Labouring in the Fields of the Past: Geographic Variation in New Deal Archaeology Across the Lower 48 United States

Abstract

New Deal archaeology survey and excavation projects across the lower 48 states exhibit considerable geographic variation in their nature and extent. Part of this variation can be linked to strong regional personalities, while other variation depended on local political acceptance of or resistance to New Deal programs. The nature of the archaeological record itself influenced the amount of New Deal archaeology within a region. These factors are considered in the discussion of when and where work relief archaeological projects were conducted in the United States during the Great Depression.