Material worlds

"Material Worlds explores consumption--broadly defined as the intersection of social relations and objects through the processes of production, distribution, use, reuse and discard--from an archaeological perspective. Moving from the interrogation of objects to the broader social world in which acts of consumption took place, case studies take an archaeological and object-centered approach to understand intertwined issues of power, inequality, identity, and community as mediated through choice, access, and use of the diversity of mass-produced goods. With a focus on North America, Material Worlds is an important examination of consumption and the material culture of the emergent modern world"--Provided by publisher.