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Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Ceramics From The Weeksville Excavations, Brooklyn, New York, Bert Salwen, Sarah Bridges
The Ceramics From The Weeksville Excavations, Brooklyn, New York, Bert Salwen, Sarah Bridges
Northeast Historical Archaeology
No abstract is available at this time.
Landfill And Health, A Municipal Concern Or, Telling It Like It Was, Joan H. Geismar
Landfill And Health, A Municipal Concern Or, Telling It Like It Was, Joan H. Geismar
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Land reclamation in port cities is a worldwide phenomenon that clearly represents economic considerations and, often, intensifying urbanization. Analysis of the fill matrix of two New York City sites suggests that the imposition of municipal controls may be one facet of the urbanizing process documented in the archaeological record. Differences between the fill from the 175 Water Street site, an East River block filled in the 18th century, and Site 1 of the Washington Street Urban Renewal Area adjacent to the Hudson River, an early 19th-century fill site, are best explained by the introduction of city ordinances to regulate land …
Resurrectionists' Excursions: Evidence Of Postmortem Dissection From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Shannon A. Novak, Wesley Willoughby
Resurrectionists' Excursions: Evidence Of Postmortem Dissection From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Shannon A. Novak, Wesley Willoughby
Northeast Historical Archaeology
In this paper we contextualize two unique individuals recovered from the historic Spring Street Presbyterian Church burial vaults in lower Manhattan (ca. 1820-1846). The crania of one adolescent and one infant display clear evidence of a craniotomy. Both had complete circumferential incisions to remove the calvarium for internal examination. Both crania were sectioned using a saw, though the adolescent underwent further postmortem preparation: thin scalpel marks indicate defleshing, and metal pins embedded in the frontal and occipital bones would have facilitated disarticulation and rearticulation of the vault, presumably for teaching. By the early 19th century, the illicit exhumation of graves …
The Children Of Spring Street: Rickets In An Early Nineteenth-Century Congregation, Meredith A. B. Ellis
The Children Of Spring Street: Rickets In An Early Nineteenth-Century Congregation, Meredith A. B. Ellis
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper examines the prevalence of rickets, or vitamin D deficiency, in the subadult skeletal remains from the burial vaults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church of New York City. The burial vaults of the church were active from approximately 1820–1846 and contain the remains of at least 86 subadults (minimum number of individuals count [MNI] of left tibiae). Over 34% of the subadult tibiae in this collection display pathology consistent with vitamin D deficiency. Since vitamin D is acquired through access to sunlight and specific foods, a high rate of rickets can give clues about living conditions, parenting strategies, …
Archaeologies Of Disease And Public Order In Nineteenth-Century New York: The View From Spring And Varick, William Werner, Shannon A. Novak
Archaeologies Of Disease And Public Order In Nineteenth-Century New York: The View From Spring And Varick, William Werner, Shannon A. Novak
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The authors situate evidence of disease among the burial population of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church within evolving attitudes towards public health and civic order in 19th-century Manhattan. Two personal vignettes illustrate how individuals interacted with the physical space of the church’s vicinity at different moments in the history of municipal reform. The first, a 16-year-old girl named Louisa, was virtually absent from the historical record until the recovery and analysis of her skeletal remains from the church burial vaults. Her skeletal biography conveys the cosmopolitan nature of Manhattan social relations in the early 19th century and the complex ways …
"That Class Of Person Who Cannot Afford A Pew": Analysis Of The Human Remains From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Thomas A. Crist
"That Class Of Person Who Cannot Afford A Pew": Analysis Of The Human Remains From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Thomas A. Crist
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The analysis of the skeletal remains of 85 people interred between ca. 1820 and 1846 in the vaults of the abolitionist Spring Street Presbyterian Church provides unique insights regarding the biological history of antebellum New York City unavailable from other sources. Even though the sample size is small, the remains reflect the prevalence of infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, nutritional deficiencies, premature deaths, and high infant mortality that characterized the rapidly industrializing city. Among the most remarkable discoveries were a rare case of abdominal cancer; a mother and her full-term fetus in utero buried together; two autopsied children; and a dental …
Stories From The Rubble: Analysis Of Mortuary Artifacts From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Vaults, Rebecca L. White, Douglas B. Mooney
Stories From The Rubble: Analysis Of Mortuary Artifacts From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Vaults, Rebecca L. White, Douglas B. Mooney
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Archaeological investigations of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church vaults resulted in the recovery of coffin plates, hardware and other burial-related artifacts that convey information regarding the individuals interred within these chambers. These interments also offer a glimpse at mortuary customs and practices in vault burials during the first half of the 19th century.
Lost Within The Rubble: The Archaeological Findings From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Douglas B. Mooney
Lost Within The Rubble: The Archaeological Findings From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Douglas B. Mooney
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Archaeological investigations of the former Spring Street Presbyterian Church property resulted in the discovery of four stone and brick subterranean congregational burial vaults. In active use for only about 25 years, these chambers were found to contain the remains of more than 200 individuals, including large numbers of children. Excavations revealed that remains had been impacted by both natural and manmade processes at various points in the past; however, a total of 46 discrete burials were identified during the excavations. Findings from these investigations provide much previously unavailable information regarding the structure, internal organization, and preservation of remains within 19th-century …
"A Free Church For The People": The History Of The Spring Street Church And Its Burial Vaults, Elizabeth D. Meade
"A Free Church For The People": The History Of The Spring Street Church And Its Burial Vaults, Elizabeth D. Meade
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The Spring Street Church was constructed in the early 19th century to accommodate worshipers in what was then the unsettled area north of the developed portion of New York City. Burial vaults were constructed alongside the church by circa 1820 and were in use for more than 20 years, when changing legislation regarding human burials in Manhattan forced the church to close the vaults. During the period of the vaults’ use, the Spring Street Church members participated in the Abolitionist movement and, as a result of the congregation's promotion of anti-slavery ideologies, the church was demolished by an angry mob …
Introduction: Archaeological And Forensic Investigations Of An Abolitionist Church In New York City, Edward M. Morin
Introduction: Archaeological And Forensic Investigations Of An Abolitionist Church In New York City, Edward M. Morin
Northeast Historical Archaeology
While excavating the foundations for a planned condominium hotel complex in Manhattan, construction crews discovered human remains. The construction staff subsequently ceased excavation and notified the New York City Police Department and the Medical Examiner’s office. Project officials also notified the New York City Department of Buildings and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission who requested all excavation be stopped in the vicinity of the remains. Ultimately, the Department of Buildings, the construction permitting agency, determined that all further construction activities be suspended pending the receipt and approval of an integrated work plan for the recovery, documentation and analysis …
From Pork To Mutton: A Zooarchaeological Perspective On Colonial New Amsterdam And Early New York City, Haskell J. Greenfield
From Pork To Mutton: A Zooarchaeological Perspective On Colonial New Amsterdam And Early New York City, Haskell J. Greenfield
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This article analyzes the zooarchaeological remains from historical deposits to increase our understanding of the relationship between diet and ethnicity in early colonial New York City. Excavations at the Broad Financial Plaza recovered faunal remains documenting approximatley two centuries of historical occupation (middle 17th to the middle of the 19th century), a sequence rivaled by few other early colonial North American localities. Several trends are apparent in the data. Relative frequencies of pig remains declined while mutton and cattle increased correspondingly as New Amsterdam became the British colony of New York and as the Dutch residents on the block were …
"Something Rich And Strange": Reburial In New York City, Anne-Marie Cantwell
"Something Rich And Strange": Reburial In New York City, Anne-Marie Cantwell
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This article describes and discusses three recent cases in New York City in which anthropologists were involved in the identification, sanctification, and reburial of human remains. These examples show how living peoples may reach back into the past and join with the dead to form a desired "imagined community." Also discussed are the roles of anthropologists in these transformations of the dead into symbols of a desired body politic. Anthropologists who once focused on interpreting past social constructions are increasingly finding themselves playing crucial roles in the creation of modern ones.
The Archaeology Of 19th-Century Health And Hygiene At The Sullivan Street Site, New York City, Jean E. Howson
The Archaeology Of 19th-Century Health And Hygiene At The Sullivan Street Site, New York City, Jean E. Howson
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The households represented by archaeological remains at the Sullivan Street site in Greenwich Village are used to explore issues related to health care in 19th-century New York City. Backyard features and domestic artifact assemblages are discussed in the context of institutional development and specific changes in medical practice. Consumer choices are seen as responses to differential access to sanitation, medical care, and information. Social class had a significant effect on both the infrastructure and material culture of health and hygiene for these households.
Book Review: The Archaeology Of Gender: Separating The Spheres In Urban America By Diana Dizerega Wall, Lorinda B. R. Goodwin
Book Review: The Archaeology Of Gender: Separating The Spheres In Urban America By Diana Dizerega Wall, Lorinda B. R. Goodwin
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Book Review: The Archaeology of Gender: Separating the Spheres in Urban America by Diana diZerega Wall 1994, Plenum Press, New York. Foreword by Stanley South, 241 pages, 17 plates, 33 figures, 37 tables, 5 appendices, $37.50.
Anatomy Of An Almshouse Complex, Sherene Baugher, Edward J. Lenik
Anatomy Of An Almshouse Complex, Sherene Baugher, Edward J. Lenik
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The focus of this paper is to determine the age and function of a partial building foundation uncovered during archaeological testing in City Hall Park, New York City. The authors use evidence from historical maps, prints, and documents, as well as archaeological evidence, to determine the function of the building. The evidence suggests that the foundation is an outbuilding that was part of an 18th-century colonial almshouse complex. The foundation appears to be the remains of the almshouse kitchen.
A Preliminary Assessment And Identification Of Theshipwreck Remains Uncovered In 1916 At The World Tradecenter Site In New York City, Gerald A. De Weerdt
A Preliminary Assessment And Identification Of Theshipwreck Remains Uncovered In 1916 At The World Tradecenter Site In New York City, Gerald A. De Weerdt
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Charred wood timbers of a shipwreck found and rescued in 1916 at the future site of the World Trade Center in Manhattan were origiral/y identified as remains of the TIjger, a Dutch ship that burned in 1614. A swivel cannon marked voc was also found at or near the site in 1967. An.examination 0rthe timbers, preserved in the Museum of the City of New York, suggests they are instead from a vessel of about 55 feet in length built for use on the river or other inland waters, probably by an English shipwright. The . cannon was made in Amsterdam …
Book Review Of "The Archaeology Of Race And Racialization In Historic America" By Charles E. Orser, Paul A. Shackel
Book Review Of "The Archaeology Of Race And Racialization In Historic America" By Charles E. Orser, Paul A. Shackel
Northeast Historical Archaeology
No abstract provided.
Collective Identities, The Catholic Temperance Movement,And Father Mathew: The Social History Of A Teacup, Stephen Brighton
Collective Identities, The Catholic Temperance Movement,And Father Mathew: The Social History Of A Teacup, Stephen Brighton
Northeast Historical Archaeology
People use material culture and its associated symbolism to express collective identities. The aim of this paper is to illuminate class and religious conflict and negotiation between Irish Catholic immigrants, the American Roman Catholic Church, mainstream native-born Americans, and various Protestant cohorts in New York City between 1850 and 1870. To do this I explore the social meaning and significance embedded within a refined white earthenware teacup decorated with the image of Father Theobald Mathew. The cup was discovered during excavation of a mid- to late-19th-century, predominantly Irish immigrant section of New York City known as the Five Points.