Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America, 1650–1800

Rating:
Summary: History from the ground up.
Review: This book provides insight into the physical evidence being unearthed and explored by archaeologists engaged in the study of early colonial African American sites. While some of the content is a tad dry ,Professor Ferguson's enthusiasm for his subject manages to infuse much of this book with a sense of excitement that obviously drives the individuals engaged in this research.

Primarily focused on early plantation life in South Carolina, the book provides some fascinating comparisons between the rice culture there and the tobacco culture in Virginia explaining the effect of these differing lifestyles and then integrating the physical evidence into that discussion.

The book contains extensive appendices that list the major findings by location.