American Material Culture Commons^™

The Seven Spices: Pumpkins, Puritans, And Pathogens In Colonial New England, Michael Sharbaugh

Michael D Sharbaugh

Water sources in the United States' New England region are laden with arsenic. Particularly during North America's colonial period--prior to modern filtration processes--arsenic would make it into the colonists' drinking water. In this article, which evokes the biocultural evolution paradigm, it is argued that colonists offset health risks from the contaminant (arsenic poisoning) by ingesting copious amounts of seven spices--cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, vanilla, and ginger. The inclusion of these spices in fall and winter recipes that hail from New England would therefore explain why many Americans associate them not only with the region, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas, …

Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society (Mss 374), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 374. Administrative papers, board minutes, correspondence, project files, and publications of the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society, a state-wide membership organization of quilters that promotes better understanding of historic quilts and the design and construction of new quilts. Major projects include a collection of oral histories with Kentucky quilters and a survey of historic quilts from Kentucky.

Ferguson, Lynne Marrs (Hammer), B. 1956 (Fa 570), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text (click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 570. Paper: [Examination of a Speech Titled "Shake Rag Revisited"] written by Lynne Marrs Hammer Ferguson for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. The speech was delivered on 21 October 2004 by Herbert Oldham at the dedication of a historical marker in the neighborhood.

Tucked In: American Quilts And The Beds They Cover, 1790-1939, Madeleine Roberg

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines the size of quilts to determine if changes in quilt size are a reflection of changes in bedstead size. To conduct this study 118 quilt publications and 304 furniture publications (including Sears, Roebuck and Co. retail catalogues). were examined for data on quilts and bedsteads. Using these sources the dimensions of 3299 surviving quilts and 1651 bedsteads were examined to determine whether or not changes in quilts sizes correlate with changes in bedstead dimensions. The study found that quilt size (mean area) steadily declined between 1800 and 1910 and increased in the 1920s and 1930s. The most …

“A General State Of Terror”: The Enforcement Acts, The Ku Klux Klan, And The Struggle Over Education In The Post-Bellum South, Kathryn E. Murdock

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Reciprocal Reshaping Of The American Dream And American Religion, Samir S. Gupte

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Religion has played an important role in the creation and dissemination of the idea now called the American Dream since the discovery of the North American continent. The first iteration of the American Dream manifested in the sixteenth century as a Return to Eden. The next phase was best represented by the Puritan quest for freedom of religion. In the eighteenth century, independence was the object of the American Dream. This was supported by the First Great Awakening. The nineteenth century American Dream can be characterized as opportunity as evidenced by immigration, westward migration, and the growth of commercial enterprise. …

Doyle, Kathina J., B. 1990 (Fa 537), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text (click on "Additional File" below) for Folklife Archives Project 537. Project in which Kathina Jo Doyle executed a cultural analysis of the hope chest, a physical piece of furniture (chest) or a collection of items that a young woman assembled for her future household. This project was a requirement for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Includes colored illustrations and a transcript of an interview done with Doyle's maternal grandmother Beatrice Firkin.

Fur Trade 10: Fur Trade Myths, Acknowledgements, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 10. Fur Trade Myths, Fiction vs. Fact.

Acknowledgements: Funding, Contributors, Image Credits, and Special Thanks.

Fur Trade 09: Fur Trade Society, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 9. Interdependence, Mutual Influences, and Métis and Country Wives.

Fur Trade 01: Beaver: Mainstay Of The Trade, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 1. Hunting, Hides, and Hats, Environmental Effects, and Why Beaver?

Fur Trade 08: New France And The Place Of The Fur Trade, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 8. What Was New France?, More than Profits at Stake, and Imperial Rivals.

Fur Trade 03: Trade Goods 1, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 3. Material Culture of the Fur Trade and Cloth and Clothing.

Fur Trade 04: Trade Goods 2, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 4. Firearms and Metal Goods.

National Register Testing At 41hm46, Hamilton County, Texas: Cr 294 Bridge Replacement At The Leon River, John E. Dockall, Cory J. Broehm, Karl W. Kibler

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted test excavations at site 41HM46 in Hamilton County, Texas, to determine its eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The work was performed in September 2003 in conjunction with a proposed bridge replacement on County Road 294 over the Leon River.

The excavations consisted of three backhoe trenches, eight shovel tests, and seven hand-dug test units totaling 7 m3 . Excavations yielded a small assemblage of chipped stone artifacts (tools, cores, and unmodified debitage), two features, and other cultural materials that appear to be associated with occupations ranging from the Late Archaic …

Archaeological Data Recovery (41tr198) And Survey Within The Riverside Oxbow Project Tarrant County, Texas, Duane E. Peter, James Harrison

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

This report presents the findings of the survey of 75 acres and the excavation of 28 cubic meters of site 41TR198 (Crooked Oxbow Site) within the Riverside Oxbow Project sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, in partnership with the City of Fort Worth and the Tarrant County Water District. Planned impacts from this proposed project include habitat restoration, channel reestablishment, vegetation plantings, new roads, and sports field construction. The deepest impacts planned for the Area of Potential Effects are one meter and involve the excavation of a shallow lake utilizing the relict oxbow bordering site …

Early To Mid-19th Century Occupation At The Dead Cow Site (41sm324), Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Dead Cow site is an early to mid-19th century archaeological site located within the northern part (Sabine River basin) of the proposed Republic of Texas 1836 Cherokee Indians land grant in East Texas, generally east of the downtown area of the modem city of Tyler. Cherokee Indians had moved into East Texas by the early 1820s, and "most of the Cherokees cleared land and carved out farms in the uninhabited region directly north of Nacogdoches, on the upper branches of the Neches, Angelina, and Sabine rivers. By 1822 their population had grown to nearly three hundred."

To date, historic …

Analysis Of The 19th Century Historic Archaeological Material Culture Remains From The Browning Site In Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Mark Walters

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Browning site (41SM195A) is located on a 3800 m² alluvial terrace that overlooks the Auburn Creek floodplain in eastern Smith County, Texas. This setting is near the headwaters of a stream system in the Harris Creek drainage; Harris Creek meets the Sabine River ca. 34 km to the north. In the vicinity of the Browning site, the valley, being narrow with steep valley walls, offers few locations suitable for either prehistoric or historic occupations. Soils here arc Entisols; they vary in depth from 30-70 em across the landform, terminating at a sandstone C-horizon. These arc soils that formed …

The Marcus Kolb Site (41ce438), Cherokee County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In 200 l, Claude McCrocklin conducted metal detecting and test excavations at an historic 19th century site in the upper Neches River basin of East Texas. Based on the findings from that work, unreported until now, McCrocklin believed that this site was occupied by the East Texas Cherokee. This site, the Marcus Kolb site (41CE438), "was confirmed by the artifacts identical with those found on Lost Prairie in Arkansas." The Lost Prairie sites referred to by McCrocklin are the early 19th century Lost Prairie Cherokee sites along the Red River in southwestern Arkansas investigated by McCrocklin. The Marcus Kolb site …

Analysis Of The Prehistoric Artifacts From The Pace Mcdonald Site (41an51), Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Pace McDonald site (41AN51) is a poorly known prehistoric Caddo mound center on Mound Prairie Creek in Anderson County, Texas, in the upper Neches River Basin. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford, the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology are planning on initiating an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010. The ultimate purpose of this work is to learn more about the native history of this mound center-when it was occupied and used, and by which prehistoric Caddo group--its intra-site spatial organization, and ultimately obtain site-specific archaeological information that can help understand the …

A Prehistoric Caddo Site On Black Fork Creek, Upper Neches River Basin, Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Bo Nelson

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

During the course of recent archaeological survey investigations for a proposed waterline, a previously unrecorded prehistoric Caddo site Lakewood Gardens (41SM425)-was found near, but outside the right-of-way and construction casement of, the proposed waterline. This article provides summary details about the site, hopefully adding information to the sparse archaeological record of prehistoric Caddo sites along Black Fork Creek.

The site is situated on a natural upland rise (440 feet amsl) overlooking the Black Fork Creek floodplain less than 200 m to the north. Black Fork Creek is in the upper Neches River basin; the creek flows west into Prairie Creek, …

An Unique Shell Gorget From Wood County, Texas, Jesse Todd

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

During the excavations preceding the construction of Lake Fork Reservoir, archaeologists from Southern Methodist University uncovered a child's burial at the Gilbreath site (41WD538) in Wood County, Texas. The child was from 2 to 3 years of age and burial furniture consisted of five ceramic vessels and an unique marine shell gorget from the chest area. The age of the site, which has a Titus phase component, ranges from ca. A.D. 1430-1680.

Analysis Of Artifacts From A 2010 Surface Collection At The Pace Mcdonald Site (41an51), A Probable Middle Caddo Mound Center In Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Mark Walters, Bo Nelson

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Pace McDonald site (41AN51) is a prehistoric Caddo mound center on Mound Prairie Creek in Anderson County, Texas, in the upper Neches River Basin. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford, the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology has initiated an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010, the first part of which was an April 2010 surface reconnaissance of the Sanford lands at the site, and the surface collection of artifacts exposed there following shallow disking of several tracts within the known boundaries of the site. This article discusses the character of the artifacts …

Notes On The Hudnall-Pirtle Site (41rk4) In The Buddy Calvin Jones Collection At The Gregg County Historical Museum, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Hudnall-Pirtle site (41RK4) is an important Early Caddo (ca. A.D. 900-1200) period multiple mound center and large village situated on an alluvial terrace of the Sabine River in East Texas. Although best known through the archaeological investigations conducted by the Texas Historical Commission (on behalf of the Archaeological Conservancy) at the site in 1989 and 1990, Buddy Calvin Jones, then of Longview, completed his own investigations at the site in the 1950s and early 1960s, although he never published any of the archaeological findings from his work, and is has not been clear from the available records and anecdotal …

Archaeological Sites Along King Creek In Western Nacogdoches County, In East Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Bo Nelson, Mark Walters

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The King Creek area of western Nacogdoches County in East Texas is known to be a locality where Historic Caddo sites (of the Allen phase, ca. A.D. 1650-1800) are abundant, or at least abundant relative to many other parts of East Texas. In addition to there being at least two branches of the late 17th-early 19th century El Camino Real de los Tejas that bisect the area on their way to crossings on the nearby Angelina River, three important Historic Caddo sites have been identified not far apart in the valley: J. T. King (41NAI5), David King (41NA32l), and Wes …

A Cache Of Maud Arrow Points And Other Artifacts From The Jim Clark Site, Red River County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In the winter of 2010, I was contacted by Robert Perino, son of the late Greg Perino, a well-known archaeologist who had worked extensively since the late 1960s along the Red River in southwest Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, and northeast Texas in the Caddo archaeological area. According to Robert Perino, Greg Perino had found a cache of 30 Maud arrow points at the Jim Clark site in Red River County, Texas, in 1975, and recorded the discovery in a journal, along with a ground stone celt and a ceramic vessel. It is not known with certainty if this cache was associated …

Another Look At The Grace Creek #1 Site In Gregg County, Texas, As Seen Through Ceramic Analysis, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The purpose of this article is to present archeological findings obtained from a re-examination of the ceramic sherds from the Grace Creek #1 site (41GG33). The Grace Creek site has been identified as having an early Caddo component by Jones, one that was contemporaneous with the Caddo occupation at the George C. Davis site. Story, in fact, identifies Grace Creek #1 as a "modest Alto-phase habitation site." This re-examination was occasioned by ongoing studies of the Early Caddo ceramics from the ca. A.D. 970-1260 Boxed Springs mound center, and the opportunity thus presented to compare the Boxed Springs ceramic assemblage …

The Pipe Site, A Late Caddo Site At Lake Palestine In Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Buddy Calvin Jones excavated a Late Caddo cemetery and midden site he called the Lake Palestine site, in Anderson County, Texas, in March 1968. His notes indicate that a total of 21 Caddo burials were excavated at the site, and the burials were situated primarily around a midden of unknown dimensions. Jones' notes do not specify how many of the burials he excavated at the Pipe site, but one photograph in the records suggests he excavated at least three, one burial of which is the focus of this article.

Mountain Fork Archaeology: A Preliminary Report On The Ramos Creek Site (34mc1030), Elsbeth L. Dowd

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In May-June of 2010, the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey co-sponsored a field school at the Ramos Creek site (34MC1030) in southeastern Oklahoma. Ramos Creek is located in the Ouachita Mountains along the Mountain Fork, a tributary of the Little River. Recently identified by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), this site is the northernmost known site with a Caddo component along this stream (Figure 1). The best-known Caddo sites identified for this drainage were tested during the Oklahoma River Basin Survey project of the 1960s and today are covered by the man-made Broken Bow Lake. Archaeological investigations …

Some Notes On Replicating Prehistoric Pottery, John Miller

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

My interest in pottery replication began about 30 years ago. As an archeologist, I was often required to analyze collections of prehistoric pottery. My analytical techniques were limited but standard for the day and usually involved classifying pottery according to previously defined pottery types and varieties. While this type of classification helps archeologists develop chronologies and determine cultural affiliation, it provides little understanding of how pottery was actually made. I felt that I might be able to enhance my analytical skills and possibly glean a little more from the archeological record if I could learn more about how pottery was …

Reconstructing Ancient Foodways At The Jones Mill Site (3hs28), Hot Spring County, Arkansas, Mary Beth D. Trubitt, Kathryn Parker, Lucretia Kelly

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Analyses of botanical and faunal samples and a new radiocarbon date provide a detailed picture of Indian foodways at the Jones Mill site on the Ouachita River in Arkansas. Hunting, plant processing, and fishing with nets is seen from Middle Archaic artifacts and features. Burned hickory nutshell found among clusters of fire-cracked rock shows the importance of nut masts as food between 6000-4300 B.C. By 1450 A.D., a more substantial community of people lived at Jones Mill. Refuse associated with traces of a Caddo period house provided direct evidence for the cultivation of maize and native Eastern Complex starchy seed …