The first impression one will feel when looking at the work of Professor Paul Mullins is that they have a lot to learn about the history of Indianapolis. Mullins’ life’s work was done in service to his community and the people around him. As a historical archaeologist, his passion (and much of his life’s work) was unearthing the untold stories of the people who used to call Indianapolis home.
Mullins, who tragically passed away in April of 2023, was a historical archaeologist and anthropology professor who researched and taught at IUPUI (now IU Indianapolis), starting in 1999 as an assistant professor of anthropology. The primary focus of Mullins’ work was studying the ways in which material culture was shaped, with a focus on the relationships and intersections between consumption, racism and urban displacement, especially with regards to IUI's campus and Indianapolis in general.
Elizabeth Kreider-Reid, an IUI professor of anthropology and history, former colleague of more than 20 years and friend of Mullins, shared her memories of his early days at IUI.
“From the moment he got here, he was all about community archaeology, which is really the idea of doing archaeology in service of community and in collaboration with community,” Kreider-Reid said.
Material culture is the term anthropologists like Mullins use for the objects and artifacts which are produced by a society. These everyday objects can give archaeologists clues to learn about the ways people of different times lived their everyday lives. Something that may seem to us in the present day to be an everyday item or even a piece of garbage thrown away without a thought, could one day in the not-too-distant future become the thing that helps an archaeologist understand us and the way we live. Former students of Mullins’ human origins and prehistory class may recall him talking about this idea of “garbology.”
Susan Hyatt, a retired anthropology professor and former Chair of Anthropology at IUI, explains material culture as “by definition, something that has been made and used by humans.”
She went on to say that what drew Mullins to studying material culture was that he believed there was always a story to be told with regards to the artifacts he would discover at archaeological dig sites. Any item, no matter how seemingly insignificant at first glance, could reveal new details that shape our understanding of the past. Even things that wouldn’t seem obvious to most people at first glance, like a parking lot or a new building. He was especially drawn towards giving voice to those communities who have historically suffered the consequences of urban expansion, discrimination and racism in Indianapolis.
One of the many examples of the types of things that piqued Mullins’ archaeological interest can be found on one of his blog posts (as all the primary sources for this story can attest, Mullins was a passionate blogger, often turning his profession into his hobby). This post, found on his blog, Invisible Indianapolis, titled “The Last Holdouts: Community Displacement and Urban Renewal on the IUPUI Campus” details the impact that what was in 1974, IUI’s new law school building and its accompanying parking lot had on an elderly man who lived near campus named Ira Johnson.
“By the time of his death in December 1974, the 100-year-old Johnson was one of the last residents of Bright Street. The neighborhood had been depopulated after 1960 by Indiana University as it acquired the property that eventually became the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI),” Mullins explains in “The Last Holdouts.”
Mullins gives an in-depth description of Johnson’s last days, as he was forced to watch his entire world be slowly but surely be consumed by the steady creep of urban sprawl. He explains that Johnson used to enjoy sitting for hours every day on his rocking chair, quietly watching as the world passed him by. Eventually, when IUPUI began in earnest its plans to expand its campus from its original 1920s layout, which was according to Mullins “more modest,” the loud hustle and bustle, the bulldozers and the modern urban activity became highly distressing to Johnson. Things were made worse when finally, his house was surrounded by tall buildings and parking lots, which eventually drove Johnson into his home for good until his years were finally spent.
Mullins also spent considerable time with elders in the African American community in Indianapolis as a part of his community driven approach to field research. Susan Hyatt expanded on the role that the elders played in his research by discussing Ransom Place, the oldest historically black community in Indianapolis, which is located on the near-west side and just north of IUI’s campus. Mullins wrote extensively about Ransom Place and the research that he, along with the IUPUI archaeology project, conducted there in his article titled The Invisible Landscape, an Archaeology of Urban Renewal and the Color Line.
According to Hyatt, Mullins often conducted interviews with the community elders in order to learn more about whatever subjects he was researching. She believes that had it not been for Mullins’ work, we likely would not have available to us the breadth of knowledge that we do regarding topics that many would rather forget than confront.
She explains that to an anthropologist, it is helpful to bring an artifact which you are attempting to interpret to a person who lives within the culture or community that the artifact belonged to, “Whether it's something you found in an archeological dig or something that people use today, you'll find items that you won’t always understand. It’s important to understand those items from the point of view of the culture in which they existed or the people who still use them today.”
Mullins also made an impact on his fellow faculty. According to another former friend and colleague, Jeremy Wilson, the current Chair of Anthropology, Mullins was engaged in field work (working at dig sites, studying material culture in the field) for around ten years after he started working at IUI. Following this, he took on more of a leadership and mentorship role within the anthropology department. Wilson remembers him as an example of a servant leader during his time as chair and has gone on to model his own leadership style after that of Mullins.
“He taught me how to lead through service, doing things that would be too onerous or too burdensome for your faculty to do, you take that on as chair, you don't just delegate that out for others to do,” Wilson explained.
As a professor, Mullins was also responsible for many students deciding to pursue anthropology after being introduced to it. One such student is Shauna Keith, an IUI student currently pursuing her PhD in American studies with a focus on anthropology. She credits Mullins in large part for igniting her passion for the subject and even for helping her stay in school during a difficult time.
“As soon as he saw that I had a financial need, he goes in his own time and finds all this financial aid for me. I ended up getting it. He would understand what your needs were, and he would help you take care of it; he was a once in a lifetime kind of person that you meet,” she said.
As an undergraduate student, Keith was able to participate in archaeological research with Mullins and was provided internship opportunities by him. She explains that this was a commonplace act for him, as he always wanted to help prospective archaeologists and anthropologists by providing them with as many opportunities for success as possible.
In addition to his blogs and articles, Mullins also authored and co-authored several books on various topics of archaeological and anthropological interest. They include “Race and Affluence: An Archaeology of African America and Consumer Culture”; “Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut”; “The Archaeology of Consumer Culture; and Revolting Things: An Archaeology of Shameful Histories and Repulsive Realities.”
Mullins summarized his view of archaeology (in this case as relates to Ransom Place) at the very end of “The Invisible Landscape,” “Archaeology can potentially reclaim spaces that are now dehistoricized, transforming the parking lots and University buildings into a landscape concretely linked to Ransom Place. This process should illuminate the ways in which race, class, and urban inequalities have been written into material culture ranging from mass-produced commodities to campus landscapes over 150 years.”
Luke Tunis is a senior majoring in Journalism with a minor in Philosophy. He is a writer for The Campus Citizen. When he isn't writing or working on schoolwork, he enjoys walks with his dog Rocket, studying politics and history, and playing classic/action RPGs.