UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
FLORIDA
Department of History
Theory, Method, and Practice of Historical Archaeology
HTY HIS 4900/4920/6908
Historical archaeology studies sites, architecture, material cultural and faunal and floral remains of sites dating to the so-called historical era. In America, that means historical archaeologists focus their efforts primarily on sites which post date the arrival Europeans on American shores. The discipline is a relatively new hybrid, which brings together archaeological techniques and technologies, anthropological and social theory, and historical sources and methods. In short, historical archaeologists must wear many hats as they go about their research. Furthermore, the discipline is a meeting place for scholars of many backgrounds, and is a dynamic clearing house and proving ground for ideas, hypotheses, and theories. All of this makes historical archaeology a thrilling and challenging intellectual arena.
The purpose of this class is to introduce students to historical archaeology’s techniques, theories, literature, debates, and many uses. Students will work in the field at a site run by George Washington’s Fredericksburg Foundation’s Ferry Farm in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The class will provide opportunities for students to do real archaeological work along side a crew of professional excavators and using the facilities of a cutting edge archaeological research laboratory and institution.
Books to Purchase:
Deetz, James. In Small Things
Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. Second Edition. New York:
Anchor Books, 1996.
Oates, Stephen B. The
Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion.
New York: Harper
Collins, 1990.
Please also read the Poplar Forest website’s historical archaeology pages.
http://www.poplarforest.org/archmain.htm
The class will meet every weekday starting on May 27th and ending on June 27th. We will meet every morning at 8:30 at the Ferry Farm site where we will conduct our fieldwork and conclude the day at 4:30 after having packed up all the tools. We will have lunch on site. We will spend most of the day working on site excavations and occasionally in the lab. At intervals during the week we will take breaks to discuss the class readings and other related issues that come up during the excavation. Because we will be working in a museum setting and visiting a number of other public presentation sites, we will pay special attention to the ways that archaeological evidence is presented to the public. We will also take four field trips over the course of the semester. These trips will factor into our class discussions.
50% Field Performance
25% Online Journals
25% Ceramics, Methods, Readings quizzes
Half of the final grade comes from field performance, but this is not based on how much earth each student moves over the semester. Instead, students will be assessed on their eagerness to learn, cooperativeness in the field, and their keeping a good attitude and helping to maintain pleasant and professional work atmosphere for all involved—a very important part of life on an archaeological crew. The details of daily work—punctuality, preparedness, and professionalism—are also key parts of performance assessment.
Each student will maintain a component of our site’s online journal run through USF’s College of Arts and Sciences website. The journals will be chances to reflect on specific aspects of our ongoing work, our field trips, and our class discussions. Remember that these journals are in and of themselves part of USF’s and Ferry Farm’s public face and consequently have to be written in accessible and professional voices. Students will have ample opportunities during the week to work on these journals.
There will also be a few small quizzes focused on the field skills and practical knowledge we will be covering. As these exams deal primarily with field skills they will generally take place in the field and will focus on mapping, paperwork, and ceramic identification.
Grades for 4900 and 4920 will use the standard letter grade system. USF requires though that HIS 6900 employ a pass/fail grading system.
Each week we will visit one of Virginia’s many historical and archeological sites. Our trips will take us to museums, digs, battle sites, and historical places all with an eye toward making sense of the presentation of material culture and the lingering presence of the past in present landscapes. Most trips will take place in the middle of the week and take up the whole day. We will need to drive an hour or more to most sites meaning that we will need to coordinate our routes and caravan as much as possible. Naturally these trips require a high degree of maturity and professionalism in all we do from driving safely and considerately to presenting our best face to the institutions we will visit.
We will most likely dine in restaurants while on these trips. We will try to meet as many dietary needs as we can in selecting eateries, but keep in mind that choices may be limited and we all must approach these moments with a spirit of compromise. In all probability our trip to Williamsburg (our longest foray) will be an overnighter to allow us time to explore the area and to position us for the run to Southampton. We will discuss hotel or camping arrangements as we get closer to the date.
Morning. We begin work at 8:30. Each morning and afternoon we will have tools and sundry to bring from the lab and tool shed. Early on we will divide up these tasks so once you know what you need to do be proactive and jump in it each day. Once we are all in Virginia we can work out the vicissitudes of ride sharing.
Work. Most of our time will be in the field working on the site. Field Director Paul Nasca will be coordinating all work in the field and directing the pace and focus of the excavation. He will be your field boss assisted by a staff of teaching assistants, all of whom a re experienced excavators.
Lunch. We usually take a ½ hour lunch break at 12:30 or 1:00 depending on the day. You will need to bring a lunch as we do not have the time to wander too far—it’s ok there is nothing worth it nearby anyway.
Closing Up. Ending the day is a reverse of the morning. We will need to cover the site and return tools and supplies to the lab and tool shed.
Evenings. The evenings and weekends are yours. Fredericksburg has several good restaurants, coffeeshops, and bars for those of legal age. Trains at the downtown Amtrak station can get you to D.C. quite quickly if you wish to see the sights. The Rappahannock River is boatable but its current is a bit too unpredictable for swimming. The Chesapeake Bay beaches at Matthews County and Gwynn’s Island are within an easy drive. Every national chain store you can imagine is right on hand just west of Route 95 west of town. While we are there Fredericksburg will hold its annual Soap Box Derby. The whole town turns out to watch 600 heats of 10-13 year old drivers.
Rain. It will rain sooner or later. However, archaeologists define rain differently than most other people do. What appears to be rain to you looking out your window at 7:00am may not be “rain” as archaeologists define it. Therefore, even if it is raining still show up at the site as you would on any other day. We have a variety of tasks in need of doing—there is always something to do.
Tracking in dirt. Please leave your field shoes at the door whenever you come into the museum and lab. If you want to bring along a pair of flip flops or some such thing for indoor wearing that will be fine. But please please please please do not track in dirt from the field. The office staff (rightfully) hate it and can and do spot it even in the smallest of quantities.
The museum lunch room. There is a dining area in the Ferry farm museum building in which there is a fridge and small kitchen. Generally there will not be time to get from the field to the lunch room in time to make it worthwhile. But on a few occasions we will meet there and have discussions there. Of course we are free to use these facilities, but please clean up any cups or plates you use and do not leave any garbage behind.
Good solid boots with minimum tread. Heavy tread patterns chew up sites. Running shoes or shoes designed to absorb impact are not great for our work—when you try to kick a shovel you just bounce off it and risk hurting your knees. Sandals or anything open toed is not allowed on the site for work—the shovels are sharp and could really hurt exposed toes or ankles. The best boots offer some ankle support and do not have too massive a treat pattern.
Tee shirts with minimal writing or graphics. Remember that we are in the public eye representing the museum and our respective institutions. Anything you wear will be seen by museum visitors who may interpret your tee shirt’s message as an official statement by George Washington’s Fredericksburg Foundation or the University of South Florida. Let’s circumvent any letters of complaint in advance by steering clear of anything which could even remotely be interpreted as offensive. This includes, but is not limited to, double entendres, suggestive slogans or mottos, beer ads (yes, beer ads), diabolic or death related images, religious creeds of any stripe, Rebel flags, violent or sexual imagery, political statements (sorry), or anything just plain stupid.
Please also note, the ideal tee shirt should reach all the way to your trowser’s belt line. Minimal skin expose is optimal.
A laptop computer. This is not needed for the class, but it can help you when working on your journals or checking email via the dorm’s phone lines.
A lunch box or small cooler. We eat lunch on site pretty much every day. The dorms have kitchens so that you can prepare your own culinary feasts and bring something to work in the morning.
A trowel. Ferry farm has all the tools we will need—you do not need to bring any yourself. However, some people become possessive about their trowels, especially after having worked hard to put a good edge on it. The recommended trowel is the Marshalltown 45-5 “Pointing Trowel”—the industry standard, all others are sham. You can get a Marshalltown for about ten bucks or so at a good hardware store. In recognition of the central role their product plays in the world of archaeology, Marshalltown has started offering an “archaeologist’s trowel” which is essentially the 45-5 with a special leather holster.
Workgloves. I hate them but some people swear by them, especially for working the screens. However, Ferry Farm’s stock of work gloves were ruined in a flood (which I had no hand in—sorry for the pun). If you wish to use work gloves please bring your own. Something with a leather palm is best.
Headgear. Opinion varies. Some people prefer large brims, others prefer caps, still others stick to visors. Obviously the choice is yours if you choose to wear a hat. As with shirts though, keep them neutral and socially acceptable. Our site gets a considerable amount of sun, so hats can help. It is better to stay away from sunglasses as they interfere with you ability to see color change sin the dirt.
Week 1. May 27-30. Background and Theoretical Considerations.
Readings: Deetz, In Small Things
Forgotten. Chapters 1 and 2 (pages 1-67); Longmore, Paul. “The Country of
his Fathers.” In The Invention of George Washington. Charlottesville:
University of Virginia Press, 1999, 1-16.
Week 2. June 2-6. Awash in a Sea of Stuff.
Weekly Field Trip: Fredericksburg Colonial and Civil War Sites. (Please Note that the date and order of field trips are subject to change in order to account for the large number of schedules involved.)
Readings: Deetz, In Small Things
Forgotten. Chapter 3 (68-88), and Chapter 5 (125-164); Ivor Noël Hume, A
Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. New York: Vintage Press, 1969,
“Bottles,” 60-71; “Ceramics, British,” 102-137; “Tobacco Pipes and Smoking
Equipment,” 296-312; Martin, Ann Smart. “’Fashionable Sugar Dishes, Latest
Fashion Ware’: The Creamware Revolution in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake.”
In Historical Archaeology of the Chesapeake. Edited by Little, Barbara
and Paul Shakel. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, 65-83;
Heath, Barbara. “The Material World of Slavery.” In Hidden Lives: The
Archaeology of Slave Life at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.
Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1999, 47-64.
Week 3. June 9-13. Food, Bugs, Buildings, and Tobacco.
Weekly Field Trip: Historic St. Mary’s City, Maryland.
Readings:
Miller, Henry. “An Archaeological Perspective on the Evolution of Diet in the
Colonial Chesapeake, 1620-1745.” In Historical Archaeology of the Chesapeake.
Edited by Little, Barbara and Paul Shakel. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution Press, 1994, 176-199. Miller,
Henry.”The Country’s House Site: An Archaeological Study of a
Seventeenth-Century Domestic Landscape,” In Historical Archaeology of the
Chesapeake. Edited by Little, Barbara and Paul Shakel. Washington, D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, 65-83; Reinhard, K. J., S. A. Mrozowski,
and K. A. Orloski, “Privies, Pollen, Parasites and Seeds: A Biological Nexus in
Historic Archaeology.” MASCA Journal 4(1): 31-36;
Week 4. June 16-20. To Muse or Not To Muse.
Weekly Fieldtrip: Smithsonian Institution, Tuesday, June 17th.
Readings:
Deetz, In Small Things Forgotten. Chapters 7 and 8 (187-252) Gable, Eric
and Richard Handler. “After Authenticity at an American Heritage Site.” American
Anthropologist 98:3 (1996): 568-578; Epperson, Terrence. “Race and the
Disciplines of the Plantation.” Historical Archaeology 24:2 (1990):
29-36.
Week 5. June 23-27. Tying
It All Up.
Weekly Fieldtrip: Colonial Williamsburg and Nat Turner Tour.
Readings: Deetz, In Small Things Forgotten. Chapter 9 (253-260); Anne Yentch, “Archaeology, a Topological Discourse.” A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: A Study in Historical Archaeology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994, 311-330.
June 27. Ceramics and Field Quiz.