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Textual Artifacts, Artifactual Texts: An Historical Archaeology of Brothertown Writing

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Abstract

Systematic analyses of 18th- and 19th-century texts written by, to, and about the Brothertown Indians demonstrate the merits of experimenting with new approaches to the written word in historical archaeology. Formed from Christian factions of several tribal groups living in coastal northeastern North America, the Brothertown Indian community readily embraced the English language beginning in the second half of the 18th century. As seen in gravemarker inscriptions and historical documents, Brothertown writing practices contain important clues into issues of colonial entanglement, ethnogenesis, and subaltern agency. In uncovering new and insightful perspectives on these processes, methods of textual analysis developed in the context of the Brothertown Archaeology Project demonstrate the merits of deeper engagements with the language of historical texts.

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  1. School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LEI 7RH, UK

    Craig N. Cipolla

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Cipolla, C.N. Textual Artifacts, Artifactual Texts: An Historical Archaeology of Brothertown Writing. Hist Arch 46, 91–109 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03377318

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