Showing papers in "Historical Archaeology in 1987"

On zooarchaeological Measures of socioeconomic position and cost-efficient meat purchases

Abstract: Recent zooarchaeological studies fail to explicitly define the concept of “socioeconomic position,” yet assume the varied costs of different beef cuts reflect such positions. While common-sensical, the concept of socioeconomic position seems so broadly conceived as to be of at best limited and at worst ambiguous explanatory value. Measures of edible meat yield as they relate to cost per pound tend to more clearly reflect cost-efficiency of meat purchases, and serve to clarify aspects of the income level of a group regardless of that group’s status.

Second time around: A look at bottle reuse

Abstract: Until recently, glass bottles were generally used more than one time. This study investigates customs of bottle reuse in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries, with particular attention to the secondhand bottle business and returnable bottle systems. Effects of bottle-manufacturing machinery and reasons for the decline of bottle reuse are discussed. The implications of reuse for the analysis of bottles from archaeological sites are considered.

Aspects of early Afro-American material culture: Artifacts from the slave quarters at Garrison Plantation, Maryland

Abstract: The 1964–65 excavation of the slave quarters at Garrison Plantation near Baltimore, Maryland, yielded groups of objects that display certain ‘Africanisms.’ The groups of objects are proposed elements of early Afro-American material culture and are compared to items from similar sites in the mid-Atlantic region.

The view from the midden: An analysis of midden distribution and composition at the van sweringen site, St. Mary’s City, Maryland

Abstract: Most intrasite spatial studies in historical archaeology have focused on the horizontal distributions of artifacts with only minimal attention given to the associations of materials found in midden contexts. In this paper the distribution and composition of plowed midden deposits from the van Sweringen site, a late 17th and early 18th century dwelling in St. Mary’s City, are investigated. Temporal changes in disposal patterns and midden composition, spatial variation among midden deposits, and the relationships between midden content and building function are presented. These findings demonstrate the potential of midden analysis and the importance of plow zone contexts for site interpretation.

A survey of domestic reform movement sites in Boston and Cambridge, Ca. 1865–1905

Abstract: This research is concerned with identifying site types connected with socio-political movements directed at improving women’s status by shifting women’s gender roles from the domestic to the public sphere. This survey is specifically concerned with potential archaeological contributions to our knowledge of women’s domestic reform movements in 19th century Boston and Cambridge. Domestic reform movements are particularly appropriate for archaeological research because they attempted to raise women’s status by altering the material culture conditions supporting the continuation of women’s work in the private domestic sphere, in a subordinate position to men’s work in the public sphere. Domestic movements tried to achieve women’s equality by transforming housework from private unremunerated labor into marketable professional wage labor comparable to men’s skilled occupations. A site survey has been undertaken to archaeologically assess the impacts of domestic reform movements on the historic use of urban space, by measuring the quantity, variety, and distribution of sites associated with these movements. This survey was undertaken to address three questions. First, what new site types were 1) generated by and 2) survive from these domestic movements? Second, what can be learned about the scale and impacts of housekeeping movements from their site type distribution patterns? Third, some suggestions are made for archaeological identification of domestic reform site types and ways that archaeological data could contribute to our understanding of how these movements changed participants’ lifeways.

Ceramics and Commerce: The 1554 flota revisited

Abstract: The remains of the 1554 flota, commonly known as the Padre Island shipwrecks, are well known to historical archaeologists not only for the protracted court cases associated with one of the wrecks but for the high quality of archaeological and historic research conducted on them. This paper reevaluates the recovered ceramic materials in light of the past decade’s ongoing research in this area of Hispanic 16th century material culture. This information is utilized to pose future research questions and to suggest how submerged and terrestrial site evidence can be integrated to afford a more holistic view of the dynamic Spanish world-system whose static remains are the essence of archaeological study.

Burials from the Santa Barbara Presidio chapel

Abstract: Nearly twenty years ago, three burials were excavated from the floor of the chapel at the site of El Real Presidio de Santa Barbara, California. Two of the graves contained only sparse remains while Burial #3 consisted of the nearly complete skeleton of a young woman and included fragments of material and ornaments from her clothing. Osteological analysis, study of associated artifacts, and documentary research have resulted in tentative identification of two of the individuals and have provided information on the genetic affinities, health, burial practices, and clothing styles of this early 19th century Hispanic community.

Using dendrochronology for historical reconstruction in the Cortez Mining District, North Central Nevada

Abstract: In 1863, the discovery of silver and gold ore at the north end of Grass Valley in central Nevada led to the formation of the Cortez Mining District. Immediately following this discovery, pinyon trees from the surrounding pinyon-juniper woodlands were impacted as a source of timber and fuel for mines, mills, and settlements. Tree-ring crossdating pinyon trees, tree stumps, and logs from historical archaeological sites provides a chronology for this tree’s use and the key for discerning the factors responsible for its varying use through time. The historic exploitation of pinyon coincided not only with their availability but also with developments in ore processing technology and changing economic factors. While severe deforestation is suggested by historic accounts and photographs, its intensity may have been less severe than some have suggested.

Historic charcoal production near Eureka, Nevada: An archaeological perspective

Abstract: Recent archaeological investigations conducted near Mt. Hope, located in central Nevada, resulted in the identification and evaluation of a wide variety of sites documenting the production of charcoal during the 1870–1890 silver mining boom at nearby Eureka. Present were remains of temporary surface ovens used to reduce wood to charcoal, habitation sites, and a number of small, nondescript work sites.

The ceramics collection from the Continental Army Cantonment at New Windsor, New York

Abstract: Archaeological survey at the 1782–83 winter cantonment of the Continental Army at New Windsor, New York, has provided new evidence regarding the presence of blue hand-painted pearlware. Access to the various ceramic types was not dependent upon rank within the rigid formal hierarchy of this military encampment. In addition, the small size and low quantity of the ceramic collection reflects the success of the military practice of trash removal from the camp.

Marine magnetometer survey of archaeological materials near Galveston, Texas

Abstract: During June and the first week of July 1980, the Underwater Archeological Research Section of the Texas Antiquities Committee carried out a reconnaissance-level magnetometer survey of marine archaeological resources near Galveston, Texas. One purpose of the survey was to progress toward the agency’s long-term goal of examining the areas with the highest probability of yielding historic shipwrecks along the Texas coast and to protect the located sites from future disturbance. Another goal was to locate and, in future seasons, identify and assess for possible extensive excavation certain wrecks of historic significance known to lie in the area.

An unusual pipe stem find from St. Inigoes Manor, Maryland

Abstract: During the spring of 1985, a preconstruction archaeological survey was conducted by the Maryland Historical Trust in a two-acre field known to have been a part of 17th century St. Inigoes Manor in lower St. Mary’s County, Maryland. As a result of the survey, two colonial tenant sites were identified, and two unusual and significant artifacts were recovered. The artifacts are two white clay tobacco pipe stem fragments with hand inscriptions that are believed to be the first such finds in Maryland and Virginia.

An historical and archaeological evaluation of the CSS Georgia

Abstract: The CSS Georgia was a Confederate ironclad built in 1862 and deployed as part of the Savannah Squadron of the Confederate States Navy until December 1864. Intentionally sunk, the vessel has remained relatively intact except where damaged by harbor development activities. An archaeological and electronic instrumental survey of the wrecksite was begun in 1979 and continued at yearly intervals until 1984. The survey resulted in 1) the positive identification of the site as that of the CSS Georgia, 2) a distributional map of exposed features of the site, most notably the armored casemate, and 3) data to augment the paucity of historical information on the vessel’s specific dimensions. Other elements of the study were the analysis and conservation of recovered structural materials and artifacts.