Journal of Social Archaeology 2017, Vol. 17(1) 27–48 ! The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1469605316680506 journals.sagepub.com/home/jsa Article On decentring ethnicity in buildings research: The settler homestead as assemblage A ´ gu ´ sta Edwald Maxwell Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, UK Jeff Oliver Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, UK Abstract The concept of ethnicity is a prevailing explanatory device in studies of colonial archi- tecture. This paper argues for decentring ethnicity in buildings research through treating buildings as ‘assemblages’ of both material and social ‘things’. Drawing on a case study from the late 19th-century settler landscape of Manitoba, Canada, we illustrate how settler architecture – conceived of as an ‘assemblage’ – can shed light on the events, processes and material consequences of homesteading in a new land. Through decen- tring ethnicity as a determining factor in building projects, the role of settler architec- ture as a material indicator of resistance or assimilation becomes more easily questioned. An archaeological interpretation of buildings as assemblages draws atten- tion towards their materiality and the embodied experiences of building by highlighting the historical and geographical contingencies of the settlement landscape. Keywords Buildings, assemblage, ethnicity, settler homestead, settler architecture, archaeology, Manitoba, Canada Corresponding author: A ´ gu ´sta Edwald Maxwell, Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, St Mary’s Elphinstone Road, Aberdeen AB24 3UF, UK. Email: agustaedwald@gmail.com