological resources and cultural resource management highlights the need for narrative and varying interpretation. The text is accessible to the general public, not just archaeologists and historians within academia, and the body of the text is written in a manner that is consumable by a public with no prior experience with archaeological issues and ethics.
