Barbara Voss
Learn more at https://bvoss.people.stanford.edu/. I am a historical archaeologist who studies the dynamics and outcomes of transnational cultural encounters: How did diverse groups of people, who previously had little knowledge of each other, navigate the challenges and opportunities of abrupt and sustained interactions caused by colonialism, conflict, and migration? I approach this question through fine-grained, site-specific investigations coupled with broad-scale comparative and collaborative research programs. My earlier work investigated Spanish colonization of the Americas, an area of research that I continue to be involved in. My current research focuses on 19th century migration from southern China, which I am investigating through three interrelated projects: (1) the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (2002-present), a community-based research program developed to study and interpret the history and archaeology of San Jose’s first Chinese community; (2) the interdisciplinary Chinese Railroad Workers of North America Project (2012-present), for which I serve as Director of Archaeology; and (3) Research Cooperation on Home Cultures of 19th Century Overseas Chinese, a collaboration with Wuyi University to develop ethnohistoric and archaeological research on qiaoxiang (home villages) in Kaiping County, Guangdong. Throughout, my research is guided by a deep commitment to public archaeology and collaborative research. Additionally, I continue to work to generate a productive dialogue between queer studies and archaeology, and to develop rigorous methodologies that support the study of sexuality and gender through archaeological evidence.
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (30)
Uploads
Books by Barbara Voss
This publication presents the results of the first excavation of at Chinese migrants' home village in Kaiping County, Guangdong Province, China.
English translation available at: https://cangdong.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj11666/f/the_transnational_lives_of_chinese_migrants_-_april_2019.pdf
Incorporating interviews, historical photographs, satellite imagery, and footage from fieldwork, laboratory, and archival research, the film records the research process of an archaeological project. This process begins with the collaborative development of research questions, continues with survey and excavation methods, and concludes with the analysis of recovered materials and the integration of this new information into narratives about the past. The film’s combination of historical information and documentation of research and field practices make it an ideal classroom teaching tool for undergraduate-level introductory courses in multiple disciplines within the social sciences.
"Compelling new evidence, careful documentation, and an artfully woven narrative make The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis a path-breaking book for sociocultural scholars as well as for general readers interested in the politics of identity, ethnicity, gender, and the colonial and U.S. Western history."--Transforming Anthropology
"Voss’s lucid explanations of method and theory make the book accessible to a broad range of audiences, from upper-level undergraduate and graduate students to professionals and lay audiences.... Its interdisciplinarity, indeed, may help to sell archaeology to audiences who do not typically consider archaeological evidence as an option for identity studies."--Current Anthropology
"The book reminds historians that other disciplines can offer fruitful methodological forays into well-trodden areas of study."--Journal of American History
"Those scholars studying various aspects of the Hispanic worldwide empire would be well advised to peruse Voss’s work."--Historical Archaeology
"[W]ell written, theoretically sophisticated, and unburdened by abstract concepts or hyper-qualified verbiage."--H-Net Reviews
"[E]ngaging. Overall, the text belongs in the library of every student of Spanish and Mexican Alta California…. The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis will become an anthropological standard."--Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology
"[A] must-read for all interested not only in colonial California, but for all historical archaeologists and to any archaeologist interested in the examination of identities."--Cambridge Archaeological Journal
Contents
1. Intimate encounters: an archaeology of sexualities within colonial worlds Eleanor Conlin Casella and Barbara L. Voss; 2. Sexual effects: postcolonial and queer perspectives on the archaeology of sexuality and empire Barbara L. Voss; Part I. Pleasures and Prohibitions: 3. Little bastard felons: childhood, affect, and labour in the penal colonies of nineteenth-century Australia Eleanor Conlin Casella; 4. The currency of intimacy: transformations of the domestic sphere on the late nineteenth-century diamond fields Lindsay Weiss; 5. 'A concubine is still a slave': sexual relations and Omani colonial identities in nineteenth-century East Africa Sarah K. Croucher; 6. The politics of reproduction: rituals and sex in Punic Eivissa Mireia López-Bertran; Part II. Engaged Bodies: 7. Fear, desire, and material strategies in colonial Louisiana Diana DiPaolo Loren; 8. Death and sex: procreation in the wake of fatal epidemics within indigenous communities Kathleen L. Hull; 9. Effects of empire: gendered transformations on the Orinoco frontier Kay Tarble de Scaramelli; 10. In-between people in colonial Honduras: reworking sexualities at Ticamaya Russell N. Sheptak, Kira Blaisdell-Sloan and Rosemary A. Joyce; 11. The scale of the intimate: imperial policies and sexual practices in San Francisco Barbara L. Voss; Part III. Commemorations: 12. Life and death in ancient colonies: domesticity, material culture, and sexual politics in the western Phoenician world, 8th–6th century BC Ana Delgado and Meritxell Ferrer; 13. Reading gladiators' epitaphs and rethinking violence and masculinity in the Roman Empire Renata S. Garraffoni; 14. Monuments and sexual politics in New England Indian country Patricia E. Rubertone; 15. Gender relations in a Maroon community, Palmares, Brazil Pedro Paulo A. Funari and Aline Vieira de Carvalho; Part IV. Showing and Telling: 16. Sexualizing space: the colonial leer and the genealogy of Storyville Shannon Lee Dawdy; 17. Showing, telling, looking: intimate encounters in the making of South African archaeology Nick Shepherd; 18. Obstinate things Mary Weismantel; 19. Conclusion: sexuality and materiality: the challenge of method Martin Hall.
and Chinese Americans is far from a
new phenomenon. Since the 1960s, archaeologists
have been researching the landscapes,
buildings, and archaeological sites created and
maintained by these communities, but this area
of research has exploded in the past decade. It
is not just the raw number of archaeological
studies on historic Chinese communities that
has dramatically increased. More importantly,
archaeologists are developing novel theoretical
and methodological frameworks for researching
and interpreting Chinese heritage sites in the
United States. These new approaches are being
generated through collaborations between archaeologists
and present-day Chinese heritage communities
as well as through scholarly conversations
among researchers in archaeology, Asian
American studies, and postcolonial studies.
Our thematic issue introduces this new body
of scholarship to the broader community of
historical archaeologists. It serves “more as a
weather vane than a compass” (Espiritu et al.
2000:129) in that the articles chart the current
state of the field and indicate emerging directions
for new research. To this end, the collection
includes not only scholarly research articles
but also commentaries and resource materials.
Archaeologies of Sexuality is a timely and pioneering work. It presents a strong, diverse body of scholarship which draws on locations as varied as medieval England, the ancient Maya kingdoms, New Kingdom Egypt, prehistoric Europe, and convict-era Australia, demonstrating the challenges and rewards of integrating the study of sex and sexuality within archaeology.
This volume, with contributions by many leading archaeologists, will serve both as an essential introduction and a valuable reference tool for students and academics.
Papers by Barbara Voss
counts and ceramic weight can provide relative information on the distribution of ceramics across a particular site and the formation of the archaeological record. Most practically, MNV ceramic counts (rather than individual sherd counts) best illustrate how items were used before they entered the archaeological record.
earthenwares associated with Victorian-era genteel dining, whereas others primarily used porcelain vessels congruent with dining conventions in southern China. Other households blended the two types of ceramics, typically using Chinese porcelain vessels for individual table settings and British- and American-produced earthenwares for serving vessels. Chinese porcelains were typically purchased in matched sets; in contrast, British and American earthenwares were acquired piece by piece, contributing aesthetic variety to Chinatown table settings. Together, these findings indicate that most Chinatown households were establishing their own “house rules” that redefined dining through new practices. The continuum of intention represented
by pragmatism and play affords an integrated methodology for bridging functional/economic and cultural/symbolic interpretive frameworks in archaeology.
This publication presents the results of the first excavation of at Chinese migrants' home village in Kaiping County, Guangdong Province, China.
English translation available at: https://cangdong.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj11666/f/the_transnational_lives_of_chinese_migrants_-_april_2019.pdf
Incorporating interviews, historical photographs, satellite imagery, and footage from fieldwork, laboratory, and archival research, the film records the research process of an archaeological project. This process begins with the collaborative development of research questions, continues with survey and excavation methods, and concludes with the analysis of recovered materials and the integration of this new information into narratives about the past. The film’s combination of historical information and documentation of research and field practices make it an ideal classroom teaching tool for undergraduate-level introductory courses in multiple disciplines within the social sciences.
"Compelling new evidence, careful documentation, and an artfully woven narrative make The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis a path-breaking book for sociocultural scholars as well as for general readers interested in the politics of identity, ethnicity, gender, and the colonial and U.S. Western history."--Transforming Anthropology
"Voss’s lucid explanations of method and theory make the book accessible to a broad range of audiences, from upper-level undergraduate and graduate students to professionals and lay audiences.... Its interdisciplinarity, indeed, may help to sell archaeology to audiences who do not typically consider archaeological evidence as an option for identity studies."--Current Anthropology
"The book reminds historians that other disciplines can offer fruitful methodological forays into well-trodden areas of study."--Journal of American History
"Those scholars studying various aspects of the Hispanic worldwide empire would be well advised to peruse Voss’s work."--Historical Archaeology
"[W]ell written, theoretically sophisticated, and unburdened by abstract concepts or hyper-qualified verbiage."--H-Net Reviews
"[E]ngaging. Overall, the text belongs in the library of every student of Spanish and Mexican Alta California…. The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis will become an anthropological standard."--Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology
"[A] must-read for all interested not only in colonial California, but for all historical archaeologists and to any archaeologist interested in the examination of identities."--Cambridge Archaeological Journal
Contents
1. Intimate encounters: an archaeology of sexualities within colonial worlds Eleanor Conlin Casella and Barbara L. Voss; 2. Sexual effects: postcolonial and queer perspectives on the archaeology of sexuality and empire Barbara L. Voss; Part I. Pleasures and Prohibitions: 3. Little bastard felons: childhood, affect, and labour in the penal colonies of nineteenth-century Australia Eleanor Conlin Casella; 4. The currency of intimacy: transformations of the domestic sphere on the late nineteenth-century diamond fields Lindsay Weiss; 5. 'A concubine is still a slave': sexual relations and Omani colonial identities in nineteenth-century East Africa Sarah K. Croucher; 6. The politics of reproduction: rituals and sex in Punic Eivissa Mireia López-Bertran; Part II. Engaged Bodies: 7. Fear, desire, and material strategies in colonial Louisiana Diana DiPaolo Loren; 8. Death and sex: procreation in the wake of fatal epidemics within indigenous communities Kathleen L. Hull; 9. Effects of empire: gendered transformations on the Orinoco frontier Kay Tarble de Scaramelli; 10. In-between people in colonial Honduras: reworking sexualities at Ticamaya Russell N. Sheptak, Kira Blaisdell-Sloan and Rosemary A. Joyce; 11. The scale of the intimate: imperial policies and sexual practices in San Francisco Barbara L. Voss; Part III. Commemorations: 12. Life and death in ancient colonies: domesticity, material culture, and sexual politics in the western Phoenician world, 8th–6th century BC Ana Delgado and Meritxell Ferrer; 13. Reading gladiators' epitaphs and rethinking violence and masculinity in the Roman Empire Renata S. Garraffoni; 14. Monuments and sexual politics in New England Indian country Patricia E. Rubertone; 15. Gender relations in a Maroon community, Palmares, Brazil Pedro Paulo A. Funari and Aline Vieira de Carvalho; Part IV. Showing and Telling: 16. Sexualizing space: the colonial leer and the genealogy of Storyville Shannon Lee Dawdy; 17. Showing, telling, looking: intimate encounters in the making of South African archaeology Nick Shepherd; 18. Obstinate things Mary Weismantel; 19. Conclusion: sexuality and materiality: the challenge of method Martin Hall.
and Chinese Americans is far from a
new phenomenon. Since the 1960s, archaeologists
have been researching the landscapes,
buildings, and archaeological sites created and
maintained by these communities, but this area
of research has exploded in the past decade. It
is not just the raw number of archaeological
studies on historic Chinese communities that
has dramatically increased. More importantly,
archaeologists are developing novel theoretical
and methodological frameworks for researching
and interpreting Chinese heritage sites in the
United States. These new approaches are being
generated through collaborations between archaeologists
and present-day Chinese heritage communities
as well as through scholarly conversations
among researchers in archaeology, Asian
American studies, and postcolonial studies.
Our thematic issue introduces this new body
of scholarship to the broader community of
historical archaeologists. It serves “more as a
weather vane than a compass” (Espiritu et al.
2000:129) in that the articles chart the current
state of the field and indicate emerging directions
for new research. To this end, the collection
includes not only scholarly research articles
but also commentaries and resource materials.
Archaeologies of Sexuality is a timely and pioneering work. It presents a strong, diverse body of scholarship which draws on locations as varied as medieval England, the ancient Maya kingdoms, New Kingdom Egypt, prehistoric Europe, and convict-era Australia, demonstrating the challenges and rewards of integrating the study of sex and sexuality within archaeology.
This volume, with contributions by many leading archaeologists, will serve both as an essential introduction and a valuable reference tool for students and academics.
counts and ceramic weight can provide relative information on the distribution of ceramics across a particular site and the formation of the archaeological record. Most practically, MNV ceramic counts (rather than individual sherd counts) best illustrate how items were used before they entered the archaeological record.
earthenwares associated with Victorian-era genteel dining, whereas others primarily used porcelain vessels congruent with dining conventions in southern China. Other households blended the two types of ceramics, typically using Chinese porcelain vessels for individual table settings and British- and American-produced earthenwares for serving vessels. Chinese porcelains were typically purchased in matched sets; in contrast, British and American earthenwares were acquired piece by piece, contributing aesthetic variety to Chinatown table settings. Together, these findings indicate that most Chinatown households were establishing their own “house rules” that redefined dining through new practices. The continuum of intention represented
by pragmatism and play affords an integrated methodology for bridging functional/economic and cultural/symbolic interpretive frameworks in archaeology.
Goiás). This interview was kindly translated into the Portuguese language version by Lorena Araújo de Oliveira Borges (UnB/Capes).
In order to instigate scientific debate and encourage the exchange of experiences among researchers from different contexts, the editors of this volume of Habitus Journal invited some Gender experts in Brazil to answer the questions proposed by Ph.D. Barbara Voss at the end of her interview. Participated in this round of interviews: Tania Andrade Lima (MN/UFRJ), Camila M. Wichers (UFG), Glaucia M. Sene (UERJ), Luís Claudio Symanski (UFMG) and Loredana Ribeiro (UFPel). This interview was kindly translated into the English language version by Lorena Araújo de Oliveira Borges (UnB/Capes).
exploitation of Chinese railroad workers.