Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission

Learn More About Rhode Island Archaeology

 

Native American Archaeology in Rhode Island (2002)

RIHPHC's 2002 publication Native American Archaeology in Rhode Island provides an excellent introduction to the state's Native American archaeological record, and is available below as a pdf document.

Additional Rhode Island Archaeology Readings

The following list of readings demonstrates the breadth, depth, and value of Rhode Island archaeology. Though most cannot be reproduced here due to copyright restrictions, all are procurable through public library services.

  • Abbass, D.K. 2002. Underwater Archaeology in Rhode Island. Pp. 89-100 in International Handbook of Archaeology, edited by C.V. Ruppé and J.F. Barstad. Springer Series in Underwater Archaeology. Springer.
  • Gordon, Robert B. and Patrick M. Malone. 1997. The Texture of Industry: An Archaeological View of the Industrialization of North America. Oxford University Press.
  • Gould, Richard A. 2019. Looking Back: 10 Years After “the Station” Nightclub Fire, West Warwick, Rhode Island. Pp. 281-297 in Forensic Archaeology, edited by Kimberlee Sue Moran and Claire L. Gold. Springer, Cham.
  • Ives, Timothy H., Kevin A. McBride and Joseph N. Waller. 2017. Surveying Coastal Archaeological Sites Damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Rhode Island, USA. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 13(1):66-89
  • Johnson, Katharine M. and William B. Ouimet. 2014. Rediscovering the Lost Archaeological Landscape of Southern New England Using Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). Journal of Archaeological Science 43:19-20.
  • Kerber, Jordan E. 1997. Lambert Farm: Public Archaeology and Canine Burials along Narragansett Bay. Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
  • McLeish, Todd. 2018. New Images of Rhode Island’s Historic Sunken Submarines Help URI Historian Make Case for Protection. 26 November. URI Today.
  • McBride, Kevin A. 2007. Fort Island: Conflict and Trade in Long Island Sound. Pp. 254-66 in Native Forts of the Long Island Sound Area, edited by Gaynell Stone. Readings in Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Vol.8. Suffolk County Archaeological Association.
  • Morenon, E. Pierre. 2017. Rediscovering Lost Innocence: Archaeology at the State Home and School. Rowman and Littlefield.
  • Robinson, Paul A. 2000. One Island, Two Places. Pp. 398-411 in Interpretations of Native American Life: Material Contributions to Ethnohistory, edited by Michael S. Nassaney and Eric S. Johnson. University Press of Florida.
  • Rubertone, Patricia E. 2001. Grave Undertakings: An Archaeology of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Institutions That Engage With Local Archaeology

Institutions throughout the northeastern U.S. engage with local archaeology, including archaeological societies, museums, professional associations, and universities. Several are listed below.