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The Archaeological Analysis of Plantation Society: Replacing Status and Caste with Economics and Power

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charles E. Orser Jr.
Charles E. Orser Jr.*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
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Abstract

In recent investigations of plantation society, Otto and Moore use a model that incorporates status and caste. I argue that these concepts are too vague for plantation studies and must be replaced with a more relevant formulation that includes economics and power. A reconsideration of the data presented by Moore indicates that these last concepts have greater strength in the archaeological analysis of plantation society.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , October 1988 , pp. 735 - 751
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1988

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References

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