Industrial Archaeology

The Industrial Revolution is arguably one of the most important social phenomena responsible for shaping the modern world. Of course, some historians and economists have long contended that this was or was not a ‘‘revolution’’ in the strictest sense of the word and scholars still debate whether the use of this metaphor is problematic. Most writers agree that this was not an event, but rather a process, with predictable precursors and variable rates of change from place to place. While earlier shifts in productive organization and technological sophistication set the stage for the rise of manufacturing and all of its associated social dimensions, the changes in scale and intensity of productivity, settlement patterns, distribution, exchange, and control that characterize industrialized societies have had a profound and lasting impact on the way we live today. These forces have fundamentally shaped the scope and scale of the remains studied by historical archaeologists. To ignore or discount the central role of industrialization is to risk overlooking the obvious, if not to doom any attempt at understanding from the outset. While most historical archaeologists would certainly agree with the general sentiments expressed above, the lack of focused attention on industrial matters within the practice of historical archaeology begs explanation. The literature of historical archaeology in English is not bulging with examples of the study of industry, industrial sites, industrial technologies, industrial societies, nor the process of industrialization. The archaeology of industry has not been a core thematic focus of historical archaeologists over the four decades’ development of the field, but recently it is drawing increasing attention and interest.While other scholars have found industry a fertile field for study, mainstream archaeologists have come to it slowly. Any reader can examine the products of the Society for Historical Archaeology to evaluate this issue in a North American context, or the publications of the Society for PostMedieval Archaeology (SPMA) for insight into the situation in the United Kingdom. If industrialization is so important, why have members of these two groups of archaeologists paid so little explicit attention to it, and why are they coming to it now? This chapter will examine the premises laid out above and attempt to explain the perceived lack of critical study, as well as some promising trends and prospects for the future. It will review important scholarship, institutions, and methods for the study of industrial archaeology (IA), embracing the global orientation of the volume by integrating case studies and examples from both North American and international contexts.