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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

An Inconvenient Corpse: Settler Adaptation To Winter Death And Burial Through Structural And Oral History, Robyn S. Lacy Apr 2024

An Inconvenient Corpse: Settler Adaptation To Winter Death And Burial Through Structural And Oral History, Robyn S. Lacy

Northeast Historical Archaeology

While the archaeology of death and burial is a popular avenue of research, considerations for burial practices during winter months in northerly climates when temperatures regularly drop below 0°C / 32°F aren’t regularly considered. Excavations in search of the early 17th-century burials associated with Sir George Calvert’s English colony in Ferryland, Newfoundland considered different options for winter body disposal. While burial on land presented the most plausible option in the colonial period, deaths during the winter would have posed a problem for settlers. With limited options for digging in frozen ground, the storage of dead bodies during the …


Transatlantic Traditions: The History Of Welsh Quarrying And Its Connections To Newfoundland Slate, Alexa D. Spiwak, Johanna Cole Apr 2024

Transatlantic Traditions: The History Of Welsh Quarrying And Its Connections To Newfoundland Slate, Alexa D. Spiwak, Johanna Cole

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Previous archaeological investigations have conclusively shown that the presence of Welshmen has co-occurred with the practice of local slate quarrying in Newfoundland since the early colonial ventures of the 17th century. The island experienced a resurgence in Welsh culture in the 19th century when a number of small slate quarries were established overlooking both the Bay of Islands on the west coast and Smith Sound in Trinity Bay. The following article outlines the history of these 19th-century Newfoundland quarries, as well as the social, political and economic factors which encouraged the migration of Welsh quarrymen across the Atlantic to remote …


How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge Feb 2019

How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.


Book Review: Ghost Walls: The Story Of A 17th-Century Colonial Homestead, By Sally M. Walker, Garry Wheeler Stone Feb 2017

Book Review: Ghost Walls: The Story Of A 17th-Century Colonial Homestead, By Sally M. Walker, Garry Wheeler Stone

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead, by Sally M. Walker, 2014, Carolrhoda Books, Lerner Publishing, Minneapolis, MN, 136 pages, 105 photographs, 18 drawings, $20.95 (cloth).


Book Review: Consumerism And The Emergence Of The Middle Class In Colonial America, By Christina J. Hodge, Stephen A. Brighton Feb 2017

Book Review: Consumerism And The Emergence Of The Middle Class In Colonial America, By Christina J. Hodge, Stephen A. Brighton

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Consumerism and the Emergence of the Middle Class in Colonial America, by Christina J. Hodge, 2014, Cambridge University Press, 247 pages, black and white figures, references, index, $95.00 (cloth), $88.00 (eBook).


An Evaluation Of Tobacco Pipe Stem Dating Formulas, Lauren K. Mcmillan Feb 2017

An Evaluation Of Tobacco Pipe Stem Dating Formulas, Lauren K. Mcmillan

Northeast Historical Archaeology

There are currently three formula dating techniques available to archaeologists studying 17th- and 18th-century colonial sites with imported white, ball-clay, tobacco-pipe stems. The formulas are based on Harrington’s 1954 histogram of time periods: Binford’s linear formula, Hanson’s ten linear formulas, and the Heighton and Deagan curvilinear formula. Data on pipe stem-bore diameters were collected from 28 sites in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to test the accuracy and utility of the three formula dating methods. The results of this project indicate that current conventional use of Binford’s formula, to the exclusion of the other methods, may be problematic, …


“New Bottles Made With My Crest”: Colonial Bottle Seals From Eastern North America, A Gazetteer And Interpretation, Richard Veit, Paul R. Huey Jun 2015

“New Bottles Made With My Crest”: Colonial Bottle Seals From Eastern North America, A Gazetteer And Interpretation, Richard Veit, Paul R. Huey

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Bottle seals or crests are one of the more intriguing categories of artifacts recovered from historic archaeological sites. These small blobs of glass were applied to the necks or shoulders of bottles. They were embossed with initials, shields, and other insignia. They bear dates, as well as the initials and names of individuals and families, taverns, vineyards, schools, retailers, and military units. Archaeologists seriating blown glass bottles from colonial sites in North America have employed them as important dating tools. They have also been interpreted as status markers. This paper provides a gazetteer of bottles with seals from eastern North …


Hier Leydt Begraven: A Primer On Dutch Colonial Gravestones, Brandon Richards Jun 2015

Hier Leydt Begraven: A Primer On Dutch Colonial Gravestones, Brandon Richards

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Although colonial Dutch gravestones appear in the archaeological record decades later than English gravestones, evidence suggests that New Netherland colonists and their descendants knew of and used grave markers prior to the 1664 conquest by the English. Various factors, such as development pressures, neglect, misidentification, and the likelihood that many were made of wood, have all contributed to the loss of the earliest markers. The oldest surviving colonial Dutch gravestones date between 1690 and 1720, with the most common types being the trapezoidal, tablet, and plank- and post-like forms. It is highly likely that these types are a legacy of …


The Seventeenth Century Brewhouse And Bakery At Ferryland, Newfoundland, Arthur R. Clausnitzer Jr., Barry C. Gaulton Apr 2014

The Seventeenth Century Brewhouse And Bakery At Ferryland, Newfoundland, Arthur R. Clausnitzer Jr., Barry C. Gaulton

Northeast Historical Archaeology

In 2001 archaeologists working at the 17th-century English settlement at Ferryland, Newfoundland, uncovered evidence of an early structure beneath a mid-to-late century gentry dwelling. A preliminary analysis of the architectural features and material culture from related deposits tentatively identified the structure as a brewhouse and bakery, likely the same “brewhouse room” mentioned in a 1622 letter from the colony. Further analysis of this material in 2010 confirmed the identification and dating of this structure. Comparison of the Ferryland brewhouse to data from both documentary and archaeological sources revealed some unusual features. When analyzed within the context of the original Calvert …


Major Contributions In Historical Archaeology, Gilbert Hagerty Apr 2014

Major Contributions In Historical Archaeology, Gilbert Hagerty

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract is available at this time.


Colonial Crown Point And Its Artifacts, Frank J. Kravic Apr 2014

Colonial Crown Point And Its Artifacts, Frank J. Kravic

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract is available at this time.


Investigations Of A Colonial New England Roadway, Cecelia S. Kirkorian, Joseph D. Zeranski Mar 2014

Investigations Of A Colonial New England Roadway, Cecelia S. Kirkorian, Joseph D. Zeranski

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract is available at this time.


From Pork To Mutton: A Zooarchaeological Perspective On Colonial New Amsterdam And Early New York City, Haskell J. Greenfield Jan 2014

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 …


Considering Colonoware From The Barnes Plantation: A Proposed Colonoware Typology For Northern Virginia Colonial Sites, Andrew S. Veech Oct 2013

Considering Colonoware From The Barnes Plantation: A Proposed Colonoware Typology For Northern Virginia Colonial Sites, Andrew S. Veech

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Colonoware vessels and vessel fragments have been recovered from numerous colonial and antebellum sites in Virginia, and the number of newly reported sites increases with each excavation season. What this growing corpus of Virginia colonoware presently requires, however, is an adequate, standardized typology for pottery classification, at both site-specific and regional scales. Here, the colonoware typology designed during analysis of collections from the Barnes Plantation (44FX1326), a mid-18th century tobacco plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, is explained and offered for use elsewhere. Colonware sherds from contemporaneous northern Virginia plantation sites exhibit many of the same charcteristics as those found at …


Book Review: Dangerous Places: Health, Safety, And Archaeology Edited By David A. Poirier And Kenneth L. Feder, Kathleen L. Wheeler Oct 2013

Book Review: Dangerous Places: Health, Safety, And Archaeology Edited By David A. Poirier And Kenneth L. Feder, Kathleen L. Wheeler

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Book Review: Dangerous Places: Health, Safety, and Archaeology edited by David A. Poirier and Kenneth L. Feder, 2001, Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CT, 264 pages, 15 figures, 13 plates, $65.00 (hardback).


Conclusion: Meditations On The Archaeology Of Northern Plantations, Stephen A. Mrozowski,, Katherine Howlett Hayes, Heather Trigg, Jack Gary Sep 2011

Conclusion: Meditations On The Archaeology Of Northern Plantations, Stephen A. Mrozowski,, Katherine Howlett Hayes, Heather Trigg, Jack Gary

Northeast Historical Archaeology

A summary of the methods employed and the conclusions reached after nine seasons of archaeological fieldwork are presented. Emphasis is placed on the success and limitations of the methods employed in the investigations at Sylvester Manor and results of those investigations. Although excavations concentrated on the plantation core, additional areas examined produced little in the way of archaeological features. The results, although preliminary, point to a major role for Native Americans as laborers during the earliest phases of the plantation’s operation. Landscape evidence also suggests an evolving economy as the Manor transitions from a provisioning operation to a commercial farm/tenant …


Zooarchaeological Evidence For Animal Husbandry And Foodways At Sylvester Manor, Sarah Sportman, Craig Cipolla,, David Landon Sep 2011

Zooarchaeological Evidence For Animal Husbandry And Foodways At Sylvester Manor, Sarah Sportman, Craig Cipolla,, David Landon

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Analysis of over 12,000 zooarchaeological specimens recovered from Sylvester Manor provides archaeological evidence to complement the limited historical information about stock raising and food consumption on the plantation. The analyzed collection derives from the south lawn midden deposit at the site, and contains primarily the remains of domestic sheep, cattle, and pigs. The domestic animal ages, based on tooth eruption and wear, suggest aspects of the animal husbandry system. The patterns of skeletal part representation suggest most of the bones from the midden are refuse from household consumption rather than waste from exported foodstuffs. The Sylvesters and their tenant farmers …


Cider, Wheat, Maize, And Firewood: Paleoethnobotany At Sylvester Manor, Heather Trigg, Ashley Leasure Sep 2011

Cider, Wheat, Maize, And Firewood: Paleoethnobotany At Sylvester Manor, Heather Trigg, Ashley Leasure

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The paleoethnobotanical analysis program at Sylvester Manor is designed to investigate the relationships between the Sylvesters, their workers, and the botanical environment. Most of the contexts sampled provide information about domestic household consumption. The site residents used large quantities of oak for fuel and possibly building construction. Documents provide more robust information about the production of crops and interactions with Native peoples, suggesting that local Native Americans provided a source of labor for the production of crops.


The Laboratory Excavation Of A Soil Block From Sylvester Manor, Dennis Piechota Sep 2011

The Laboratory Excavation Of A Soil Block From Sylvester Manor, Dennis Piechota

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This article describes a method of retrieving a large intact soil block from the midden area of the Sylvester Manor site. The soil was micro-stratigraphically excavated within a laboratory setting and analyzed using new approaches to the direct observation of micro-artifact distributions and trace residues on soil surfaces. Low technology analytical methods were selected from fields unrelated to archaeology but readily accessible to workers in a standard archaeological processing laboratory. Preliminary findings are presented in the hope that new low-cost field and laboratory methods can be developed. For example particle mapping of micro-artifacts by direct observation of soil profiles is …


Material Culture And Multi-Cultural Interactions At Sylvester Manor, Jack Gary Sep 2011

Material Culture And Multi-Cultural Interactions At Sylvester Manor, Jack Gary

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The material culture recovered from Sylvester Manor’s 17th-century deposits not only informs our understanding of the plantation’s depositional history but also is characteristic of cultural interactions between Europeans, Native Americans, and possibly Africans. The mixture of cultural material in these deposits suggests intense and sustained cultural interactions that have lead to the production and use of certain materials outside of their cultural norms. Several of these items are European goods altered for use in Native or possibly African cultural systems, while other items reflect the creolization of material culture by blending morphological and stylistic attributes of two material cultures. These …


The Use Of Soil Micromorphology At Sylvester Manor, Eric Proebsting Sep 2011

The Use Of Soil Micromorphology At Sylvester Manor, Eric Proebsting

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Soil micromorphology is a vibrant sub-discipline of archaeology that studies sediment fabric, color, composition, shape, layering, and sorting using intact soil cores and thin sections. This technique takes into account the dynamic relationship between people and the world in which they live, and has contributed useful archaeological data to the Sylvester Manor Project. This paper constructs a landscape history for portions of the South and West lawns using soil cores and thin sections. Results reveal how Sylvester Manor’s lawn, Midden, and Brick and Mortar Layer were composed, as well as how they were changed over time by plant and animal …


Field Excavations At Sylvester Manor, Katherine Howlett Hayes Sep 2011

Field Excavations At Sylvester Manor, Katherine Howlett Hayes

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This chapter describes the overall field strategy and summarizes nine seasons of field excavations at Sylvester Manor. All tested site areas are described, with greatest detail given to the areas relevant to the research questions on the early plantation period, as well as the pre-Contact/Colonial Native American occupation areas. This overview of the excavations also provides a broad interpretation of the results relating to the early colonial landscape, associations between site areas, and the longer term Native American occupation of the site.


Geophysical Explorations At Sylvester Manor, Kenneth L. Kvamme Sep 2011

Geophysical Explorations At Sylvester Manor, Kenneth L. Kvamme

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Geophysical surveys were undertaken at the Sylvester Manor Estate, on Shelter Island, New York, in the summer of 2000. This work helped identify and map components of the buried cultural landscape at this plantation where Dutch, English, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans labored in the second half of the 17th century and later. A second goal was to map features of historic gardens that are known to have existed, and explore the possibility of cultural features in a distant “West Peninsula” area. Ground-penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometry, and electrical resistance surveys were employed. The electrical resistance data, acquired at 25 cm …


The Archaeology Of Sylvester Manor, Stephen A. Mrozowski, Katherine Howlett Hayes, Anne P. Hancock Sep 2011

The Archaeology Of Sylvester Manor, Stephen A. Mrozowski, Katherine Howlett Hayes, Anne P. Hancock

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This chapter introduces the history of the Sylvester Manor Project. It emphasizes the importance of the interdisciplinary approach employed during the project and the overall goals of the investigations. A discussion of pluralistic space and its importance as a central theme of the investigations is also presented. This is followed by a discussion of the Native American history of Shelter Island and its European colonization with particular attention given to the initial establishment of Sylvester Manor as a provisioning plantation, its connections to two large sugar plantations on Barbados, and its subsequent transformation into a commercial estate.


A “Fashionable Tailor” On Water Street:Nineteenth-Century Tailor’S Chalks Fromst. John’S, Newfoundland, Temple Blair, Barry C. Gaulton Apr 2011

A “Fashionable Tailor” On Water Street:Nineteenth-Century Tailor’S Chalks Fromst. John’S, Newfoundland, Temple Blair, Barry C. Gaulton

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Excavations related to a large sewer construction project in St. John’s, Newfoundland exposed several examples of tailor’s chalk lost during the Great Fire of 1892. Made from pipe clay, these objects may be the first of their kind identified on an archaeological site in North America. This paper introduces the changing social and economic position of tailors and other clothing-related trades in St. John’s. Tailor’s chalks are discussed within the context of the clay tobacco pipe industry, particularly the non tobacco-related objects produced, and within the tailoring trade throughout the early modern period.