Material Culture and Consumer Society

The establishment of a consumer society in Australia has not been a particularly well explored area of academic inquiry. My interests lie in the concepts and meanings that underlie the material world; ideas like, in the words of Madonna, "I am a material girl and I live in a material world" (terminology taken to be not gender specific), the classic graffiti paraphrasing of Descartes: I shop therefore I am or perhaps simply in the "world of goods" in the more academically respectable terms of Douglas and Isherwood (1979). This book arises out of my longstanding interest in the early colonial period in Australia. In part it represents an extension of the purely "historical" research conducted for my Master's thesis in the Department of History at the University of Sydney which explored aspects of the diet, health and lived experience of con victs and immigrants during their voyages to the Australian colonies within the timeframe 1837 to 1839 (Staniforth, 1993a). More importantly, it is the culmina tion of more than twenty-five years involvement in the excavation of shipwreck sites in Australia starting with James Matthews (1841) in 1974, through the test excavation of William Salthouse in 1982, continuing with my involvement between 1985 and 1994 in the excavation of Sydney Cove (1797) and most recently with shore-based whaling stations and whaling shipwreck sites. In this respect, this book may be seen as an example of what Ian Hodder (1986, p.

Discusses the beginnings of Australia and argues that material goods were a necessary adjunct to the establishment of the colony Contends that the role of consumption and the part played by material goods were more important to the negotiation of social position in the colonies (Including North America) than in Europe Drawing on the archaeological evidence found in shipwrecks and the historical record of ship logs and other documents, it demonstrates how important material goods were to the colonial society. Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Throughout history, material goods have been valued for more than their usefulness; they have also been symbols of status and wealth. During the colonial period of Australia, material goods took on an even more important role for the new arrivals to the island. Material Culture and Consumer Society argues that material goods were a necessary adjunct to the successful colonization of Australia demonstrating that it was necessary to establish trade networks that provided adequate supplies of culturally 'appropriate' food, drink and other consumer goods for the newly arrived colonists. Material goods were used:

• to distinguish the colonists from Indigenous groups ; to reassure the colonists about their place in the world; to help establish the colonists' own networks of social relations. Material Culture and Consumer Society contends that the role of consumption and the part played by material goods were more important to the negotiation of social position in the colonies than in the homeland. This work will be of interest to underwater, historical and cultural archaeologists, social historians, cultural heritage managers, and graduate students of these fields.

Contenu

1. Introduction.- 1.1. Overview.- 1.2. Immigrant Societies.- 1.3. Dependent Colonies.- 2. The Archaeology of the Event.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Archaeology, Anthropology, and History.- 2.3. On the Relationships between Things, Words, and Ideas.- 2.4. The Annales School.- 2.5. The Archaeology of the Event.- 3. Capitalism, Colonialism, and Consumerism.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Capitalism.- 3.3. Colonialism.- 3.4. Consumerism.- 4. Methods and Sources.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. Material Culture.- 4.3. Historical Documentation.- 4.4. Images.- 5. Port Jackson and the Wreck of Sydney Cove (1797).- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. BackgroundPort Jackson.- 5.3. BackgroundCalcutta.- 5.4. Historical BackgroundSydney Cove.- 5.5. The Archaeological Excavation of Sydney Cove.- 5.6. The Cargo of Sydney Cove.- 5.7. The Chinese Export Porcelain Cargo of Sydney Cove.- 5.8. Chinese Export Porcelain in Australia.- 5.9. Conclusion.- 6. Port Phillip and the Wreck of William Salthouse (1841).- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. BackgroundPort Phillip.- 6.3. BackgroundMontréal.- 6.4. Historical BackgroundWilliam Salthouse.- 6.5. The Archaeological Excavation of William Salthouse.- 6.6. The Cargo of William Salthouse.- 6.7. Conclusion.- 7. The Swan River Colony and the Wrecks of James Matthews (1841) and Eglinton (1852).- 7.1. Introduction.- 7.2. BackgroundSwan River Colony.- 7.3. BackgroundLondon.- 7.4. Historical BackgroundJames Matthews.- 7.5. The Archaeological Excavation of James Matthews.- 7.6. The Cargo of James Matthews.- 7.7. Historical BackgroundEglinton.- 7.8. The Archaeological Excavation of Eglinton.- 7.9. The Cargo of Eglinton.- 7.10. Conclusion.- 8. The Meanings of Things.- 8.1. Capitalism, Colonialism, and Consumerism.- 8.2. Building Construction Materials.- 8.3.Alcohol.- 8.4. Tobacco.- 8.5. Beverages.- 8.6. Personal Hygiene.- 9. Conclusion.- 9.1. Innovations of this Research.- References.- List of English-Metric Conversions.