Anthropology

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Author: search.filters.author.Shackel, PaulSubject: search.filters.subject.Archaeology

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    Pittsylvania: A Carter Family Plantation In Virginia Piedmont
    (2000) Beasley, Joy; Potter, Stephen; Shackel, Paul
    Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia has very limited information regarding the archaeological remains of a large plantation complex known as Pittsylvania (44PW287). In order to expand the information base concerning this contribution element to the park's National Register nomination, it was necessary to gather and synthesize the available historical and archaeological data. In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University of Maryland Masters of Applied Anthropology program, an internship was established, consisting of an above-ground survey of the Pittsylvania plantation complex and a comprehensive review and a comprehensive review and synthesis of the primary historical data related to the site. This project was intended to provide the park with a detailed summary of the occupational history of Pittsylvania as well as an updated, accurate representation of the site's built environment. The results of this study will be useful as a contributing resource to the park's National Register documentation, and will also provide background information that will facilitate future research at the site. The resulting data should also serve to update the park's interpretive programs. As part of the Carter family's vast landholdings in Virginia, the Pittsylvania plantation complex began as a tobacco plantation that was established in the mid-eighteenth century, evolving into a small-grains farming landscape by the nineteenth century. Plantation decline began in the first quarter of the nineteenth century upon the death of Landon Carter, Jr. By the time Pittsylvania witnessed the hostilities during the First Battle of Manassas, the main house had fallen into disrepair and the Carters were forced to abandon the estate until after the war. The house served as a field hospital during both battles of First and Second Manassas but was burned sometime before 1864. A modest house, Pittsylvania II, was built near the site of the original mansion in 1885. The Carter heir continued to occupy the property until 1903, culminating in an occupational history that spans over 150 years of occupation by a single Virginia family. The synthesis and interpretation of primary and secondary resources pertinent to Pittsylvania reveal much about the people who inhabited Pittsylvania and about the ideological implications of the plantation in general. However, this study also reveals that substantial information regarding the experienced and contributions of African Americans at Pittsylvania is conspicuously absent from the available primary resources. Finally, this study shows that previous research at the site is incomplete, and in some cases misleading or even incorrect. In short, the primary and secondary historical data surrounding this important site does not present an accurate picture of the site. Archaeological research and interpretation have the potential to present a more complete story of Pittsylvania.
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    Life in the Trenches: The Archeological Investigation of the Federal Picket Line near the Crater, Petersburg National Battlefield
    (2000) Brown, Gail W.; Orr, David; Shackel, Paul; Blades, Brooke
    Archeologists from the University of Maryland conducted an excavation of the Federal picket line within Petersburg National Battlefield as part of the Overview and Assessment of archeological resources within the battlefield's Main Unit. The goal of the Overview and Assessment is to provide basic background information on the archeological resources within the battlefield park. This includes, describing the area's environmental and culture history; list, describe, and evaluate known archeological resources; describe the potential for as-yet- unidentified archeological resources; outline relevant research topics; and provide recommendations for future research. As part of the Overview and Assessment project, National Park Service staff and University of Maryland archeologists agreed that part of the project should provide a public component. To help further both goals of evaluating archeological resources and public visibility, project directors decided to explore the archeological potential of the Federal picket line near the Crater. The Federal picket line, in this area of the battlefield, played a vital role in the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. The picket line also served as a key area because of its proximity, 100 yards, from the Confederate defenses. This was one of the closest points between the two armies. This report contains details from the excavation and public interpretation portions of the project. Excavation details focus on the data recovered from the four excavation units used to bisect the picket trench. Archeologists were able to excavate and record a seven foot section of the Federal picket trench, and features associated with the Battle of the Crater. Archeological features and data also provide details on the post-war filling and history of the picket trench area. Artifacts recovered from the trench, including pieces of preserved canvas, leather, tin cups, ink well fragments, food tins, and other militaria, provide clues to the daily lives of soldiers posted in the trench. Details on the public interpretation portion include information on the development, methodology, and success of the major components of the public program. These details, including descriptions of the project website, tour brochures, exhibits, and site tours, provide a template for future archeology interpretative programs.
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    CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND HISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE RILEY TRACT, ROCK CREEK PARK, WASHINGTON DC
    (2011) Forhan, Tom; Shackel, Paul
    Rock Creek Park is an urban forest within the District of Columbia and is administered by the National Park Service. Before it was established in 1890, much of the area was farmed by a diverse group of landowners and tenants, including William Riley owned 100 acres in what is now the northern section of the park. Today this area is used regularly by hikers, runners, dog-walkers, and horseback riders and is informally referred to as the "wilderness" area of the park. Many believe it is a natural forest, unaware of the land's history. Left relatively undisturbed for years, this heavily wooded parkland contains intact historical archaeology resources and cultural landscapes. Survey of the Riley tract located several cultural landscape features including a stone wall, a dam, two terraced.fields, and a vineyard. Two previously recorded 19th-century sites were also revisited and further characterized. The research located the site of an earlier tenancy, likely late 18th-century, as well as evidence of three 19th -century structures. Many of the newly discovered structures and landscapes features are associated with the late 19th-century Riley farmstead. The research demonstrates that the Riley tract contains extensive evidence of 18th and 19th-century workplaces, and parkland should be interpreted not just as a natural area but recognized for the extensive human component evident in its intact cultural landscapes and archaeological sites.