Anthropology

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End date: 2009Subject: 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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    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.
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    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.
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    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.