The archaeological study of prostitution in nineteenth-century American contexts grew out of the discovery of brothels in the 1990s during large urban projects done in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. This book provides an overview of many of those projects as well as detailed discussions of a brothel found at Five Points in New York City and several parlor houses found in Washington, D.C. The large artifact assemblages recovered in combination with detailed primary and secondary historical research have produced a complex picture of commercial sex, which the book discusses in both nineteenth-century and twenty-first century perspectives. Agency theory is used to link the practice of prostitution with other forms of clandestine behavior that have come to light through archaeology. Issues of gender, class, and race run through the archaeological study of clandestine behavior, which includes acts of resistance in public—from drinking on the job to piracy—and acts in private—from hiding caches of artifacts in vulnerable places to scratching inscrutable designs on ceramic pots. The book ends with questions that touch on the age-old conundrum of passing judgment. Should prostitution be decriminalized? Should the efficacy of spiritual practices be questioned? The value of anomalous artifacts and their interpretation is stressed as crucial to recognizing brothels and evidence of clandestine pursuits.