Bridging Social Anthropology and Industrial Archaeology at a Georgia Grist Mill

Abstract

The Eelbeck Mill Complex and Community is a complicated archaeological site with numerous industrial and domestic features from the 1820s to the 1940s. Excavations, historic research, and oral history proved to be substantial and complimentary sources of information for discovering and understanding the industrial features at Eelbeck and as well as their roles in social relationships within the community. Using theory from science, technology, and society (STS) studies, actor-network theory (ANT), and the concept of vernacular engineering, this case study illustrates the interconnectedness of industry and daily life and argues that industrial sites cannot be explicitly separated from domestic sites in archaeological analyses of technical-social systems.