Anthropology

Permanent URI for this community

http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2211

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 118

2009 Phase II Archaeological Investigations in the Riversdale (18PR390) Garden, Prince George’s County, MD
(2009) Gadsby, David A.; Shackel, Paul A.
In the fall of 2009, archaeologists and students from the University of Maryland’s Center for Heritage Resource Studies, in conjunction with the Archaeology Program, Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, conducted phase II archaeological testing of a portion of the garden at the Federal-period Riversdale Mansion (18PR390). The goal of the excavation was to evaluate the impact of ongoing erosion on archaeological resources in the project area. Excavators dug a total of 4 units measuring five-foot square and another half-unit measuring 2.5-feet by five-feet. They recovered 4280 objects ranging in date from the early 19th century through the twentieth century. They also unearthed the remains of a large garden wall erected around 1805 as well as the foundation of a brick structure built before 1830. This report details the project activities, and recommends that M-NCCP continue to monitor the effects of erosion on these resources. It also suggests future research questions, should additional excavations prove necessary.
ADAN Symposium
(2012-01-03) Leone, Mark P.
African Americans and Appomattox Manor Within the Structured Landscape of the Eppes Plantation
(2000) Brown, Gail W; Shackel, Paul A.; Orr, David; Blades, Brooke
The Civil War brought about many changes in Virginian society, including the area around City Point, Virginia. These changes greatly effected the manner in which plantation owners managed their farms. Plantation owners had to find new ways of obtaining and exploiting their labor, and protecting their resources. The goal of this report is to explore those changes between the years 1851 and 1872 on the Eppes' plantations. I examine how Dr. Eppes structured his landscape to aid in controlling his productive resources, and the relationship he held with African-Americans. Part of exploring that relationship will be examining the living conditions of African-Americans on the Eppes' plantations as slaves and freedmen laborers. Dr. Eppes' home, Appomattox Manor, and its grounds now make up the City Point Unit of the Petersburg National Battlefield. This report will place the City Point Unit into its larger historic context. Though the unit is best known as the location of General Grant's headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg, its history is far more extensive. In this report, I place City Point and Appomattox Manor in the plantation context which surrounded them before and after the war. It will show how the Civil War was not an isolated event, but was effected by and affected the social world around it.
African-American mitochondrial DNAs often match mtDNAs found in multiple African ethnic groups
(Springer Nature, 2006-10-12) Ely, Bert; Wilson, Jamie Lee; Jackson, Fatimah; Jackson, Bruce A
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes have become popular tools for tracing maternal ancestry, and several companies offer this service to the general public. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human mtDNA haplotypes can be used with confidence to identify the continent where the haplotype originated. Ideally, mtDNA haplotypes could also be used to identify a particular country or ethnic group from which the maternal ancestor emanated. However, the geographic distribution of mtDNA haplotypes is greatly influenced by the movement of both individuals and population groups. Consequently, common mtDNA haplotypes are shared among multiple ethnic groups. We have studied the distribution of mtDNA haplotypes among West African ethnic groups to determine how often mtDNA haplotypes can be used to reconnect Americans of African descent to a country or ethnic group of a maternal African ancestor. The nucleotide sequence of the mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) usually provides sufficient information to assign a particular mtDNA to the proper haplogroup, and it contains most of the variation that is available to distinguish a particular mtDNA haplotype from closely related haplotypes. In this study, samples of general African-American and specific Gullah/Geechee HVS-I haplotypes were compared with two databases of HVS-I haplotypes from sub-Saharan Africa, and the incidence of perfect matches recorded for each sample. When two independent African-American samples were analyzed, more than half of the sampled HVS-I mtDNA haplotypes exactly matched common haplotypes that were shared among multiple African ethnic groups. Another 40% did not match any sequence in the database, and fewer than 10% were an exact match to a sequence from a single African ethnic group. Differences in the regional distribution of haplotypes were observed in the African database, and the African-American haplotypes were more likely to match haplotypes found in ethnic groups from West or West Central Africa than those found in eastern or southern Africa. Fewer than 14% of the African-American mtDNA sequences matched sequences from only West Africa or only West Central Africa. Our database of sub-Saharan mtDNA sequences includes the most common haplotypes that are shared among ethnic groups from multiple regions of Africa. These common haplotypes have been found in half of all sub-Saharan Africans. More than 60% of the remaining haplotypes differ from the common haplotypes at a single nucleotide position in the HVS-I region, and they are likely to occur at varying frequencies within sub-Saharan Africa. However, the finding that 40% of the African-American mtDNAs analyzed had no match in the database indicates that only a small fraction of the total number of African haplotypes has been identified. In addition, the finding that fewer than 10% of African-American mtDNAs matched mtDNA sequences from a single African region suggests that few African Americans might be able to trace their mtDNA lineages to a particular region of Africa, and even fewer will be able to trace their mtDNA to a single ethnic group. However, no firm conclusions should be made until a much larger database is available. It is clear, however, that when identical mtDNA haplotypes are shared among many ethnic groups from different parts of Africa, it is impossible to determine which single ethnic group was the source of a particular maternal ancestor based on the mtDNA sequence.
An Ecolabel for the World Heritage Brand? Developing a Climate Communication Recognition Scheme for Heritage Sites
(MDPI, 2020-03-05) Samuels, Kathryn Lafrenz; Platts, Ellen J.
This study develops a climate communication recognition scheme (CCRS) for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites (WHS), in order to explore the communicative power of heritage to mobilize stakeholders around climate change. We present this scheme with the aim to influence site management and tourist decision-making by increasing climate awareness at heritage sites and among visitors and encouraging the incorporation of carbon management into heritage site management. Given the deficits and dysfunction in international governance for climate mitigation and inspired by transnational environmental governance tools such as ecolabels and environmental product information schemes, we offer “climate communication recognition schemes” as a corollary tool for transnational climate governance and communication. We assess and develop four dimensions for the CCRS, featuring 50 WHS: carbon footprint analysis, narrative potential, sustainability practices, and the impacts of climate change on heritage resources. In our development of a CCRS, this study builds on the “branding” value and recognition of UNESCO World Heritage, set against the backdrop of increasing tourism—including the projected doubling of international air travel in the next 15–20 years—and the implications of this growth for climate change. The CCRS, titled Climate Footprints of Heritage Tourism, is available online as an ArcGIS StoryMap.
Anthracite Memories: Semantic Tagging and Coal Mining Oral Histories
(2023) Paul A. Shackel
Oral histories are a critical source of information about lived experiences of past events. They have been analyzed both for their form – linguistically as texts, performances, and expressive accounts – and their content for understanding historic events and personal experiences. Here we focus on sentiment analysis approaches frequently applied to big data research questions, but less often utilized by anthropologists working with oral histories. Oral histories collected half a century ago in the anthracite mining communities of northeastern Pennsylvania are examined by considering methodological and historical questions. This project explores how oral history and data science might be productively combined to understand these now historic communities' everyday lives and working conditions. Bakhtin's (1981) concept of chronotope helps us understand the memory of these anthracite coal mining communities' daily life and working conditions.
ARCHAEOBOTANICAL LEGACIES: CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH AN INVESTIGATION OF MACROBOTANICALS, MICRORESIDUES, AND ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA AT 12OR0001, HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST, INDIANA
(2024) Woodruff, Emma; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Unequal archaeobotanical preservation has wide-reaching impacts on archaeologists’ views on what is culturally significant. By looking at the intersections and differences between ethnobotanical, macrobotanical, and microresidue data I examine the information streams that are available to archaeologists tasked with determining regulatory “ cultural significance” with regards to plants. This thesis documents the only microresidue research conducted as of this writing for 12Or0001, a site located on Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Preliminary research is vital to beginning any consultation or collaboration process so that informed consent regarding laboratory methods and materials identification can be obtained. The viability of future microresidue studies, and their place in Cultural and Heritage Resource Management, are examined within the framework of existing United States legislation. Future research in ancient starches should include consultation and may aid the recovery of knowledge about traditionally utilized plants that has been lost to Indigenous Peoples over time.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS OF SITE 36LU331 HOUSES 34 AND 36 ECKLEY MINERS’ VILLAGE LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
(2021-01) Neurock Schriner, Aryn G.; Shackel, Paul A.; Westmont, V. Camille
This report presents the findings of a research-oriented archaeological survey and excavations conducted at the site 36LU331. The University of Maryland Department of Anthropology field school, under the direction of Dr. Paul A. Shackel, conducted this research during the summer of 2016 in accordance with the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission’s “Letter of Authorization” agreement signed January 29, 2016 (Appendix C). A combination Phase I shovel test survey and surface survey was conducted on the PHMC- owned portion of Back Street in June 2015. This preliminary research indicated that House 34/36, House 38/40, and House 42/44, previously unrecorded archaeological sites, needed to be registered with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office. These sites are designated as 36LU331, 36LU332, and 36LU333, respectively; however, for the 2016 summer field season, only 36LU331 was selected for further evaluation. As a result of the intact archaeological remains at 36LU331, the site is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is not currently included within the bounds of the Eckley Historic District, which was listed on the NRHP on October 26, 1971. It is recommended that the National Register boundaries be redrawn to include site 36LU331 and that the site be added as a contributing resource to the nomination under Criterion D, a place that has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF CLOVIS BLADE TECHNOLOGY AT THUNDERBIRD (44WR11), A PALEOLITHIC STRATIFIED SITE OF THE FLINT RUN COMPLEX, WARREN COUNTY, VA
(2024) Fredrickson, Kurt N; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The presence of Paleoindians in the Eastern United States at the end of the Pleistocene has been a focus of scientific examination for more than a century, resulting in the discovery of numerous sites. These sites, occupied more than ten millennia ago, are extremely rare, and even more so in an undisturbed context. The Flint Run Complex in Northern Virginia contains not one, but several Late Pleistocene and Holocene open-air stratified Paleoindian sites. Thunderbird (44WR11) is the main site within the complex with evidence of human occupation in the region at around 9,990 BP. Numerous tools were recovered which fit the Clovis technocomplex and extensive analysis has been performed on bifacial technology at the site. Additionally, the identification of blades at Thunderbird would support previous assertions that the site was an important refugia on a migratory pattern where scheduled resource exploitation and toolkit refurbishments took place as part of seasonal rounds. How does the analysis of lithic blade production at the Thunderbird site (44WR11) refine our understanding of localized seasonal migration and exploitation of local resources among Paleoindian people of the Shenandoah River Valley. Confirmation of blades and their use would indicate a more robust exploitation of the region’s natural resources and reinforce previous assessments of the importance of Thunderbird as a sedentary seasonal base camp. Through the examination of 324 lithic artifacts from the site, this study seeks to identify the presence of a concerted blade manufacturing technology where it was believed one did not exist, and better understand the behaviors tied to those tools. Blades are a known part of the Clovis toolkit and have been found at sites across the United States. The identification of blades at Thunderbird will provide an expanded understating of the Clovis toolkit, the spread of blade technology, and of Paleoindian lifeways in the Middle Atlantic region.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SITE 36LU332 HOUSE #38/40 BACK STREET ECKLEY MINERS’ VILLAGE LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
(2017-01) Westmont, V. Camille; Shackel, Paul A.; Stein, Rebecca A.; Thomas, Toni
The University of Maryland summer archaeological field methods course was taught at Eckley Miners’ Village, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from May through July 2015. As a result of the field school, three previously unrecorded sites (36LU331, 36LU332, and 36LU333) were identified. The field school proceeded to conduct additional archaeological investigations at 36LU332. The objective of this work was to assess the integrity of the archaeological deposits at the site as well as to answer a series of research themes related to the life of workers and their families at Eckley. The field school investigations included historical research as well as excavation of shovel test pits and 5 x 5 ft test units. In total, the 64 shovel test pits (STPs) and 11 Test Units (TUs) excavated at 36LU332 yielded 6,487 historical artifacts, 195 faunal remains, and 66 modern items. Site 36LU332 was a company-constructed double tenancy house associated with a mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century occupation. According to historic maps, the structure was designated as Houses #38 and 40 on Back Street. Historical research indicated that the house was likely constructed in 1854 when Sharpe, Leisinger, and Company constructed the colliery at Eckley. The early occupation of the house is unknown, although the US federal census indicates that the property was occupied by William Wash and the Chiban family in 1920, the Ondeck and Charnigo families in 1930, and the Ondeck and Jurbella families in 1940. The house was demolished between 1940 and 1959. Based on the intact cultural deposits uncovered the site, 36LU332 is recommended for inclusion in the existing Eckley Miners’ Village National Historic Register. Analysis of the House #38/40 site artifact assemblage by research themes provided a framework for understanding the occupation of the house. The research themes investigated included (1) land and spatial use and organization, (2) consumer behaviors, (3) ethnicity and class differences, and (4) household economies. Analysis of the surviving architectural elements combined with a comparison to nearby houses indicate that House #38/40 was a one-and-a-half story, clapboard covered, balloon frame structure that measured 28 x 20 ft. Because the structure served as two domiciles, each side of the duplex measured approximately 14 x 20 ft A detached summer kitchen was located 12 to 15 ft behind the house structure and measured 12 x 24 ft and was divided in the middle. An exterior brick chimney was added to the rear of House #40 between 1854 and 1920. Each side of the house would have included a front and rear room on the ground floor, a sleeping loft, and an unfinished cellar located beneath the front room. Artifacts from this site represented consumer items ranging from common and inexpensive (redware and Prosser buttons) to fashionable and expensive (shell buttons and gilded porcelain vessels). Overall, the archaeological investigations of site 36LU332 indicate that the lifestyles of the workers living in the two households varied – possibly with the rise and decline of the coal industry. The houses served as home for several families of Eastern European descent as well as boarders. The historical and archaeological research conducted at this site concluded that variance in wealth within the immigrant population manifested within the material record as families used different strategies to cope with their economic and social circumstances through time.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SITE 36LU312, CANAL STREET, LATTIMER LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
(2022-08) Jones, Sean; Shackel, Paul
The University of Maryland Anthracite Heritage Program summer archaeological field methods course (ANTH496) was taught in Lattimer, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (previously Lattimer Village No.1). From May 29th to July 6th of 2012, the previously undocumented Canal Street site (36LU312) was investigated. The following report outlines the Phase I and II archaeological investigations at the Canal Street Site. All archaeological review, curation, and writing were completed in accordance with The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commissions Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania as amended. Site 36LU312 consisted of coal company-constructed houses. From as early as 1878, up to nine structures of varying sizes and shapes lined the Canal Street road, and over the course of the following seven decades, the structures in this area changed size and shape as additional outbuildings, we added and subtracted to meet the needs of their occupants. The Canal Street section of Lattimer No.1 consisted of an ethnic enclave of primary Slavic and Italian immigrants; this ethnic diversity in the northeast area of town provides a unique perspective in an otherwise ethnically segregated company town. The objective of this work was to assess the integrity of archaeological deposits at the sites to aid in research themes related to the lives of 19th- and 20th-century immigrants and an examination of ethnic enclaves in patch-towns. These research themes include land usage, access to commodities, household demographics, and structural violence. The field school investigations included historical research and excavation of shovel test pits and test units of varying sizes. In total, 32 shovel test pits (STPs) and 13 test units were excavated. The site yielded 9,992 artifacts, 6% of which were ceramics, 35% of which were glass, and 49% of which were metal. A minimum of 76 ceramic and glass vessels were identified. Analysis of the Canal Street artifact assemblage is guided by research themes to provide a coherent framework of understanding the occupation and lifestyle of household residents. The research themes include: (1) a spatial analysis of land usage, (2) an analysis of residents' access to commodities and the effects of such access, (3) an analysis of household and neighborhood demographics, (4) and a discussion about structural violence. The large portion of the material culture recovered from these investigations consisted of modern materials or non-diagnostic materials. The diagnostic materials recovered from the Canal Street assemblage provide a framework that can be used as a model in the analysis of ethnical diverse company towns.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SITE 36LU321, YANAC HOUSE, PARDEESVILLE LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
(2021-01) Shackel, Paul A.; Jones, Sean M.; Westmont, V. Camille
The University of Maryland Anthracite Heritage Program summer archaeological field methods course was taught at Pardeesville, Hazle Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (previously Lattimer Village No.2) from May through July 2014. As a result of the field school, two previously undocumented sites were investigated: 36LU321 (Yanac House) and 36LU323 (Lower Street Double). The following report outlines the Phase I and II archaeological investigations at the Yanac House Site. The objective of this work was to assess the integrity of archaeological deposits at the sites to aid in research themes related to the lives of immigrant and second-generation laborers and their families at the Yanac House Site, and Northeast Pennsylvania as a whole. These research themes include household demographics, health care, land usage, and transgenerational trauma. The field school investigations included historical research and excavation of shovel test pits and test units varying in size (5 ft x 5 ft, 4 ft x 5 ft, 2.5 ft x 5 ft, and 7.5 ft x 7.5 ft). In total 4 shovel test pits (STPs) and 9 test units were excavated at 36LU321. The site yielded 7,766 artifacts, 417 of which were ceramic sherds, 1,906 of which were glass, and 1282 of which were modern materials. Over 110 complete glass bottles were recovered from the excavation, many of which were related to medicinal care for diabetes, eczema, and congestion/coughing. Site 36LU321 (Yanac House) consisted of a company-constructed double tenancy house. The house was constructed by the Pardee Brothers and Company in Lattimer Village No. 2. The household was rented until the company’s bankruptcy in 1940, and subsequently purchased by the occupying tenants, the Berish family. The Yanac House (eastern portion of household lot #57) has been occupied from the coal village tenancy of the 19th century to the present day. In 2000 the Yanac family would purchase the property from the Berish descendants. Analysis of the Yanac house artifact assemblage is guided by research themes to provide a framework of understanding the occupation and lifestyle of the household residents. The research themes include: (1) land and spatial usage, (2) household demographics, (3) medicinal usage/availability, and (4) transgenerational trauma. The Yanac House structure has survived over 150 years, however it has been modified over this time-period. Large scale modifications occurred during the Berish occupation in the mid-20th century and the house has since been modernized. The large quantity of complete medicinal bottles recovered from the site provide significant research potential regarding the effects of structural violence on an immigrant labor force, and how this trauma affects future generations. Material culture related to diabetes and asthma provide data related to transgenerational trauma in the anthracite coal region.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SITE 36LU323, Lower Street Double, Pardeesville, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
(University of Maryland, 2023) Jones, Sean; Westmont, V. Camille; Shackel, Paul
The University of Maryland Anthracite Heritage Program's summer archaeological field methods course (ANTH496) was taught at Pardeesville, Hazle Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (previously Lattimer Village No.2) from May through July 2014. The field school identified and excavated two previously undocumented archaeology sites dating between the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, removing material culture related to the lives of immigrant coal miners and their families. Sites 36LU323 (Lower Street Double) and 36LU321 (Yanac House) were investigated. The following report outlines the Phase I and II archaeological investigations of site 36LU323. All archaeological investigations, review, curation, and reporting were completed in accordance with The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania, as amended. The goal of this investigation was to (1) mitigate the loss of material culture due to the hazardous slumping of a privy feature, (2) assess the integrity of archaeological deposits at the site, and (3) gather material cultural evidence to aid in the research themes related to the lives of immigrant labors in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Lower Street Double House site consisted of the original coal company-constructed doubletenancy house. The Pardee Brothers and Company constructed the house in Lattimer Village No.2. The household was rented until the coal company's bankruptcy in the 1930s when the occupants, the Yannuzzi family purchased the tenant house. The field school investigated site 36LU323 using Phase II archaeological methodology. Three Test Units of varying sizes (5 ft. x 10 ft. and 3 ft. x 3 ft.) labeled as Test Units 7, 11, and 12 were excavated. Test unit 7 was the most prominent of those excavated and contained Feature 11, an early 20th-century privy. Approximately 1,483 artifacts were recovered from the Lower Street Double site. Most of the material culture recovered from this investigation was from a 5 ft. x 10 ft. early 20th-century privy. All diagnostic artifacts found within the site come from this feature. Despite the small sample size of the Lower Street Double site, the significance of the material culture record lends a further view into the lives of exploited labor and the structural violence found within the anthracite coal industry. Moreover, the Lower Street Double site provides a contemporaneous privy to the Yanac House site (36LU321), providing research potential for analyzing ethnic diversity within Lattimer No. 2. Analysis of the Lower Street Double artifact assemblage is guided by research themes to provide a coherent framework for understanding the occupation and lifestyle of household residents. The research themes include (1) An analysis of consumer access to commodities in Lattimer No. 2, (2) how household identity is present in choices of material culture, and (3) how structural violence committed against the labor force may have led to serious health defects.
An Archaeological Overview and Assessment of the Main Unit Petersburg National Battlefield, Virginia
(2001) Orr, David G.; Shackel, Paul A.
The overview and assessment will examine historical evidence, the extensive archaeological database from the immediate vicinity, and regional cultural context to evaluate the archaeological potential within the Main Unit. It will be argued that an an important element of the archaeological/historical/cultural record is the surviving landscape. The anthropological perspective promoted herein argues that "landscape" is reflected in natural and cultural remnants that may be exposed and recorded by researchers was shaped by activities such as agricultural practices that formed the the economic basis of existence but left no obvious physical remains, and is interpreted by conceptions of the past that are often conditioned by concerns in the present. This overview and assessment will, as a consequence, seek a broader cultural context for the prehistoric and particularly the historic occupations in the Petersburg vicinity.
Archaeological Sites as Distributed Long-term Observing Networks of the Past (DONOP)
(Quaternary International, 2018) Hambrecht, George; Anderung, Cecillia; Brewington, Seth; Dugmore, Andrew; Edvardsson, Ragnar; Feeley, Francis; Gibbons, Kevin; Harrison, Ramona; Hicks, Megan; Jackson, Rowan; Olafsdóttir, Guðbjörg Asta; Rockman, Marcy; Smiarowski, Konrad; Streeter, Richard; Szabo, Vicki; McGovern, Thomas
Archaeological records provide a unique source of direct data on long-term human-environment interactions and samples of ecosystems affected by differing degrees of human impact. Distributed long-term datasets from archaeological sites provide a significant contribution to establish local, regional, and continental-scale environmental baselines and can be used to understand the implications of human decision-making and its impacts on the environment and the resources it provides for human use. Deeper temporal environmental baselines are essential for resource and environmental managers to restore biodiversity and build resilience in depleted ecosystems. Human actions are likely to have impacts that reorganize ecosystem structures by reducing diversity through processes such as niche construction. This makes data from archaeological sites key assets for the management of contemporary and future climate change scenarios because they combine information about human behavior, environmental baselines, and biological systems. Sites of this kind collectively form Distributed Long-term Observing Networks of the Past (DONOP), allowing human behavior and environmental impacts to be assessed over space and time. Behavioral perspectives are gained from direct evidence of human actions in response to environmental opportunities and change. Baseline perspectives are gained from data on species, landforms, and ecology over timescales that long predate our typically recent datasets that only record systems already disturbed by people. And biological perspectives can provide essential data for modern managers wanting to understand and utilize past diversity (i.e., trophic and/or genetic) as a way of revealing, and potentially correcting, weaknesses in our contemporary wild and domestic animal populations.
An Archaeological Survey of the Site of the Lattimer Massacre, Lattimer, PA
(2010) Roller, Michael; Shackel, Paul A.
The Lattimer Massacre occurred in September of 1897 in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. It has been described as the bloodiest massacre of the nineteenth century. In this event, a company-sponsored sheriff and a posse of local businessmen shot into a crowd of striking Eastern European mine laborers, resulting in the deaths of at least nineteen. A survey was initiated by the Department of Anthropology of the University of Maryland as part of a broader research program examining labor and immigration heritage of the Anthracite Region of Northeast Pennsylvania. The site was surveyed on three dates in the fall of 2010, November 13 and 14 and December 4, 2010. Members of BRAVO conducted systematic and random metal detecting surveys of three areas. At the conclusion of the survey and subsequent analysis some of the initial goals for the project were satisfactorily completed, while others remain elusive. No cartridges dating to the massacre were found. The location of the initial engagement was identified by a cluster of three bullets from the period of the massacre or earlier. A fourth bullet was identified roughly where the right side of the line of deputies was situated.
Archaeological Testing at Bostwick (18PR951), New Driveway Project, Bladensburg, MD
(2010-08) Shackel, Paul A.; Roller, Michael; Gadsby, David A.
In August of 2008, archaeologists and students at the Center for Heritage Resource Studies (CHRS) at the University of Maryland conducted a program of archaeological field survey at the historic Bostwick House. This survey resulted in the identification of six major activity areas of archaeological significance on the property. At this time it was decided that those six activity areas should receive special attention in any planning activities on the property. Historic Bostwick is located at the base of Lowndes Hill in Bladensburg, Maryland. Christopher Lowndes constructed the house around 1745. Lowndes was an early land developer as well as a merchant, shipbuilder, and slave trader, and he made Bladensburg the headquarters of his operation. The house continued to be occupied through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The property underwent significant changes in the early twentieth century, and nearby urban development has impacted the landscape as well. Currently the property is managed by a partnership between the Town of Bladensburg and the University of Maryland‟s Historic Preservation Program. These partners plan to rehabilitate the standing house structure and to turn the house into a destination for education and other activities. In the spring of 2009, the Town of Bladensburg developed plans to re-route the existing driveway at the Bostwick House, and replace it with a permeable surface accessible to emergency vehicles. Although the proposed Area of Potential Effect (APE) did not directly intersect with one of the six areas identified in the previous survey, it was determined that the potential existed for intact cultural resources to exist in the APE due to its proximity to one of the areas identified. In June of 2009, archaeologists and students from CHRS excavated four STP‟s and two test units within the new driveway‟s APE. Additionally, previously surveyed units were reexamined. The excavations did not reveal the presence of cultural features that might shed light on the nature of the activities conducted in the adjacent area. Excavations resulted in the recovery of artifacts related to all of the eras of Bostwick‟s occupation and confirmed the richness of the archaeological record present on the grounds. In May of 2010, CHRS archaeologists monitored the grading of the APE as part of the process of ensuring the archaeological heritage of Bostwick, Bladensburg and the State of Maryland would not be compromised in the building of this necessary modern alteration of the house‟s landscape. The preservation plan allowed archaeologists from the University of Maryland to mitigate aspects of the construction plan that may have affected sensitive areas identified during the initial survey.
Archaeology at the Talbot County Women's Club Lecture
(2013) Leone, Mark P.; Woehlke, Stefan; Jenkins, Tracy
The Archaeology of Enslaved Children in Antebellum America
(2024) Lee, Samantha Jane; Leone, Mark P; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation is the first archaeological study that centers on the lives and experiences of enslaved children in the nineteenth century United States. I utilize a combination of archival research, oral histories and nineteenth-century slave narratives, as well as an archaeological artifact analysis component to provide innovative and necessary ways to understand how children experienced enslavement and how they may be represented archaeologically. This dissertation addresses the ways in which faunal and plant remains may be representative of the hunting, fishing, and foraging activities of enslaved children. A comprehensive summary of the work and labor that enslaved children were responsible for at early ages highlights the abundance of possibilities for artifact interpretations. Additionally, a critical analysis of archival documents and slave narratives demonstrates that not only were enslaved children considered a staple of the domestic slave trade, they were raised in virtually the same way and according to the same methods across the American Lower South, suggesting a childrearing protocol widely shared both publicly and privately between enslavers.
An Architectural Survey of Domestic Outbuildings at Eckley Miners’ Village and Archaeological Investigations at House Lot #114/116 (36LU294)
(2018-11) Cools, Kyla N.; Boyle, Katherine B.; Linebaugh, Donald W.; Shackel, Paul A.
This report presents the findings of architectural and archaeological investigations to identify, document, and assess the domestic outbuildings at Eckley Miners’ Village and perform House Lot level investigations at Site 36LU294 to explore the rear yard of the property (House Lot #114/116). The University of Maryland’s (UMD) Department of Anthropology and Graduate Program in Historic Preservation conducted this research under the direction of Dr. Paul A. Shackel and Dr. Donald W. Linebaugh as part of the archaeology and historic preservation field school conducted between May 31 and July 7, 2017.

Browse

Browsing Anthropology by Title

Results Per Page

Sort Options