I study everyday life in past communities, using archaeological, ethnographic, and historical sources to produce inter-disciplinary models of social interactions.
Lynn Rainville is an anthropological archaeologist who specializes in the study of the everyday lives of ordinary people in historic Virginian Communities (European-American, African-American, and Native American) and ancient Assyrian cities.
Broken pieces of Assyrian ceramics; faunal remains from mice and vole skeletons; lithic debris from stone tools; miniscule beads....How can micro-artifacts help us understand the relationships among households, neighborhoods, and the growth of urbanism in ancient Mesopotamian cities ? Read More...
Gravestones have long been studied as part of the American mortuary landscape. I study historic graveyards and associated material culture in order to learn more about the lives of individuals in past communities. Read More...
A related research project is an interdisciplinary study of local history, using central Virginia as a case example. Read More...
Public Outreach
I have been designing websites for the past 10 years so that I can share the results of my research with a wider audience. Follow the links below for some of my recent projects.
- Historic African American Cemeteries in Virginia
- A MySQL Database for Funeral Records
- Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society
Educational Outreach
Teaching American History to K-8 students ? Curious how you can use local historical and archaeological sites in the classroom ? Click below for some ideas. The examples below focus on walking tours of Albemarle and Amherst County, but the templates can be used anywhere.