Keith Branigan with J.M. Bumsted, D. Barker, P. Foster & C. Merrony. From Clan to Clearance: History and Archaeology on the Isle of Barra C., 850-1850 AD.

Keith Branigan with J.M. Bumsted, D. Barker, P. Foster & C. Merrony. From Clan to Clearance: History and Archaeology on the Isle of Barra C., 850-1850 AD. KEITH BRANIGAN with J.M. BUMSTED, D. BARKER, P. FOSTER & C.MERRONY. From Clan to Clearance: History and Archaeology on the Isle of Isle of?For names of actual isles, see the specific element of the name; for example, Wight, Isle of. Barra c. 850-1850 AD (Sheffield Environmental and ArchaeologicalResearch Campaign in the Hebrides 6). 252 pages, 90 illustrations,tables. 2005. Oxford: Oxbow; 1-84217-160-7 hardback 30 [poundssterling]. The later historical archaeology Historical archaeology is a branch of archaeology that concerns itself with "historical" societies, i.e. those that had systems of writing. It is often distinguished from prehistoric archaeology which studies societies with no writing. of rural Scotland has expandedinexorably over the past 15 or so years. In part, this has been evidentin a greater volume of fieldwork in the subject, in commercial, researchand other contexts, which includes a strong interest in landscapearchaeology Landscape archaeology is a body of method and theory for the study of the material traces of past peoples within the context of their interactions in the wider (typically regional) social and natural environment they inhabited. . In this context, Clan to Clearance relates the results ofwork on Barra and adjacent islands by the Sheffield Environmental andArchaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides (SEARCH)--a programmeof research that has added to the gathering momentum of the subject bypursuing a sustained landscape approach that combines excavation,survey, and documentary history. The volume broadly falls into two groups of chapters: on thehistory of the island and on its archaeology. The first of the historysections takes us 'from the Norsemen to Napoleon'. Laterchapters discuss the kelping industry (J.M. Bumsted), estate finances,management, and ownership between 1822 and 1851, during which periodBarra was sold by the last 'ancestral chieftain of the ClanMacneil' (p. 139), and emigration emigration:see immigration; migration. to British North America British North Americaalso British AmericaThe former British possessions in North America north of the United States. The term was once used to designate Canada. . Anepilogue seeks to link 1850 to the present, and appendices catalogueMacneil's petitioning for land in Cape Breton and emigrants fromBarra. The archaeology chapters report: an extensive field survey,categorising sites and monuments by type; sample excavations withinthese types; and excavations within the crofting township ofBalnabodach. In a separate chapter, David Barker gives an overview of'Pottery usage in a Crofting Community'. There is certainly alot of useful information in all of this, and the excavated detail ofnumerous nineteenth-century houses, other structures, and artefacts addssignificantly to a developing corpus of material in the subject. On the whole, however, the volume fails to capitalise on itslandscape approach. The individual monuments and sites tend to be dealtwith through typology typology/ty��pol��o��gy/ (ti-pol��ah-je) the study of types; the science of classifying, as bacteria according to type. typologythe study of types; the science of classifying, as bacteria according to type. , and are only partially related to one another ina landscape context, leaving the character and social meaning of thelandscape rather opaque. This lack of connection between descriptivearchaeology and historical interpretation and of convergence between twostill-distinct disciplines is a general problem throughout the book:historical discussion deals with broad social, cultural, and economicdevelopments and with specifics, such as estate management and thehistory of emigration, that are not successfully linked to the characterof the remains on the ground. Given this, the separation of 'history' and'archaeology' in the subtitle, rather than their combinationin 'historical archaeology', seems appropriate. In fairness,this is a cleft that runs through the subject, and it is one we mustcollectively address if we wish to establish archaeology as a source ofmeaningful social history; as capable of engaging with all those issuesof social organisation and conflict raised by the tagline From Clan toClearance. David Barker's contribution stands as an exception, giving anuanced discussion of mass-produced ceramics, their social usage andmeaning. Acknowledging problems in the current state of research, Barkeropens up several historical themes to archaeology and seeks an activehistorical role for Barra's past inhabitants, critically commentingon some documentary sources along the way. In opening discussion of social issues, it is impossible to ignorethe present-day context of Scotland's most recent past,particularly that of the Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied. . This past remainscentral to Scottish politics and self-perception, in local and nationalterms, and has meaning beyond, amongst the Scottish diaspora. Clan toClearance is enmeshed in the present-day, as any discussion tying itselfto the themes of clan, clearance, and crofting must be. The volume isgeared, in part, to a diasporan audience that provides many of itssubscribers, and this has had its influence in the provision ofappendices to assist the genealogist and in the foci of the historicalchapters. While there is nothing wrong with this in itself, there issomething of a lack of coherence that stems from a desire to address thepractising archaeologist in a traditional empirical way on the one hand,while still catering for the diasporan historical interest on the other.Amongst those who will read it, on Barra, in the Western Isles, orbeyond, I am sure reactions will be mixed--the general tone of the bookplaces it within a strand of historical writing dubbed 'economichistory' by those who favour it and 'landlord apologist'by those who don't. CHRIS DALGLISH GUARD, University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Ghlaschu, Latin: Universitas Glasguensis) was founded in 1451, in Glasgow, Scotland. , UK