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The Matt Gardner Homestead Museum

Gardner Family Photo Album

Gardner Family Photo Album

Gardner Family Photo Album

Gardner Family Photo Album

What is material culture?
And why is it so important
to African American history?

Material culture is everything around us that has in any way been affected, influenced, changed, or created by humans — so, nearly everything! Material culture can be the house that you live in, the blankets you sleep under to stay warm, the pots and pans you cook with, the dishes you eat off of, and the garden you planted for flowers and fresh vegetables in the summer.

Material culture is significant when researching and learning African American history because it gives us insight and provides more information into the lives of past African Americans than is possible to learn solely from the documentary record. There is a lack of written and recorded information by and about early African Americans in this country before the end of the Civil War and emancipation. Additionally, sometimes historians, librarians, and archivists of the past ignored African American history and did not include it in museums, libraries, and archives. However, just because it is not always easy to find in the written record does not mean African American history does not exist! The evidence of African American life on the landscape—in farming, in houses and buildings erected, in photographs and the many things of everyday life that are left behind—is all around. The Matt Gardner Homestead Museum is an excellent example of how material culture contributes to our understanding of African American life and history, both regionally in Middle Tennessee and in the greater American story.

Copyright by site authors, 2024. Created for the Matt Gardner Homestead Museum, Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University.

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