The Taphonomy of Disaster and the (Re)Formation of New Orleans

Bibliographic Data

ID2464258
AuthorsShannon Lee Dawdy, Shannon Dawdy (0009-0003-9984-1124, University of Chicago, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume108
Issue4
Pages719-730
Publication date2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Anthropologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7294 • E-ISSN: 1548-1433
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/aa.2006.108.4.719
OpenAlexW2092509079
LanguageEN
Citations received46
References cited26

Using observations from recent participation in post-Katrina recovery efforts in New Orleans, I make the case in this article that taphonomic processes such as trash removal, deposition, earthmoving, and demolition are a primary medium through which individuals and communities reconstitute themselves following a disaster. Taphonomy, or the formation of the archaeological record, does not simply reflect social processes, it is a social process. The taphonomic processes currently underway through the clean-up and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans dramatically illustrate this point. I recommend that both ethnographers and archaeologists undertake a fine-grained ethnoarchaeology of disaster. I engage with the literature of disaster to illustrate the potentials I see for this type of study, particularly as it pertains to the culture-nature nexus, perceptions of vulnerability, and the revelatory power of disasters

Archaeology · Chiefdom · Computer security · Environmental planning · Ethnoarchaeology · Geography · Nexus (standard · Political science · Preparedness · Taphonomy · Vulnerability · Vulnerability (computing · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Computer Science · Engineering · History · Law · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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