The Dollarware Project is a collaborative research project emerging out of student scholarship in the course 'Archaeological Methods' (Anthropology, McGill University), led by Prof. Stephen Chrisomalis. Dollarware - ceramic vessels that are intended for humans to drink out of and cost $1.00 or less - sheds light on social and economic processes in contemporary industrial societies and, like all material culture, reflects the values, interests, and needs of its makers and users. The Dollarware Project is the first and to date only systematic scholarly examination of this ubiquitous and fascinating aspect of North American material culture, and is intended to contribute to the scholarly literature in historical and contemporary archaeology, material culture studies, and archaeological ceramic analysis.
Research Sites
In February 2008, 289 vessels were collected from 13 dollar stores throughout the island of Montreal, as well as one second-hand store (as a comparative control). The artifacts were then brought to the archaeology laboratory at McGill University for analysis and interpretation. Click on the links below to see the field sites and the artifacts collected at each site.
Artifact Data
Research Reports
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