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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Origins Of Josiah Wedgwood's "Pearlware", George L. Miller
Origins Of Josiah Wedgwood's "Pearlware", George L. Miller
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Close inspection of the documentary record reveals that Josiah Wedgwood's "pearlware" was no more than his own version of a ware already being produced as early as 1775 by other Staffordshire potters. Wedgwood introduced a new name, Pearl White, to distinguish his product from that of his competitors, which they called China Glaze. This is an important revision to ceramic chronology because "pearlware" has been considered by most historical archaeologists as a firm 1779 terminus post quem for archaeological deposits. This new knowledge will force a reconsideration of many of the contexts in which so-called pearlware has been found.
Analysis Of Faunal Remains From Queen Anne Square, Newport, Rhode Island, Timothy S. Young
Analysis Of Faunal Remains From Queen Anne Square, Newport, Rhode Island, Timothy S. Young
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Queen Anne Square, Newport, Rhode Island, is a northeastern coastal site. This report presents the results of the analysis of faunal remains from three features representing different 18th-century households. The data show a heavy dependence on domestic animals. All three features contain over 90% domestic animals by biomass. The site closely resembles southeastern sites in percentages of cow and pig MNI. It also resembles other northeastern sites, however, in its high percentage of caprine MNI. This is probably indicative of an intermediate dietary pattern. There are also differences among the features; these can be attributed either to the economic status …
An Admirable Police Maintained: Evidence Of Sanitary Practices At The New Windsor Cantonment, Edward J. Lenik
An Admirable Police Maintained: Evidence Of Sanitary Practices At The New Windsor Cantonment, Edward J. Lenik
Northeast Historical Archaeology
An archaeological survey at the 1782-83 winter encampent of the Continental Army at New Windsor, New York, has revealed the presence of several large pits or depressions located some 250ft (76.2m) from the site of the soldiers' huts. Test excavations and chemcial analysis of the soils have determined that these pits were utilized as latrines or necessaries. The land use pattern at the site, including the location of the soldiers' huts and the delineation of use areas for trash disposal and necessaries, reflects the officers' successful attempt to impose order and discipline on the troops.
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 …
The Use Of Opal Phytolith Analysis In A Comprehensive Environmental Study: An Example From 19th-Century Lowell, Massachusetts, William F. Fisher, Gerald K. Kelso
The Use Of Opal Phytolith Analysis In A Comprehensive Environmental Study: An Example From 19th-Century Lowell, Massachusetts, William F. Fisher, Gerald K. Kelso
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The value of opal phytolith analysis is demonstrated in a comprehensive environmental study of a historical site, the Kirk Street Agents' House, Lowell, Massachusett. A method to measure phytolith degradation percentages is tested and shown to yield similar results to pollen corrosion indices; further research on this new method is suggested, however. Fluctuations in two classes of grass phytoliths indicate changing environmental conditions that support and expand upon changes noted in the pollen spectra. The results of the phytolith analysis are integrated with information derived from documentary research, artifactual analysis, stratigraphic interpretation, and other ethnobotanical methods to arrive at conclusions …
Archaeologically Defining The Earlier Garden Landscapes At Morven: Preliminary Results, Anne E. Yentsch, Naomi F. Miller, Barbara Paca, Dolores Piperno
Archaeologically Defining The Earlier Garden Landscapes At Morven: Preliminary Results, Anne E. Yentsch, Naomi F. Miller, Barbara Paca, Dolores Piperno
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The first phase of archaeology at Morven was designed to test the potential for further study of the early garden landscape at a ca. 1758 house in Princeton, New Jersey. The research included intensive botanical analysis using a variety of archaeobotanical framework. A study was also made of the garden's topography using map analysis combined with subsurface testing. Information on garden features related to the design of earlier garden surfaces suggests the ways in which the Stockton family manipulated their estate to convey a social image of the family to the local Princeton community. This, in turn, provides information that, …
The Potential Applications Of Tooth Cement Increment Analysis In Historical Archaeology, David B. Landon
The Potential Applications Of Tooth Cement Increment Analysis In Historical Archaeology, David B. Landon
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The study of incremental structures in animal teeth is an analytical technique that is receiving increased attention from zooarchaeologists working in many parts of the world. The seasonal and annual cycles in the formation of tooth increments makes them ideal for determining the age of an animal when it was killed and the season of its death. This type of information can contribute significantly to interpretations of past animal husbandry practices. A sample of eight domestic animal teeth from the Wilkinson Backlot Site in dowtown Boston, Massachusetts, were studied in this fashion. Microscopic examination of the increment pattern of the …
Skeletons In The Walls Of Old Québec, Jerome S. Cybulski
Skeletons In The Walls Of Old Québec, Jerome S. Cybulski
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Fifty human skeletons were discovered during a Canadian Parks Service project to repair the mid-18th-century fortification wall of Québec City. Laboratory analysis revealed 45 males, three or four females, and one child, a sex and age ratio virtually identical to that gleaned from diaries reporting the 1746-1747 deaths of Protestant Prisoners of war. Skulls and teeth showed a prevalence of Caucasoid traits. Long bones indicated statures taller than those documented for European-born contemporaries and more closely resembling those known for North American colonials. Dental health was poor throughout the series. Most men had lesions suggesting heavy loading stresses on the …
Ceramics And The Sea Trade In Portsmouth, New Hampshire: 1765-1785, Aileen Button Agnew
Ceramics And The Sea Trade In Portsmouth, New Hampshire: 1765-1785, Aileen Button Agnew
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is a small seaport with a long history of maritime trade. The Deer Street archaeological projects in Portsmouth have provided extensive information on different stages of the city's past. The excavation of a small cellar, filled ca. 1785, yielded a wealth of artifacts dating to the period 1765-1785. More than 5000 ceramic artifacts were recovered, providing the basis for an examination of the connection between the sea trade and the personal possessions of the inhabitants.
The American Headquarters For The Battle Of Saratoga, David R. Starbuck
The American Headquarters For The Battle Of Saratoga, David R. Starbuck
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Two years of excavation have been conducted at the site of the American Headquarters for the Battle of Saratoga. Performed under the terms of a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and Rensselar Polytechnic Institute, this survey effort has successfully located the foundation of the Ephraim Woodworth farmhouse, what appears to have been the Woodworth barn, a well that was behind the farmhouse, and a lengthy French drain that curved around the buildings on three sides. These features appear to be the only physical remains that have survived from the headquarters complex of General Horatio Gates, who occupied these …
Anthrosols And The Analysis Of Archaeological Sites In A Plowed Context: The King's Reach Site, Dennis J. Pogue
Anthrosols And The Analysis Of Archaeological Sites In A Plowed Context: The King's Reach Site, Dennis J. Pogue
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Archaeologists working in the Chesapeake region have been particularly active in using plowzone-derived artifacts for interpreting historic-period sites. More recently, the analysis of patterns in certain plowzone soil chemicals has developed as a significant complementary source of data, and over the last decade several sites, have been subjected to that type of study. An analysis of the distribution of soil chemicals at the King's Reach site (ca. 1690-1715) is presented as a case study in the use of the method. The pertinent literature on the subject is reviewed, and the King's Reach data are compared with those from several other …
Book Review: The Archaeology Of Antislavery Resistance, By Terrance M. Weik, Ashley Peles
Book Review: The Archaeology Of Antislavery Resistance, By Terrance M. Weik, Ashley Peles
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Review of The Archaeology of Antislavery Resistance, by Terrance M. Weik, 2012, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 204 pp., 16 black and white figures, 3 maps, references, index, $69.95 (cloth), $19.95 (paper).
Book Review: Jefferson's Poplar Forest: Unearthing A Virginia Plantation Edited By Barbara J. Heath And Jack Gary, Julia King
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Review of Jefferson's Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, edited by Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, 2012, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 256 pages, 40 black-and-white illustrations, 8 maps, $29.95 (cloth).
Les Bagues Dites « Jésuites » Dans Les Échanges Entre La France Et La Nouvelle-France : Contribution D’Une Typologie Technologique À L’Identification De Réseaux D’Approvisionnement Et De Distribution, Caroline Mercier
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Une étude menée récemment sur les bagues dites « jésuites » mises au jour dans la province de Québec a permis d’élaborer une typologie technologique basée sur les techniques de mise en forme et de décoration. Cette typologie a révélé l’existence de quatre principaux modèles de bagues qui possèdent chacun leur propre répartition chronologique et géographique. Cet article tente de démontrer que la répartition différentielle de ces quatre modèles reflète des réseaux d’approvisionnement et de distribution en France et en Nouvelle-France.
Revolutionary War And An Amsterdam Privy: The Remarkable Background Of A Rhode Island Ship Token, Ranjith M. Jayasena
Revolutionary War And An Amsterdam Privy: The Remarkable Background Of A Rhode Island Ship Token, Ranjith M. Jayasena
Northeast Historical Archaeology
In 2008 the City of Amsterdam Office for Monuments & Archaeology (BMA) excavated a remarkable find from a late 18th-century privy in Amsterdam’s city centre that can be directly linked to the American Revolutionary War, a 1779 Rhode Island Ship Token. Approximately twenty-five examples of this token are known worldwide, but none of them come from an archaeological context. From this Amsterdam find one can examine these tokens from an entirely new aspect, namely the socio-economic context of the owner as well as the period in which the token was used. The Rhode Island Ship Token was a British propaganda …
Beads, Coins, And Charms At A Poplar Forest Slave Cabin (1833-1858), Lori Lee
Beads, Coins, And Charms At A Poplar Forest Slave Cabin (1833-1858), Lori Lee
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Objects classified as personal adornment are often vested with meanings that reveal significant insight into their owners’ lives because they are personal. The context in which objects are used is critical to understanding potential meanings. This essay considers the recontextualization of glass beads, a pierced coin, and a decorative, fist-shaped, metal-alloy clothing fastener used by enslaved laborers at antebellum Poplar Forest Plantation. The enslaved mobilized these forms of material culture in shared and idiosyncratic ways to assert varying degrees of control over elements of their daily lives, such as health, well-being, family life, and self-definition.
"Every Man Turned Out In The Best He Had": Clothing And Buttons In The Historical And Archaeological Records Of Johnson's Island Prisoner-Of-War Depot, 1862-1865, Tyler Rudd Putman
"Every Man Turned Out In The Best He Had": Clothing And Buttons In The Historical And Archaeological Records Of Johnson's Island Prisoner-Of-War Depot, 1862-1865, Tyler Rudd Putman
Northeast Historical Archaeology
During the American Civil War, federal authorities sent captured Confederate officers to the military prison on Johnson’s Island in Lake Erie, Ohio. These prisoners came from a narrow demographic; most were Southern, white, upper-class males. They left many documentary accounts of their experiences in the camp, some of which detailed how they used clothing to display both individuality and group identity in their civilian, military, and incarcerated experiences. Twenty years of excavations on Johnson’s Island have resulted in the discovery of at least 1,393 prisoner buttons and numerous other clothing-related artifacts. This study compares the buttons from a single latrine …
Being Fashionable On Maryland's Western Shore In The Late Seventeenth Century, Patricia Samford
Being Fashionable On Maryland's Western Shore In The Late Seventeenth Century, Patricia Samford
Northeast Historical Archaeology
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Zekiah Swamp was a sparsely settled frontier region on Maryland’s Western Shore. Investigations were conducted in 1996 at the site of Westwood Manor, a plantation and general store during the late 17th century. Re-analysis of this assemblage in 2010 suggested that the manor’s occupants and their clientele were striving to reconstitute an English material world in the Maryland Colony. Along with a variety of expensive and presentation-quality ceramic and glass vessels, the assemblage included an elaborately decorated ivory walking-stick handle, a silver spoon, and other luxury items. The walking stick and …
A Guide To Spurs Of Maryland And Delaware Ca. 1635-1820, Sara Rivers-Cofield
A Guide To Spurs Of Maryland And Delaware Ca. 1635-1820, Sara Rivers-Cofield
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper discusses research conducted on an assemblage of colonial spurs from Maryland and Delaware. The author has conducted this research for the purpose of adding the artifact category to the “Small Finds” section of the “Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland” webpage. Identification and dating of spurs will be discussed, as will the value and meaning of spurs to the individuals who wore them. Spurs are not simply functional objects associated with horsemanship, they also represent items of personal adornment that can offer insight into status marking and boot styles worn in different time periods. This research draws from probate inventories, …
"Jesuit" Rings In Trade Exchanges Between France And New France: Contribution Of A Technological Typology To Identifying Supply And Distribution Networks, Caroline Mercier
"Jesuit" Rings In Trade Exchanges Between France And New France: Contribution Of A Technological Typology To Identifying Supply And Distribution Networks, Caroline Mercier
Northeast Historical Archaeology
A recent study of “Jesuit” rings uncovered in the province of Quebec has led to the development of a technological typology based on shaping and decorative techniques. This typology revealed the existence of four main ring models, each of which has its own chronological and geographical distribution. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the differential distribution of these four models reflects supply and distribution networks in France and New France.
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 …
Book Review: The Edge Of The Woods: Iroquoia, 1534-1701, By Jon Parmenter, Jack Rossen
Book Review: The Edge Of The Woods: Iroquoia, 1534-1701, By Jon Parmenter, Jack Rossen
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Review of The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1634-1701, by Jon Parmenter, 2012, Michigan State University Press, 520 pages, black and white illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index, $49.95 (cloth).
Book Review: Saugus Iron Works: The Roland W. Robbins Excavations, 1948-1953, Richard Veit
Book Review: Saugus Iron Works: The Roland W. Robbins Excavations, 1948-1953, Richard Veit
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Review of Sagues Iron Works: The Roland W. Robbins Excavations, 1948-1953, edited by William A. Griswold and Donald W. Linebaugh, 2011, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 440 pages, 182 black-and-white illustrations, index, appendices, no price given.
Book Review: Black Feminist Archaeology By Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Barbara J. Little
Book Review: Black Feminist Archaeology By Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Barbara J. Little
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Review of Black Feminist Archaeology, by Whitney Battle-Baptiste, 2011, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA, 200 pages, $94.00 (cloth), $32.95 (paper), $32.95 (ebook).
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 …