Historical archaeology in California contributes to theory and method in anthropology and history by describing and interpreting (1) California's historically changing role in the 18th and 19th centures as a frontier of European and American states and (2) the regional impact of industrial capitalism and the consumer revolution. Eric Wolf, Thomas Hall, Charles Tilly, Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel, and others have developed theoretical frameworks for understanding how modern world-systems expand into and incorporate new regions. California is a key repository of archaeological and documentary information about the changing social and cultural frontiers of Spanish, Mexican, Russian, and American states in the 18th and 19th centuries. Of particular importance is archaeological information about the way in which indigenous and immigrant peoples were incorporated into the social and cultural systems of these states, including the emergence and evolution of new ethnic groups, social hierarchies, and dominance-resistance strategies. The rise of industrial capitalism and the consumer revolution are related to and reflect the processes of incorporation on the California frontier. Variability and change in the use, function, and meaning of ceramics and other durable goods consumed in California households mark the evlution of social hierarchies, ethnic groups, and other world-system boundary phenomena.