Carmean, Kelli. 2010. Creekside: An Archaeological Novel. University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa. ISBN 978-0-8173-5661-3. 226 pages, alk. pbk.
Creekside is, as its subtitle says, an archaeological novel, the latest in archaeo-fiction to hit my desk. Written by Eastern Kentucky University anthropology professor Kelli Carmean, Creekside interweaves a modern excavation story with the stories of the people whose home is being excavated.
In this retelling of parallel ancient and modern stories, Carmean's heroine Meg Harrington is excavating at an historic site, the cabin site of an 18th century immigrant family in Kentucky. The archaeological excavations progress as they usually do, with difficulty and stumbling around and occasional flashes of insight. Harrington's tight budget and timetable, recognizable to anyone who has ever conducted CRM archaeology, and her political struggles with the faculty at her university, are painfully realistic, and her relationships with her crew seems right on the mark.
Imperfect Life
The historical side of Creekside begins in the first decades after the revolutionary war, when the new Americans began to infiltrate the wild woods belonging to the Native Americans. As is typical in archaeological sites, the remains represent several generations of people, and Carmean is willing to bring them all to the forefront, with their imperfections and hardships. Carmean's story takes us along for some hundred years or so as the family grows, suffers and survives in the slowly evolving wilderness.
Life and archaeology is often full of uncompleted stories, and refreshingly, Carmean doesn't feel compelled to tie all the loose ends together.
Bottom Line
Creekside compares a tale of modern archaeology with its uncertainties and backhoes to the violence and uncertainties of frontier life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. An accurate report on what life on an archaeological excavation can be like, combined with a realistic portrayal of the events that leave archaeological traces, makes Creekside a good read for anyone involved in archaeology, or just curious about the process.
