Original Research by Alexander W Anthony
Antiquity, 2024
The Central Mediterranean Penal Heritage Project (CMPHP) employs remote-sensing techniques to stu... more The Central Mediterranean Penal Heritage Project (CMPHP) employs remote-sensing techniques to study and preserve archaeological remains of human confinement. Within this larger project, digital photogrammetry was used to document part of the castle prison in Noto Antica to identify and digitally preserve graffiti depicting galleys and gameboards.
Blog Posts by Alexander W Anthony
Book Reviews by Alexander W Anthony
Antiquity, 2023
Malta was known as the last bastion of the Catholic faith against the Ottoman Empire in the east ... more Malta was known as the last bastion of the Catholic faith against the Ottoman Empire in the east as Protestantism rose in the west; home of the Knights Hospitaller (equal part crusader and corsair), Roman Inquisitors, Indigenous Maltese, galley slaves and prisoners. An archipelago governed under the divided rule of the Order of the Knights of St John, the Church and the Roman Inquisition throughout much of the modern period (1530-1798). Under British rule, from 1814, the islands became a waystation for a variety of colonial agents and eventually served as an important port of call along the trade route through the Suez Canal in the late nineteenth century. While regularly the subject of study during Antiquity-owing to colonisation by Prehistoric, Greek, Phoenician, Punic and Roman invaders-the Central Mediterranean is often overshadowed in research terms by transAtlantic studies due to the shift in economic activity with the Western 'discovery' of the 'New' World. In Captives, colonists and craftspeople: material culture and institutional power in Malta, 1600-1900, Russell Palmer builds on the sparse literature about the archaeology of the modern period in Malta and develops a comprehensive foundation for an historical archaeology of the archipelago. This broad undertaking is presented in six thematic chapters that cross-cut the diverse populations of the islands throughout the early and late modern period. Palmer draws upon a variety of sources including archival documents, blueprints and innovative approaches to material culture analysis of previously excavated archaeological deposits and prisoner graffiti. The results provide a history not of dominator and oppressed nor of colonised and coloniser but one in which multiple agents are caught within institutional structures of power outside of themselves, no matter their positioning. Palmer introduces us to each of the demographics listed above in Chapter 1 'Institutional agents'. In Chapter 2, the author critically engages with 'Institutional spaces' through an application of space syntax analysis on each of the sites discussed in this publication. These include penal architectures from religious confinement in the Roman Inquisitors' prisons to sites of civilian and military confinement. Palmer also analyses military environments, specifically an army officers' mess hall and a galley ship. The latter "is the only nonterrestrial environment examined and, given the restrictions of space, discussion focuses on the unique human make-up of the environment" (p.15). The analysis of the galley and the life of the galley slave throughout the work is one of the most interesting threads that Palmer weaves through the book. Chapters 3 and 4 move away from people and places toward an examination of 'Productive labour' and 'Foodways', respectively. Discussed together here, each chapter offers a thorough analysis of the lives of people from galley slaves to British officers. Although more in-depth material culture analysis is provided later in the book, in the discussion of labour and local craft production, Palmer provides the reader with a detailed description of the local pottery
Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology, 2019
Conference Presentations by Alexander W Anthony
“The Fate They Reserve for Those…They Wish to be Rid of…”: COVID-19 and Confinement
Presented at the Annual Conference of the American Anthropological Association, 2021
The viral pandemic currently sweeping across the globe has laid bare the tyranny of capitalism. T... more The viral pandemic currently sweeping across the globe has laid bare the tyranny of capitalism. The fundamental inequities of class dominance have risen to the surface revealing those who are ‘essential’ and those who might be forgotten about and left to their fates, namely the masses of humanity in confinement. The onerous burden of death and herd immunity has been placed onto the shoulders of ‘essential’ workers, those individuals hidden away under the protection of society, and those from whom society must be defended.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic the infection and mortality rate of prisoners and patients in care home facilities has dwarfed those same statistics outside of institutional confines. International estimates of COVID-19 deaths suggests that more than half of related mortalities in some countries have taken place within care home facilities. Alternatively, reported infection rates at penal facilities have skyrocketed. Even within New York City, the global epicenter of the pandemic, the infection rates within New York City Jails (and Rikers) are higher than the city itself by threefold. So, what makes these individuals so apparently expendable? What are the parallels between penal centers and care home facilities that have led to the distressing statistics pouring out of them? In this paper I trace those parallels to reveal the fate of those society wished to be rid of.
Less than Human: The Institutional Origins of the Medical Waste Recovered at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery
Poor Laws enacted in the early 19th-century condemned the most destitute to confinement in almsho... more Poor Laws enacted in the early 19th-century condemned the most destitute to confinement in almshouses, poor farms, and workhouses. These laws paralleled contemporary Anatomy Acts that turned the 'unclaimed' dead from those institutions over to medical facilities for dissection. In essence, pauperism became punishable by anatomization. Thus, dissection served the dual purpose of reinforcing social identity amongst the lower class and privileging the social identity of upper-class medical students.
This study is an analysis of the material medical waste recovered from graves excavated at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery. My goal is to determine which medical institution in Milwaukee County the waste, and thus the body, originated, in concert with ongoing, collaborative bioarcheological analysis. This study utilizes a presence and absence analysis of types of medical waste found at burial locations alongside bioarcheological evidence for types of post-mortem medical intervention to determine the institutional origin of the medical waste.
Excavations at the McHugh Site (47WP294), a mid-to-late Nineteenth Century homestead in Wisconsin... more Excavations at the McHugh Site (47WP294), a mid-to-late Nineteenth Century homestead in Wisconsin, resulted in the recovery of a large material culture assemblage. Historical documents reveal the site's occupants to have been pre-famine Irish emigrants who settled in Ohio before moving to Wisconsin in 1850. However, analyses of the material culture have thus far failed to uncover evidence of an Irish identity distinct from an American identity. This paper presents results of an analysis of the teaware component of the McHugh ceramic assemblage that attempted to identify potential markers of traditional pre-immigration behaviors. Since tea is consumed by cultures across the world, the presence of teaware alone is not enough to indicate " Irishness. " Thus, this study explores the correlates of the material manifestation of tea consumption within the McHugh household and offers a comparison with selected contemporary sites as well as modern Irish and Irish American households. The aim of this study is to discover if there is an inherently Irish style of tea consumption and to determine whether or not the associated behaviors can inform our understanding of the McHugh assemblage.
Digging in the Archives: Using Historic Land Ownership Documents to Analyze the Guard Site, an Early Fort Ancient Village in Southeast Indiana
Abstract: It has long been known that examination of historic land-use and ownership records can ... more Abstract: It has long been known that examination of historic land-use and ownership records can greatly inform our understanding of the prehistoric past. This study examines such documentation associated with the Guard site (12D29) a Fort Ancient village dating to ca. AD 1050-1300 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This project began with one basic question: Where were mounds noted by Glenn Black in 1934 located? While we gained some useful insights into this question, we also learned about other information that only came up during the research process. These questions range from geological ones, such as the movement of rivers in the last few hundred years, to site-specific ones, such as the impact of historic uses on geophysical patterning. In sum, this paper will show various key insights that the historic record contains when working with prehistoric sites.
A study of the ceramic assemblage recovered at the McHugh site provides information about the so... more A study of the ceramic assemblage recovered at the McHugh site provides information about the social and economic status of the McHugh family throughout the latter half of the 19th century, but is less informative about the ethnic identity of the family. Through an analysis of the McHugh ceramic assemblage I explore to what extent the family’s ethnic identity can be interpreted through the material culture they left behind. How discernable is the family’s Irish heritage based on the material remains of the late 19th century occupation period at the farmstead? The analysis sheds light on the relationship of the archaeological deposits to the McHugh’s Irish identity and the temporal variability of the manifestation of that ethnic identity during this period. While the analysis suggests that there is little material evidence of the McHugh’s ethnic identity in the archaeological record, the analysis provides a real world look at the intersection of ethnicity and materiality in the archaeological record.
There is Nothing Like Looking if You Want to Find Something: The Emerging Accessibility of Historic Documents and the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery
Since the foundation of the Society for Historic Archaeology 50 years ago changing technology has... more Since the foundation of the Society for Historic Archaeology 50 years ago changing technology has dramatically transformed historic document research. Historical data that would’ve taken countless hours of research to uncover is now available through a few clicks of a mouse. Modern technology cannot be relied upon for all historic research; it can, however, lead the researcher down previously undiscovered paths.
Document research initiated in 2013 has aided in the reinterpretation of the archaeological data from the 91-92 Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemetery excavations. Internet archival newspaper research has revealed evidence of the disinterment and reuse of graves on the cemetery grounds. The digital historic data paired with traditional document research has led to the reevaluation of the archaeological data in portions of the cemetery excavations. Twenty-two years of research at MCIG has revealed how modern technology has increased document accessibility critical to our understanding of historic sites.
Since the initial excavations at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery in 1991, the way in whic... more Since the initial excavations at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery in 1991, the way in which we approach historic document research has changed tremendously. Documents that could be found only through laborious hours of sorting through microfilm and archives are now available through an internet search of digital collections. This paper will examine how the digital accessibility of historic documents has affected the interpretation of archaeological data from the MCPFC. I will discuss how the discovery of grave desecration and reuse of graves through digital resources, paired with more traditional research methods, has created a greater understanding of events throughout the Milwaukee County Institutions and ultimately of the management of the Poor Farm Cemetery. Finally, I will explore how recent events may be creating new limitations on what were previously openly accessible digital resources and the potential impact on the future research of historical sites.
Crime, like Death, is Not Confined to the Old and Withered Alone: Dickensian Conditions, Grave Desecrations, and Archaeological Correlates at the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds
Recent document research into the 1915 investigation of the Superintendent of the Home for Depend... more Recent document research into the 1915 investigation of the Superintendent of the Home for Dependent Children on the Milwaukee County Grounds has uncovered critical insights into the increasing pressures on the limited confines of the cemetery on the county grounds. The events uncovered in this investigation supplement evidence gathered from a 1912 investigation into grave desecrations on the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds reportedly ordered by the Superintendent of the County Poor Farm, Ferdinand Bark. This paper will provide a discussion of the evidence gathered from these historic documents, the increasing pressures on Superintendent Bark to utilize limited cemetery space and the way in which this interaction with his environment may have caused him to act outside of social and legal norms. The potential archaeological correlates uncovered in the 1991 excavations at the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds (MCIG) will also be explored.
Unseen Indulgences: The Hidden Implications of Commonplace Items for Life on the Wisconsin Frontier
As nineteenth century transportation routes improved, luxury goods and other expendables became m... more As nineteenth century transportation routes improved, luxury goods and other expendables became more accessible to settlers on the Wisconsin frontier. Some such items are archaeologically visible but also allude to others no longer preserved. For example, the presence of pencil leads and pen quills implies paper and ink; items rarely preserved. This paper explores the record of such expendables at the McHugh Site, an Irish immigrant homestead in north-central Wisconsin. Correlating expendable items with luxury goods such as tobacco and alcohol, as well as historical records, documents the McHugh family’s long-term response to regional and national economic trends.
The 1912 Grave Desecration of the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Poor Farm Cemetery
This research looks at the institutional desecration of graves at the Milwaukee County Institutio... more This research looks at the institutional desecration of graves at the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds as overseen by Superintendent Ferdinand Bark, the reaction of the surrounding community to that disturbance, and the ensuing investigation. The paper also explores the relationship of this historical event to the evidence from the 1990s and 2013 archaeological excavations conducted at the location of the cemetery. The event will be viewed within the historical context in which it happened including a basic background of Ferdinand Bark and the circumstances of the Milwaukee County Grounds when he assumed control in 1904. The increasing need to find space in which to inter a growing number of deceased individuals from on the County Institution Grounds as well as the surrounding community within very limited cemetery bounds posed a significant problem for Bark. The paper also explores the community reaction to this desecration as related through local newspapers of varying readerships. Finally, the archaeological correlates of this event are examined, as are the difficulties in interpreting the archaeological record of expected mortuary behavior on the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds.
Editorial Contributions by Alexander W Anthony
Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology - Volume 10, 2019
Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology recognizes that the research conducted by stude... more Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology recognizes that the research conducted by students throughout the course of their undergraduate and graduate education is a valuable resource. Therefore, Field Notes exists to give students of anthropology a forum to showcase original, high quality scholarship. The journal is reviewed, edited, and published entirely by anthropology students and is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee's Anthropology Student Union (ASU). The ASU serves anthropology students by encouraging interaction across the four subfields of anthropology in both social and professional environments.
Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology recognizes that the research conducted by stude... more Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology recognizes that the research conducted by students throughout the course of their undergraduate and graduate education is a valuable resource. Therefore, Field Notes exists to give students of anthropology a forum to showcase original, high quality scholarship. The journal is reviewed, edited, and published entirely by anthropology students and is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee's Anthropology Student Union (ASU). The ASU serves anthropology students by encouraging interaction across the four subfields of anthropology in both social and professional environments.
Uploads
Original Research by Alexander W Anthony
Blog Posts by Alexander W Anthony
Book Reviews by Alexander W Anthony
Conference Presentations by Alexander W Anthony
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic the infection and mortality rate of prisoners and patients in care home facilities has dwarfed those same statistics outside of institutional confines. International estimates of COVID-19 deaths suggests that more than half of related mortalities in some countries have taken place within care home facilities. Alternatively, reported infection rates at penal facilities have skyrocketed. Even within New York City, the global epicenter of the pandemic, the infection rates within New York City Jails (and Rikers) are higher than the city itself by threefold. So, what makes these individuals so apparently expendable? What are the parallels between penal centers and care home facilities that have led to the distressing statistics pouring out of them? In this paper I trace those parallels to reveal the fate of those society wished to be rid of.
This study is an analysis of the material medical waste recovered from graves excavated at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery. My goal is to determine which medical institution in Milwaukee County the waste, and thus the body, originated, in concert with ongoing, collaborative bioarcheological analysis. This study utilizes a presence and absence analysis of types of medical waste found at burial locations alongside bioarcheological evidence for types of post-mortem medical intervention to determine the institutional origin of the medical waste.
Document research initiated in 2013 has aided in the reinterpretation of the archaeological data from the 91-92 Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemetery excavations. Internet archival newspaper research has revealed evidence of the disinterment and reuse of graves on the cemetery grounds. The digital historic data paired with traditional document research has led to the reevaluation of the archaeological data in portions of the cemetery excavations. Twenty-two years of research at MCIG has revealed how modern technology has increased document accessibility critical to our understanding of historic sites.
Editorial Contributions by Alexander W Anthony
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic the infection and mortality rate of prisoners and patients in care home facilities has dwarfed those same statistics outside of institutional confines. International estimates of COVID-19 deaths suggests that more than half of related mortalities in some countries have taken place within care home facilities. Alternatively, reported infection rates at penal facilities have skyrocketed. Even within New York City, the global epicenter of the pandemic, the infection rates within New York City Jails (and Rikers) are higher than the city itself by threefold. So, what makes these individuals so apparently expendable? What are the parallels between penal centers and care home facilities that have led to the distressing statistics pouring out of them? In this paper I trace those parallels to reveal the fate of those society wished to be rid of.
This study is an analysis of the material medical waste recovered from graves excavated at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery. My goal is to determine which medical institution in Milwaukee County the waste, and thus the body, originated, in concert with ongoing, collaborative bioarcheological analysis. This study utilizes a presence and absence analysis of types of medical waste found at burial locations alongside bioarcheological evidence for types of post-mortem medical intervention to determine the institutional origin of the medical waste.
Document research initiated in 2013 has aided in the reinterpretation of the archaeological data from the 91-92 Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemetery excavations. Internet archival newspaper research has revealed evidence of the disinterment and reuse of graves on the cemetery grounds. The digital historic data paired with traditional document research has led to the reevaluation of the archaeological data in portions of the cemetery excavations. Twenty-two years of research at MCIG has revealed how modern technology has increased document accessibility critical to our understanding of historic sites.