Anthropology Commons^™

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The John Hunt Map Of The First English Colony Innew England, Jeffrey P. Brain

Northeast Historical Archaeology

A map of Fort St. George, the first official English settlement in New England, is proved to be a remarkably accurate document. Drawn by a draftsman who was obviously trained in state-of-the-art military cartography, it is a testament to the thoughtful planning of the adventure and the competence of the principal participants, as well as a reliable guide to archaeological investigation.

The Analysis Of 18th Century Glass Trade Beadsfrom Fort Niagara: Insight Into Compositionalvariation And Manufacturing Techniques, Aaron Shugar, Ariel O’Connor

Northeast Historical Archaeology

An assemblage of 445 archaeological glass trade beads excavated from Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, New York in 2007 were analyzed to determine their manufacturing technology and elemental composition. Analytical techniques included reflected light microscopy, handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Optical microscopy revealed the manufacturing technology of the beads and uncovered discrepancies between the current method of visual identification for bead type and color and the structures and colors revealed through scientific analysis. Elemental analysis revealed a new turquoise blue bead composition.

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 …

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.

The Archaeology Of The Matron’S Cottage:A Household Of Female Employees At Sailors’ Snug Harbor,Staten Island, New York, Sherene Baugher

Northeast Historical Archaeology

At Sailors’ Snug Harbor (1833 – 1976), a charitable institution for retired seamen located on Staten Island, New York, the Matron’s Cottage housed the unmarried, full-time, female employees. From 1845- 1880, it also housed the Steward and his wife in separate quarters. The women worked as seamstresses, cooks, and washerwomen. The Matron was an educated woman who could keep detailed records and was the director of the female staff. The archaeological evidence at the site of the Matron’s Cottage, together with primary source documents, reveals information on the life of these 19th-century working-class women within their household. To place the …

Council For Northeast Historical Archaeologyaward For Excellence In Service Edwards J. Lenik, Sherene Baugher, Richard Veit

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract provided.

The 1730 Fox Fort: Historical Debate And Archaeological Endeavor, Lenville J. Stelle

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

For more than one hundred years historians and archaeologists have debated the location of the 1730 fortification created by the Meskwaki on the prairies of eastern Illinois. After four summers of archaeological exploration of the Arrowsmith Battle Ground (11ML6), architectural patterns consistent with the historical record of the siege and diagnostic elements of the Meskwaki material assemblage have been identified. The present paper summarizes these findings and concludes this to be the site of the 1730 Fox fort.

Legacy - September 2006, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

SCIAA Magazine - Legacy & PastWatch

Contents:

Callawassie Island Submerged Archaeological Prospecting Survey: Ground-Truthing Results.....p. 1
Director’s Note.....p. 2
S.C. Archaeology Month 2006.....p. 3
Remote Sensing at Etowah.....p. 6
State Teams Up With History Detectives.....p. 10
Forensic Archaeology Recoveries.....p. 12
Three Recent Santa Elena Projects.....p. 14
Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey.....p. 16
Update of Robertson Farm Excavations.....p. 20

The Pueblitos Of Palluche Canyon: An Examination Of The Ethnic Affiliation Of The Pueblito Inhabitants And Results Of Archaeological Survey At La 9073, La 10732 And La 86895, New Mexico, Leslie-Lynne Sinkey

Theses and Dissertations

The small, above-ground masonry structures of northwestern New Mexico called "pueblitos" first came to the attention of anthropologists in over a century ago. In 1920, the noted archaeologist A.V. Kidder hypothesized that these masonry structures might have been built by Puebloan refugees fleeing Spanish reprisals in the wake of the Spanish reconquest of New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt, and he proposed that this hypothesis be tested. Over the next several decades, however, the hypothesis remained untested, but it became both accepted as established fact and the basis for most anthropological, archaeological, and historical reconstructions of Navajo history and cultural …

The Pumpkin Site: 38gr226, Archaeological Investigation Of A Prehistoric Middle Woodland Village In Northern Greenville County, South Carolina, Tommy Charles

Research Manuscript Series

This report describes the events that led to an unanticipated archaeological investigation of the Pumpkin site, (38GR226) between November 1994 and December 1995. It details the problems incurred due to a sporadic work schedule, vandalism and ever-changing objectives. Ultimately, good fortune far out-weighed the bad because the data acquired at Pumpkin is among the  best ever obtained from a prehistoric Middle Woodland site on the South Carolina Piedmont. During our periodic work episodes, plow disturbed soils were removed from approximately 25 percent of the site to reveal 504 pit and posthole features. Only 37 of the features were excavated, but …

"Where The Wappetaw Independent Congregational Church Stood...", Archaeological Testing At 38ch1682, Charleston County, Sc, Christopher Ohm Clement, Ramona M. Grunden

Research Manuscript Series

This report presents the results of limited archaeological testing at Wappetaw Independent Church (38CHI682), Charleston County, South Carolina. Wappetaw was founded by a group of 51 Congregationalist emigrants from New England, who arrived in the Carolinas around 1696. The primary focus of documentary research for this project was the earliest years of settlement; settlement patterning and motivations for immigration are examined. Archaeologically, remains of the last church to occupy the site (ca. 1783-1897) were securely identified, and a tentative reconstruction of the foundation of this structure is provided.  Evidence of earlier structures was also encountered, and indicates that at least …

A Memoir Of The Archaeological Excavation Of Fort Prince George, Pickens County, South Carolina Along With Pertinent Historical Documentation, Marshall W. Williams

Research Manuscript Series

No abstract provided.

Caprock Canyonlands Archeology: A Synthesis Of The Late Prehistory And History Of Lake Alan Henry And The Texas Panhandle-Plains Volume Ii, Douglas K. Boyd

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

Archeological investigations at Lake Alan Henry, in Garza and Kent Counties, Texas, between 1987 and 1993 generated much archeological data relevant to interpreting late Holocene human activities. This review goes beyond the project boundary to synthesize the late prehistory and history of the Texas Panhandle Plains, with special emphasis on the north-south band of rugged canyons found along the Caprock Escarpment, herein defined as the Caprock Canyonlands. This synthesis looks at the human past from an ecological perspective, correlating shifts in subsistence, technology, and settlement patterns with inferred changes in paleoclimate, flora, and fauna. Past fluctuations in bison population size, …

Caprock Canyonlands Archeology: A Synthesis Of The Late Prehistory And History Of Lake Alan Henry And The Texas Panhandle-Plains Volume I, Douglas K. Boyd

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

Archeological investigations at Lake Alan Henry, in Garza and Kent Counties, Texas, between 1987 and 1993 generated much archeological data relevant to interpreting late Holocene human activities. This review goes beyond the project boundary to synthesize the late prehistory and history of the Texas Panhandle Plains, with special emphasis on the north-south band of rugged canyons found along the Caprock Escarpment, herein defmed as the Caprock Canyonlands. This synthesis looks at the human past from an ecological perspective, correlating shifts in subsistence, technology, and settlement patterns with inferred changes in paleoclimate, flora, and fauna. Past fluctuations in bison population size, …

Archeological Investigations For Fort Stabilization And Restoration, For Mckavett State Historical Park, Menard County, Texas: 1978-1990 Seasons, Amy C. Earls, John Leffler

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

The U.S. Army occupations at Fort McKavett from 1853 until 1859 and from 1868 until 1883 were part of Texas's frontier defense. During the Civil War and from 1883 until the present, civilians have inhabited and used the fort buildings, creating the small town of Fort McKavett. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department developed part of the town as a state historical park, restoring this property to its appearance during the second military occupation. Archeological investigations at the park between 1978 and 1990 focused on recovering architectural data and artifacts to support restoration, stabilization, and interpretation of the military occupations. …

Pastwatch - March 1996, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

SCIAA Magazine - Legacy & PastWatch

Contents:

Introducing Chairman Harper.....p. 1
The Pumpkin Site Update.....p. 2
Director's Vista.....p. 3
Central America Trip.....p. 4
Santa Elena Update.....p. 6
Allendale Expedition.....p. 7
Underwater Archaeology Projects.....p. 8

South Carolina's Underwater Archaeology Public Education Program And International Outreach Initiatives, Lynn Harris

Research Manuscript Series

No abstract provided.

Strawberry Ferry (38k1723) And Childsbury Towne (38k1750): A Socio-Economic Enterprise On The Western Branch Of The Cooper River, St. John's Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina, William B. Barr

Research Manuscript Series

Frontier expansion in British colonial South Carolina was predicated upon the exploitation of diverse indigenous economic resources and staple crop production. The successful exportation of these inland commodities to world markets depended upon . access to a reliable bulk transportation system of interior rivers and roads. Commercial centers, in the form of centrally located settlements, were established for the transshipment of these products and the importation of finished goods. Socially, these settlements provided many needs for an area's population. Strawberry Ferry and Childsbury Towne - - constructed, established, and supported by elite residents along the western branch of the Cooper …

Pastwatch - December 1995, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

SCIAA Magazine - Legacy & PastWatch

Contents:

ART Grants to SCIAA Staff.....p. 1
New Windsor Township.....p. 2
Director's Vista.....p. 3
The "Harper Challenge".....p. 3
Snow Island Research.....p. 3
Santa Elena Project Report.....p. 6
New Book on Santa Elena.....p. 7
The Pumpkin Site.....p. 8
Paleoindian Research.....p. 10
Hunley Update.....p. 12

The Ingram Vessel 38ct204: Intensive Survey & Excavation Of An Upland Rivercraft At Cheraw, South Carolina, Christopher F. Amer, Suzanne C. Linder, Mark M. Newell, William B. Barr

Research Manuscript Series

In 1993 and 1994 the Underwater Archaeology Division of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology conducted an intensive survey of the remains of a small, wooden hulled craft in the Great Pee Dee River near Cheraw, South Carolina. The project was sponsored in part by the Cheraw Historical Society and partially funded by a grant from the South Carolina Humanities Council. The Ingram Vessel (38CT204), named after its discoverer Miller Ingram, lay overturned and largely buried beneath the river sediments and protected by a large mushroom-shaped rock just upstream of the site. The site was partially excavated and …

Archeological And Geomorphological Investigations At Prehistoric Sites 41wy50 And 41wy60, Willacy County, Texas, Karl W. Kibler

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

In January through March 1993, archeological and geomorphological investigations were conducted at two clay dune sites, 41WY50 and 41WY60, in the outfall area of the Hidalgo-Willacy Drainage Ditch system. This work represents the final investigations of a cultural resource management program conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the local sponsors, Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and Willacy County Drainage District No. I, by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. The results of the archeological investigations were poor. Neither site yielded materials of unquestionable cultural origin, although several small basin-shaped hearth features were encountered. Based on radiocarbon assays from …

Data Recovery At Justiceburg Reservior (Lake Alan Henry), Garza And Kent Counties, Texas: Phase Iii, Season 2, Douglas K. Boyd, Jay Peck, Steve A. Tomka, Karl W. Kibler

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

The second of three seasons of Phase III data recovery at Justiceburg Reservoir (Lake Alan Henry), located on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, was conducted during the summer of 1991. 11le work included survey of dam borrow areas and site recording in and near these construction zones, limited work at selected rock art sites, geological investigation of an upland playa, and intensive investigations at two primarily Protohistoric period archeological sites. Pedestrian survey of active borrow areas resulted in the discovery and emergency recording and evaluation of site 41GR606 at the mouth …