The Archaeology of Utopian and Intentional Communities

Abstract

Intentional communities, including religious, utopian, and communal societies, have long been a feature of the American social and economic landscape. This volume describes and discusses historical archaeology’s contributions to our understanding of intentional communities throughout American history. Scholars across many disciplines have long been interested in communal experiments for their optimistic ideals, dramatic methods, and often eventual failures. Archaeologists’ focus on the material world and lived experiences of community members adds depth and complexity to our historical knowledge about these people. Sometimes our work demonstrates the ways that communitarians enacted their ideals. At other times it shows how daily practices diverged from a group’s ideal path. Often it makes us rethink the questions we ask about how communities are formed and maintained. Structured according to the scale of methodological focus—from settlement patterns and landscape, to the built environment, to artifact studies—the case studies presented in this volume will give readers a thorough introduction to archaeological research to date in this field. An expanded case study will describe archaeological research on the Kaweah Co-operative Commonwealth of late nineteenth-century California. The closing chapter discusses the social and political implications of retelling past experimental communities’ stories in publications and historical reconstructions.