| The Archaeology of Prostitution and Clandestine Pursuits Contributor(s): Yamin, Rebecca (Author), Seifert, Donna J. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0813056454 ISBN-13: 9780813056456 Publisher: University Press of Florida OUR PRICE: $84.15 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 2019 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Archaeology - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Psychology | Human Sexuality (see Also Social Science - Human Sexuality) |
| Dewey: 306.740 |
| LCCN: 2018054713 |
| Series: American Experience in Archaeological Perspective |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6" W x 9" (0.98 lbs) 208 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Archaeology of Prostitution and Clandestine Pursuits synthesizes case studies from various nineteenth-century sites where material culture reveals evidence of prostitution, including a brothel in Five Points--New York City's most notorious neighborhood--and parlor houses a few blocks from the White House and Capitol Hill. Rebecca Yamin and Donna Seifert also examine brothels in the American West--in urban Los Angeles and in frontier sites and mining camps in Sandpoint, Idaho; Prescott, Arizona; and Fargo, North Dakota. The artifact assemblages found at these sites often contradict written records, allowing archaeologists to construct a more realistic and complicated picture of daily life for working-class women involved in commercial sex. Recognizing the agency involved in practicing a profession that has never been considered respectable, even when it wasn't outright illegal, Yamin and Seifert also look at the agency of other individuals who participated in illicit activities, defying society privately or even publicly. The authors demonstrate the various ways disempowered groups including immigrants, African Americans, women, and the poor wielded autonomy while constrained by cultural norms. They also consider similar, contemporary expressions of agency, with particular attention to ongoing arguments surrounding the legalization of prostitution. Juxtaposing today's debates alongside the clandestine pursuits of the past reveals how dominant moral standards determine what individual choices are publicly permissible. A volume in the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited by Michael S. Nassaney |
Contributor Bio(s): Yamin, Rebecca: - Rebecca Yamin, retired senior associate and principal archaeologist at John Milner Associates, is the author of Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archaeology.Seifert, Donna J.: - Donna J. Seifert, retired senior associate and principal archaeologist at John Milner Associates, is a former president of the Society for Historical Archaeology. |