Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Continuity And Change In Puebloan Ritual Practice: 3,800 Years Of Shrine Use In The North American Southwest, Phil R. Geib, Carrie Heitman, Ronald C.D. Fields

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprising, but also changes in the artifacts deposited that indicate new technology, transformations of belief, and perhaps shifting cultural boundaries. After briefly describing this shrine, we discuss some of the artifacts that …

An Iterative 3d Gis Analysis Of The Role Of Visibility In Ancient Maya Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

For several decades, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have held center stage in archaeological studies of ancient landscapes. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as airborne LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry are allowing us to acquire inordinate amounts of georeferenced 3D data to locate, map, and visualize archaeological sites within their surrounding landscapes. GIS offers locational precision, data overlay, and complex spatial analysis. Three-dimensionality adds a ground-based perspective lacking in two-dimensional GIS maps to provide archaeologists a sense of mass and space more closely attuned with human perception. This article uses comparative and iterative approaches ‘tacking back and forth’ between GIS and 3D …

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: A History Of Boston In 50 Artifacts, By Joseph M. Bagley, Patricia Samford

Northeast Historical Archaeology

A History of Boston in 50 Artifacts, by Joseph M. Bagley, 2016, University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 232 pages, 153 color illustrations, references, and index, $24.95 (cloth), $21.99 (eBook).

Book Review: Eating In The Side Room: Food, Archaeology, And African American Identity, By Mark S. Warner, Stéphane Noël

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Eating in the Side Room: Food, Archaeology, and African American Identity, by Mark S. Warner, 2015, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 208 pages, black and white illustrations, references, index, $74.95 (cloth).

Book Review: Tobacco, Pipes, And Race In Colonial Virginia: Little Tubes Of Mighty Power, By Anna Agbe-Davies, Sara Rivers Cofield

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Tobacco, Pipes, and Race in Colonial Virginia: Little Tubes of Mighty Power, by Anna Agbe-Davies, 2015, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA, 184 pages, $94.00 (cloth), $34.95 (paper and eBook).

Book Review: The Archaeology Of Race In The Northeast, Ed. By Christopher N. Matthews And Allison Manfra Mcgovern, Alexandra Chan

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The Archaeology of Race in the Northeast, ed. by Christopher N. Matthews and Allison Manfra McGovern, 2015, University Press of Florida, Gainseville, 392 pages, $84.95 (cloth).

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).

Book Review: Everyday Religion: An Archaeology Of Protestant Belief And Practice In The Nineteenth Century, By Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, Christa M. Beranek

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Everyday Religion: an Archaeology of Protestant Belief and Practice in the Nineteenth Century, by Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, 2015, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 237 pages, black and white figures, references, index, $79.95 (cloth).

Book Review: The Archaeology Of American Cities, By Nan A. Rothschild And Diana Dizerega Wall, Joseph Bagley

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The Archaeology of American Cities, by Nan A. Rothschild and Diana diZerega Wall, 2015, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 250 pages, $69.95 (cloth), $21.95 (paper).

Archaeological Evidence For Trade In Harz Roller Canaries, Scott D. Stull

Northeast Historical Archaeology

A previously unidentified redware vessel has been determined to be a watering pot for a canary cage. This artifact represents an archaeologically recoverable element of the international trade in songbirds, with the birds shipped from Germany to the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Last Gap: The Construction, Operation, And Dissolution Of The Adirondack Iron And Steel Company’S “New Furnace”, David P. Staley

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Isolation and historical circumstances have largely preserved the “New Furnace” at the Adirondack Iron & Steel Company’s Upper Works. An historical account suggested that the operational process at the facility would be clearly represented by an array of tools and debris. Daily activities at a blast furnace tend to obliterate much of the archaeologically observable behavioral evidence, and decades of visitors and vandalism have removed any tools abandoned after the last casting. Through the interpretation of sediments, stratigraphy, features, and under-utilized material culture, such as building materials, smelting raw materials, and slag, it is possible to reveal aspects of construction, …

Four Historical Landscapes Of The Merchant’S House Museum Backlot, Manhattan Island, New York, Identified Through Pollen Analysis, Gerald K. Kelso, Diana Dizerega Wall

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The Merchant’s House Museum is on Manhattan Island in New York City, at 29 East Fourth Street, between Lafayette Street and the Bowery. It is the sole, remaining, intact 19th-century family home in the city with original, period furnishings. An archaeological study of the Merchant’s House backyard was undertaken in 1991–1995 in conjunction with an historical-structure study of the house. This pollen analysis of a soil profile from a central parterre was part of the backlot study.

Sourcing A Stone Paver From The Colonial St. Inigoes Manor, Maryland, Marcus M. Key, Leslie P. Milliman, Michael A. Smolek, Silas D. Hurry

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The objective of this study is to determine the source of a limestone paver recovered from the colonial era Old Chapel Field archaeological site (18ST329-183) in St. Inigoes, Maryland. The site is in the Coastal Plain physiographic province, where there are no viable local sources of rock. As the site was a Jesuit manor, the primary hypothesis is that the stone came from England, the emigration origin point for the Maryland colonists. The secondary objective is to determine whether the stone paver was from the Jesuit Brick Chapel at St. Mary’s City (18ST1-103), reused after the chapel was torn down …

“The Science And Misteire Of Glazing”: Thoughts On The Use Of Marked Window Leads In Archaeological Analysis, Timothy B. Riordan

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Marked window leads have the potential to add significant insights to the understanding of archaeological sites. One of the few artifacts that commonly bears a date, window leads can provide a terminus post quem (TPQ) for the feature or level in which they are found. There have been attempts to go beyond their use as a TPQ, and, based on these artifacts, describe architectural sequences, structural changes, and do feature comparisons. While all of these have produced interesting results, their validity remains uncertain because of a lack of basic data on glaziers and vise makers. This study looks at the …

Striking While The Iron Is Hot: Federal Period Rural Blacksmithing In Somerset County, New Jersey, Michael J. Gall

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Blacksmith shops and the items they produced were once vital components of rural communities prior to the introduction of mass-produced merchandise during the late 19th century. This article focuses on the archaeology of an undocumented 1780s–1790s shop operated by Garret Voorhees, Jr., on his Middlebush Village farmstead in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. Garret had earlier worked in his father’s shop, 1/2 mi. from his home, prior to and during the American Revolution. In 1777, Garret lost his home and farm buildings to British arson. Following the war’s end, circumstances suggest the 33-year old blacksmith relied upon trade skills …

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, …

Clay Pipe-Stem Beads In North America, Karlis Karklins

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Beads fashioned from the stems of clay tobacco pipes have been found at a number of archaeological sites, principally in the Northeast. This practice appears to have begun in the early 17th century and continued until at least the beginning of the 19th century. Although stem fragments are ideally suited for stringing and have the appearance of tubular shell beads, beads fashioned from them are relatively scarce, possibly because researchers do not recognize them. To qualify as a bead, a pipe stem must exhibit clear evidence of intentional modification of the ends and/or show use wear at the extremities. Surface …

Turlington’S Balsam Of Life, Olive Jones, Allen Vegotsky

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Robert Turlington (1697-1766), weaver, patent medicine vendor, and entrepreneur left his mark in our archaeological record. Bottles embossed BY THE KING’S ROYAL PATENT GRANTED TO / ROBT TURLINGTON FOR HIS INVENTED BALSAM OF LIFE / JANUY 26 1754 / LONDON bear witness to a medicine marketed in distinctive packaging for close to 175 years. Turlington successfully used several strategies to market Balsam of Life, but was less able to protect Balsam of Life from imitators. After his death, his business survived until 1804. The distinctive bottles were still being made in 1919.

Turlington’s patent, dated 1743/44, listed 27 ingredients in …

“A Mere Matter Of Marching”: Us Soldiers On The Niagara Frontier During The War Of 1812, Susan E. Maguire

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The Niagara Frontier was as a primary location for the battles of the War of 1812. Old Fort Niagara, located at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, served as a headquarters for both the Americans and the British military during the war. Archaeological excavations of a soldiers’ barracks at the fort revealed important material evidence for these occupations. This article reviews the ceramics, gun flints, military buttons, and a cap plate recovered from excavations in the summers of 2011 and 2013. This research seeks to distinguish between the American and British occupations of the fort and to …