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Articles 61 - 78 of 78
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Small Finds, Space, And Social Context: Exploring Agency In Historical Archaeology, David Muraca, John Coombs, Phil Levy, Laura Galke, Paul Nasca, Amy Muraca
Small Finds, Space, And Social Context: Exploring Agency In Historical Archaeology, David Muraca, John Coombs, Phil Levy, Laura Galke, Paul Nasca, Amy Muraca
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The George Washington Foundation Department of Archaeology has combined a number of excavation and artifact-recovery techniques with a deliberate approach to artifact research and analysis in the laboratory to enhance interpretations of past behaviors. This article describes the elements of this approach and provides a case study involving the numerous 18th-century wig hair curler fragments found at the boyhood home of George Washington. The historical record together with the material culture assemblage allow us to demonstrate that the Washington family engaged in a home-based system of wig maintenance, allowing the economically struggling Washington boys to don wigs, an essential element …
Pollen Record Formation Processes At The Isles Of Shoals: Botanical Records Of Human Behavior, Gerald K. Kelso, Faith Harrington
Pollen Record Formation Processes At The Isles Of Shoals: Botanical Records Of Human Behavior, Gerald K. Kelso, Faith Harrington
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Exploratory pollen analysis on Appledore Island at the Isles of Shoals, a group of nine islands located approximately eight miles off the coast of southern Maine and New Hampshire, indicates that pollen preservation is excellent in exposed island soil deposits in the temperate zone and that pollen percolation into deposits from surface preserves the record of natural and cultural events where dep cultural deposits have not developed. The Appledore pollen spectra registered the establishment of the resort hotel industry on the island in the mid-19th-century, the virtual abandonment of the island after a major fire in 1914, and the chestnut …
The Origins Of Trade Silver Among The Lenape: Pewter Objects From Southeastern Pennsylvania As Possible Precursors, Marshall Joseph Becker
The Origins Of Trade Silver Among The Lenape: Pewter Objects From Southeastern Pennsylvania As Possible Precursors, Marshall Joseph Becker
Northeast Historical Archaeology
A reawakening of interest in material culture has stimulated the examination of some small pewter castings in use among northeastern Native American peoples during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Reports by 17thcentury explorers and colonists, ·who found Eastern Woodland natives to be disinterested in gold and silver artifacts, are now better understood. The period from 1720 to 1750 was critical to the Lenape and other peoples who had just become major players in the fur trade to the Allegheny and Ohio River areas. During this period various silver-colored white metal castings may have been the precursors of sterling-quality silver …
A Retrospective On Archaeology At Fort William Henry, 1952-1993: Retelling The Tale Of The Last Of The Mohicans, David R. Starbuck
A Retrospective On Archaeology At Fort William Henry, 1952-1993: Retelling The Tale Of The Last Of The Mohicans, David R. Starbuck
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Fort William Henry was a British frontier fort constructed on the orders of Sir William Johnson in September of 1755 at the southern end of Lake George in upstate New York. After its destruction by a French army under the leadership of the Marquis de Montcalm in August of 1757, at which time many of its defenders were "massacred", the outline of the fort lay exposed until 1952 when archaeological excavations began to expose the charred ruins of the fort. Regrettably, while this was one of the largest excavations ever conducted on a site of the French and Indian War, …
Book Review: The Jeffersons At Shadwell By Susan Kern, Laura J. Galke
Book Review: The Jeffersons At Shadwell By Susan Kern, Laura J. Galke
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The Jeffersons at Shadwell, by Susan Kern, 2010, Yale University Press, New Haven, 384 pages, 56 black-and-white illustrations, $30.00 (cloth).
Archaeology At The 1777 Ebenezer Story Site: The Household Economy Of A Family Of Fishermen-Farmers On The Thames River, Preston, Connecticut, Ross K. Harper, Bruce Clouette
Archaeology At The 1777 Ebenezer Story Site: The Household Economy Of A Family Of Fishermen-Farmers On The Thames River, Preston, Connecticut, Ross K. Harper, Bruce Clouette
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper uses data from a colonial-period maritime household site to expand understanding of the economic and subsistence practices of fisherman-farmer families. The site is the 1777 homestead of Ebenezer Story on the eastern bank of the Thames River in Preston, Connecticut, about 12 miles from Long Island Sound. Like many New England Yankees, Story had a diverse household economy: he practiced subsistence farming, fished and shellfished, and owned a saltworks, boats, and cider mill in common with his family. During the Revolutionary War, Story leased part of his land for the construction of the Continental frigate Confederacy, and he …
Patriots, Tories, Inebriates, And Hussies: The Historical Archaeology Of The Abraham Staats House, As A Case Study In Microhistory, Richard Veit, Michael J. Gall
Patriots, Tories, Inebriates, And Hussies: The Historical Archaeology Of The Abraham Staats House, As A Case Study In Microhistory, Richard Veit, Michael J. Gall
Northeast Historical Archaeology
To modern suburbanites, life on a farm may seem hopelessly boring or, alternatively, charming and idyllic. Excavations at the Abraham Staats House in New Jersey’s Raritan Valley, just upriver from New Brunswick, provide a revealing glimpse of the dynamic and contentious lives of 18th- and 19th-century farmers. The Staats family, part of the early 18th-century Dutch migration to the Raritan Valley, saw their lives transformed by the Revolutionary War, the arrival of turnpike roads, the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, the emancipation of slaves, the growth of the temperance movement, and family squabbles of Shakespearean proportions. Excavations at …
The Mother Of The Father Of Our Country: Mary Ball Washington's Genteel Domestic Habits, Laura J. Galke
The Mother Of The Father Of Our Country: Mary Ball Washington's Genteel Domestic Habits, Laura J. Galke
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The year 1743 brought hardship to the Washingtons as their family patriarch, Augustine, passed away unexpectedly. At that time, a young George Washington inherited the family’s home plantation in Fredericksburg, known today as Ferry Farm. Augustine’s will stipulated that George’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, manage the plantations of their four young boys until they came of age. Between 1743 and 1772, Mary enjoyed the personal agency that widowhood allowed her; she was responsible for the management decisions of the Washington household and the surrounding farm. Mary’s choices reflect an ambitious woman determined to participate in the genteel society her family …
Local Trade In Pre-Revolutionary New Jersey, Rebecca Yamin
Local Trade In Pre-Revolutionary New Jersey, Rebecca Yamin
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Following Bert Salwen's inductive approach to historical archaeology, this paper discusses the Raritan Landing project as a starting point for understanding local trade in pre-Revolutionary New Jersey. Salwen's dedication to "important historical issues" is demonstrated by this student's study, which moves from idiosyncratic artifact patterning to historiographic research to ceramic analysis and theoretical explanation. Tentative conclusions are drawn about New Jersey's pre-Revolutionary local trade and areas for further investigation are suggested.
The Mahicans, The Dutch, And The Schodack Islands In The 17th And 18th Centuries, Paul R. Huey
The Mahicans, The Dutch, And The Schodack Islands In The 17th And 18th Centuries, Paul R. Huey
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Documentary research calls attention to the historical and archaeological significance of an area that once consisted of three separate islands on the east side of the Hudson River below Albany. The area, called "Schodack," included the traditional council fire of the Mahican Indians. The history of these islands can be traced from 1609, when Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, anchored near them through the colonial period. Despite extensive purchases of land by the Dutch elsewhere on both sides of the river soon after 1630, the Mahican Indian owners and occupants of these fertile islands resisted selling them to the acquisitive …
The Clay Pipe Assemblage From An 18- And 19th-Century Aboriginal Consumer Site In The Upper Mid-Continent, C.S. "Paddy" Reid
The Clay Pipe Assemblage From An 18- And 19th-Century Aboriginal Consumer Site In The Upper Mid-Continent, C.S. "Paddy" Reid
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Four years of excavations at the multi-component Ballynacree site (DkKp-8), located at the mouth of the Winnipeg River in northwestern Ontario, uncovered a large number of fur trade artifacts spanning virtually the entire period from initial French contact to the end of the fur trade era in the late 19th century. The clay pipe assemblage serves as an example of some unusual aspects of a major aboriginal village site, as opposed to a fur trade post site, as the quantities, time ranges, and types of pipes are at variance with those expected from such a site.
The Pollen Record Formation Processes Of A Rural Cellar Fill: Identification Of The Captain Brown House, Concord, Massachusetts, Gerald K. Kelso, Alison D. Dwyer, Alan T. Synenki
The Pollen Record Formation Processes Of A Rural Cellar Fill: Identification Of The Captain Brown House, Concord, Massachusetts, Gerald K. Kelso, Alison D. Dwyer, Alan T. Synenki
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Captain David Brown was a major participant in the April 19, 1775 skirmish at the North Bridge, Concord, Massachusetts, and his house stood very close to the battlefield. Diary entries record that his house was dismantled in 1868 and that the filling of the cellar hole began on October 16th of the same year. Archaeologists uncovered the cellars of two houses on the David Brown property: one cellar fill contained only probable 18th-century artifacts; the second contained 18th- to mid-19th-century artifacts. Pollen data indicating that the second cellar hole was filled in the fall link that cellar hole to diary …
"A Succession Of Kaleidoscopic Pictures": Historical Archaeology At The Turner House, Salem, Massachusetts, Lorinda B.R. Goodwin
"A Succession Of Kaleidoscopic Pictures": Historical Archaeology At The Turner House, Salem, Massachusetts, Lorinda B.R. Goodwin
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Although the House of Seven Gables Historic Site is principally associated with Nathaniel Hawthorne, the excavations at the Turner House site revealed a wealth of information about the Turner and Ingersoll families, who lived in the house later made famous by Hawthorne's novel. The rich array of documents contributes not only to the further understanding of the households that occupied the site, but also suggest the ways in which the surrounding community perceived the residents and their home through time. This article describes the excavations that took place on the site during the 1991 field season. The documentary evidence acts …
18th- And Early 19th-Century Brickmaking At The John Jay Homestead: The Process, Products, And Craftsmen, Lois M. Feister, Joseph S. Sopko
18th- And Early 19th-Century Brickmaking At The John Jay Homestead: The Process, Products, And Craftsmen, Lois M. Feister, Joseph S. Sopko
Northeast Historical Archaeology
On-site brick kilns were established routinely for construction projects at non-urban sites in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Archaeological excavations at the brick lot at the John Jay Homestead State Historic Site revealed features relating to the manufacture of a brick. Documentary and scientific research revealed information about the brickmakers and established a baseline for the identification of brick sources from three different areas of New York State. Comparisons between brickmakers at the Jay and Schuyler houses and between brickmakers and other craftsmen are discussed here.
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.
Book Review: An Archaeology Of Manners: The Polite World Of The Merchant Elite Of Colonial Massachusetts, By Lorinda B. R. Goodwin, Emerson W. Baker
Book Review: An Archaeology Of Manners: The Polite World Of The Merchant Elite Of Colonial Massachusetts, By Lorinda B. R. Goodwin, Emerson W. Baker
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Book Review: An Archaeology of Manners: The Polite World of the Merchant Elite of Colonial Massachusetts, by Lorinda B. R. Goodwin, 1999, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 233 pages.
The Social And Material Lives Of The Agricultural Elite: The18th-Century Tyngs Of Dunstable, Massachusetts, Christa M. Beranek
The Social And Material Lives Of The Agricultural Elite: The18th-Century Tyngs Of Dunstable, Massachusetts, Christa M. Beranek
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The Tyngs were a wealthy family in Dunstable (now Tyngsborough), Massachusetts in the late- 17th and 18th centuries. They were descended from a Boston merchant, and maintained many commercial connections. Some members of the family became rural storekeepers in Dunstable. Historical research and archaeological data from Eleazer Tyng's house site show the different ways in which the Tyngs related themselves to the urban coastal elite, and participated in the culture of gentility and refinement. Through architecture, social connections, and material goods such as tea wares, they lived as rural elites with connections to the coast. Rather than directly mimicking the …
Forging Ahead In The Somerset Hills: Archaeologicaldocumentation Of An 18th-Century Bloomery Forge Inbernardsville, New Jersey, Richard Veit, Michael Gall
Forging Ahead In The Somerset Hills: Archaeologicaldocumentation Of An 18th-Century Bloomery Forge Inbernardsville, New Jersey, Richard Veit, Michael Gall
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper describes the results of a program of salvage archaeology at the Leddell Forge in Bernardsville, Somerset County, New Jersey. The site, which dates from the late-18th century, was discovered during landscaping activities on private property. Small-scale ironworks, such as this forge, were once a ubiquitous part of the cultural landscape in northern New Jersey, but today they are largely forgotten. With support from the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills and private donors, the forge remains were recorded. The Leddell Forge site contained exceptionally well-preserved wooden remains which provide new information about bloomery forge layout and construction. As …