This is from the websites of APVA’s Historic Jamestowne and the Smithsonian Institution; please see the links below.
Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake
Location: Second Floor; National Museum of Natural History
Exhibit: February 7, 2009 – February 6, 2011
Forensic anthropology, modern technology and archaeology converge to provide intriguing information on people and events of America's past. This exhibition explores history anew through 17th-century bone biographies – real life stories compiled from skeletal and burial investigations of early European and African immigrants to the Chesapeake Bay area. Scientists reveal how studies of human bones, found in sites ranging from Jamestown, Virginia to St. Mary’s City, Maryland, provide new information about the past, as well as who we are today.
Over 70 artifacts from the James Fort excavations at Historic Jamestowne will be part of the exhibition. The exhibit features the profound work of Dr. Doug Owsley, Division Head of Physical Anthropology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and explores how forensic science is expanding our understanding of life in 17th century America. What can we learn from bones? From burials? The answers, gathered from state-of-the-art scientific skeletal analysis, are remarkably detailed. Until fairly recently, scientists could only piece together the story of the early Chesapeake colonists from historical documents. Visitors to this exhibit will experience a vivid demonstration of how mysteries "locked" in our own skeleton and those hundreds of years old can be revealed. With the application of sophisticated modern forensic anthropology, archaeology, and historical research to recently excavated 17th century remains, the colonists themselves can tell their stories –- a legacy written in bone.
Among the Jamestown artifacts for the two-year loan are several objects currently featured in the Nathalie P. and Alan M. Voorhees Archaearium. These include the skeleton of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold and the finial from the ceremonial staff found in his grave. Dr. William Kelso, Director of Archaeology at Historic Jamestowne said “Gosnold was the primary force behind the expedition to Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, but his efforts have, for the most part, been lost to history. The opportunity to share Dr. Owsley's research at Jamestown with Smithsonian visitors provides a unique opportunity to share the story of Captain Gosnold with a vast international audience and feature the significance of the role he played at Historic Jamestowne and the role he played ultimately in the birthplace of America.”
While Gosnold's skeletal remains and other exhibited artifacts are on loan to the Smithsonian for Written in Bone, they will be represented in the Archaearium by full-scale fret-cut images. Visitors to the Archaearium also have the opportunity to view an exceptional collection of over 1,000 artifacts uncovered from ongoing excavations of James Fort, by the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological team, including a new display of several rare artifacts found during this summer's dig season.
Links: http://www.historicjamestowne.org/news/2008_smithsonian.php
http://www.historicjamestowne.org/news/2008_smithsonian.php
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
In Small Things Forgotten - James Deetz
If you’re interested in a more complete and colorful understanding of the lives of the Jamestown (and other) colonists, you should get to know the works of James Deetz (1930-2000).
Deetz was among the earliest, and probably foremost, historical archeologists – who explain and give us a better understanding of what archeological findings tell us of the times when they were used.
We learn much about the way our early American colonial ancestors lived and were memorialized, in both the New England and southern colonies, from his In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life (New York, Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1996). This is an updated and expanded edition of a classic of modern archaeology first published in 1977.
Deetz gathered, interpreted and published information about the daily life of the American colonists, including women and blacks, based on the analysis of domestic objects and architecture.
According to one reviewer, “This book…has something for everyone. It is written in a casual, accessible style that won't scare off a popular audience. The individual chapters offer primary evidence and gentle arguments in essay formats that are short and useful — perfect for high school or introductory undergrad reading assignments. Professional scholars with a background in material culture might not find much to chew on, but more traditional historians could benefit from an introduction to the possibilities of historical archaeology. All in all, more useful than many more ‘serious’ tomes.”
Others say, “History is recorded in many ways. According to…Deetz, the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten. Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the cracks between large historical events and depict the intricacies of daily life. In [this] revised and expanded edition … Deetz has added a chapter addressing the influence of African culture on America – a culture so strong it survived the Middle Passage and the oppression of slavery – in the years following the settlers' arrival in Jamestown, Virginia.” “This book colorfully depicts a world hundreds of years in the past through details of ordinary living. New interpretations of archaeological finds detail how minorities influenced and were affected by the development of the Anglo-American tradition.”
Among Deetz’s observations:
• Evidence shows that until the 1660’s white and black servants lived on equal terms, often in the master’s house. Slavery based on race evolved over time.
• Subtle changes in building long before the Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence of the American colonies and their desire to be less like the English.
• Records of estate auctions show that many households in Colonial America contained only one chair – underscoring the patriarchal nature of the early American family. All other members of the household sat on stools or the floor.
• The remains of clay smoking pipes in Maryland and Virginia demonstrate the intermixing of African and European technologies.
• The wide porch or veranda that has been such an important feature of early Southern homes (and absent from those in Georgian-style and colonial New England) and, later, all across America, was derived from a constant element of African architecture used in farm and plantation workers’ cabins and houses.
Deetz was among the earliest, and probably foremost, historical archeologists – who explain and give us a better understanding of what archeological findings tell us of the times when they were used.
We learn much about the way our early American colonial ancestors lived and were memorialized, in both the New England and southern colonies, from his In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life (New York, Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1996). This is an updated and expanded edition of a classic of modern archaeology first published in 1977.
Deetz gathered, interpreted and published information about the daily life of the American colonists, including women and blacks, based on the analysis of domestic objects and architecture.
According to one reviewer, “This book…has something for everyone. It is written in a casual, accessible style that won't scare off a popular audience. The individual chapters offer primary evidence and gentle arguments in essay formats that are short and useful — perfect for high school or introductory undergrad reading assignments. Professional scholars with a background in material culture might not find much to chew on, but more traditional historians could benefit from an introduction to the possibilities of historical archaeology. All in all, more useful than many more ‘serious’ tomes.”
Others say, “History is recorded in many ways. According to…Deetz, the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten. Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the cracks between large historical events and depict the intricacies of daily life. In [this] revised and expanded edition … Deetz has added a chapter addressing the influence of African culture on America – a culture so strong it survived the Middle Passage and the oppression of slavery – in the years following the settlers' arrival in Jamestown, Virginia.” “This book colorfully depicts a world hundreds of years in the past through details of ordinary living. New interpretations of archaeological finds detail how minorities influenced and were affected by the development of the Anglo-American tradition.”
Among Deetz’s observations:
• Evidence shows that until the 1660’s white and black servants lived on equal terms, often in the master’s house. Slavery based on race evolved over time.
• Subtle changes in building long before the Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence of the American colonies and their desire to be less like the English.
• Records of estate auctions show that many households in Colonial America contained only one chair – underscoring the patriarchal nature of the early American family. All other members of the household sat on stools or the floor.
• The remains of clay smoking pipes in Maryland and Virginia demonstrate the intermixing of African and European technologies.
• The wide porch or veranda that has been such an important feature of early Southern homes (and absent from those in Georgian-style and colonial New England) and, later, all across America, was derived from a constant element of African architecture used in farm and plantation workers’ cabins and houses.
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