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Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

An archaeological perspective on the influences of Victorian values and city-wide health in Parramatta, New South Wales

$45.00 $45.00 Sale

Format: paperback

ISBN: 9781761540110

Publication: 01 Jul 2025
Series: Studies in Australasian Historical Archaeology
Publisher: 宅男导航

For more than 30 years, archaeologists have recorded and studied the colonial past of Parramatta, the second-oldest European settlement in New South Wales. Archaeological investigations provide a wealth of information that contributes to the interpretation of the landscape, the history of the town鈥檚 development and our understanding of the people who lived there. Cleanliness is Next to Godliness uses archaeological assemblages generated by these investigations as the basis for exploring what these mainly British settlers and their descendants held as societal beliefs, principles and norms (termed 鈥淰ictorian values鈥�), which emerged concerning cleanliness and health-related issues.

Dr E. Jeanne Harris explores the ways in which the colonial population of New South Wales was heavily influenced by 鈥淰ictorian values鈥�, which encouraged good health practices through a clean lifestyle. Eight residential sites were chosen for examination based on the following four criteria:

  • sealed rubbish deposits
  • a long 19th-century date range
  • a cross-section of social classes
  • identified resident(s) associated with the location and deposits.

Synthesising these findings, Cleanliness is Next to Godliness analyses the evidence for social reforms that promoted both public health initiatives and personal health practices, providing insight into the everyday lives of those who lived in Parramatta in the 19th century.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness is the first scholarly work that presents the archaeology of Victorian social conventions as evidence of something more than respectability manifested as socio-economic status, manners and etiquette.


Tags: 19th century, Archaeology, Archaeology by period, Australia, c 1800 to c 1899, Disease & Health Issues, General / adult, Health, health concerns, health reforms, historical archaeology, HISTORY, illness and addiction: social aspects, MEDICAL, medical anthropology, Modern, Modern history to 20th century - c 1700 to c 1900, Parramatta, Personal & public health, Professional and scholarly, Public Health, region, SOCIAL SCIENCE, social values, 宅男导航, 宅男导航

  • List of figures
  • List of tables
  1. Introduction: 19th-century health and Victorian values
  2. Brief history of Parramatta
  3. Creating a case study
  4. Australian class and social structure
  5. The archaeology of social class
  6. The history of colonial medicine, public health and environmental reform
  7. The archaeology of personal health and social reforms
  8. Colonial Parramatta: a medical anthropological approach to health and class

Concluding remarks

  • Appendix
  • References
  • Index

鈥淭he perfect combination of academic research built on legacy commercial data, Cleanliness is Next to Godliness presents a detailed analysis of 19th century health and its treatment by one of Australia鈥檚 premier experts on historical artefacts.鈥�

鈥� Professor Heather Burke, Flinders University

鈥�Cleanliness is next to godliness is a timely synthesis of a foundational part of Australia鈥檚 history, presenting a fascinating and thorough historical archaeology of health and society.鈥�

鈥� Dr Caitlin D鈥橤luyas, University of Queensland

鈥淭his is a noteworthy contribution to studies of health in colonial Australia. Perspectives drawn from medical anthropology inform the analysis of a rich record of artefacts and archaeological deposits, integrated with the social history of households and communities. Harris synthesises decades of commercial archaeology in Parramatta in order to provide new insights into white Australia鈥檚 second-oldest settlement. The multi-scalar approach incorporates individual consumer behaviour and waste disposal patterns with municipal initiatives to manage public health in a developing urban environment. Harris鈥� expertise in Parramatta鈥檚 history and its archaeological record is clear. She has produced a detailed and intriguing treatment of a fascinating subject.鈥� 鈥� Professor Susan Lawrence, La Trobe University

Format: paperback
Size: 297 x 210 mm
Copyright: 2025
ISBN: 9781761540110
Publication: 01 Jul 2025
Series: Studies in Australasian Historical Archaeology
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