Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology

687 Pages·2005·5.69 MB·English

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HISTORICAL
ARCHAEOLOGY
Edited by Charles E.Orser, Jr
London and New York
Contents
Editorial team v
List of illustrations vi
List of contributors viii
Introduction xvi
Entries A–Z 1
Index 658
Editorial Team
General editor
Charles E.Orser, Jr
Illinois State University, USA
Consultant editors
Anders Andrén
University of Lund, Sweden
J.Barto Arnold III
Texas A&M University, USA
Mary C.Beaudry
Boston University, USA
James A.Delle
Franklin and Marshall College, USA
Pedro Paulo A.Funari
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil
David R.M.Gaimster
British Museum, UK
Susan Lawrence
La Trobe University, Australia
Illustrations
Tables
1 Maturation temperatures of ceramics 593
Figures
1 African American house and yard near Charleston, South Carolina, 1938 13
2 New York City almshouse, 1722–44, by cartographer David Grim, 1813 18
3 Angkor Wat, Cambodia 22
4 The eighteenth-century William Paca house in Annapolis, Maryland 25
5 Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica, showing location of archaeological sites 29
6 Australian locations referred to in text 45
7 Transfer-printed plate, c. 1830, with Views in Mesopotamia pattern, attributed to James Keeling, 108
Staffordshire, England
8 The church of S.Giorgio al Velabro, Rome, seventh-thirteenth centuries 117
9 Underwater archaeologists at work at Port Royal, Jamaica 218
10 Underwater archaeologist at work 219
11 Reconstruction of the settlement (Wurt), second century AD 226
12 Dalem, reconstruction of a sunken hut with warp-weighted loom and oven 241
13 A section of reconstructed fortification wall at the Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia 257
14 Reconstructed buildings and street at Fortress Louisbourg, Nova Scotia 259
15 Early nineteenth-century Pierre Menard House in southern Illinois 262
16 Excavation of an eighteenth-century landfill in New York City 269
17 The eighteenth-century William Pace garden in Annapolis, Maryland 272
18 Ruins of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Pearle Mill, Georgia, before archaeologists conducted 322
excavations there
19 High-status brickwork at Lake Innes Estate, Australia 347
20 Makers’ marks 364
21 Late nineteenth-century picture of the central area of Millwood Plantation, South Carolina 401
22 An archaeological ‘mini-museum’, ‘New York Unearthed’, located in New York City a few blocks 418
from Wall Street
23 Excavation of 175 Water Street, New York City 436
24 The Ottoman Empire c. AD 1700 456
25 African American cabins on Pettway Plantation, Alabama, 1937 478
26 Plan of Buildings 4 and 5, Port Royal, Jamaica 491
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27 Layout of Richmond Palace, England Figure based on plan produced by MoLAS 537
28 Pantheon, Rome: the best-preserved Roman temple—but with an amalgam of histories 541
29 View of excavation of seventeenth-century Hanover Square, Manhattan, New York City 613
30 An example of vernacular architecture near Beaufort, South Carolina, 1938 628
31 Sites of located and excavated VOC-wrecks (in chronological order) 633
Introduction
The field of archaeology is eminently suited to presentation in an encyclopedic format. Archaeological data
is by nature detailed, amenable to cataloguing and vast. The information gathered by archaeologists is also
infinitely expandable. Archaeologists broaden our understanding of the past every time they turn a new
shovelful of earth or sift another bucket load of soil. The boundaries of archaeological knowledge are
constantly being pushed forward and something new is learned with every excavation. Historical
archaeology is one kind of archaeology that is doing much to increase our understanding of the past, and, at
the beginning of the twenty-first century, the field is adding fresh information to our storehouse of
knowledge at an unprecedented rate.
Historical archaeology is an inherently interesting field from a purely intellectual point of view because it
can be defined in two, somewhat distinct, ways. It can be defined as the archaeological investigation of any
past culture that has developed a literate tradition; or it can be viewed as the study of the ‘modern world’,
the historical and cultural conditions that have shaped our world since about AD 1500. These definitions of
historical archaeology coexist and are not mutually exclusive, and both are widely used by the
archaeologists of history.
Under the first definition, eighteenth-century France, nineteenth-century Australia, the fifteenth-century
Maya and the first-century BC Greeks would all fall within the purview of historical archaeology because
each culture had a tradition of writing. It does not matter methodologically whether the ‘text’ is a
handwritten letter, a typeset legal document or an inscription chiselled onto stone. The important thing is
that the ‘text’ has the ability to supplement and to complement archaeologically derived information.
Archaeologists who use this definition of historical archaeology tend to be interested both in the cultures
they study and in the wider questions of how archaeological (largely artefactual) data and written
information can be united in the meaningful study of the past. The combination of ‘historical’ and
‘archaeological’ information has been a constant topic within historical archaeology, and it is something
that historical archaeologists of many backgrounds continue to explore.
The second definition of historical archaeology tends to be used by archaeologists who live and work in
those parts of the world that were colonised by Europeans during their so-called Age of Exploration. These
archaeologists, who are also deeply interested in the union of excavated materials and written texts, tend to
focus on several broad themes that have been important during the past 500 years. These themes involve the
material aspects of colonialism, the creation of gender roles, the use of racial theories, the interaction of
indigenous peoples with foreign invaders, the rise and growth of capitalism and many other topics.
An important disciplinary difference has often distinguished ‘second-definition’ historical archaeologists
from those who tend to use the first definition. ‘Second-definition’ historical archaeologists are generally
trained in anthropology and see historical archaeology largely as an anthropological pursuit. Though this
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distinction is a bit facile, many ‘first-definition’ historical archaeologists tend to view their field as
essentially historical in focus, and they are usually somewhat less interested in the topics that fascinate
anthropologists. However, we must be clear that historically minded and anthropologically minded historical
archaeologists have much to teach one another, and a great deal of cross-fertilisation of ideas occurs in the
discipline. It would be too simplistic to argue that these groups are well defined or entirely separate.
Historical archaeology, as a distinct kind of archaeology with that identifiable name, largely developed in
the USA during the late 1960s. The apparent distinction between historical archaeologists who see
themselves as historians and those who view themselves as primarily anthropologists served to confuse the
field during its earliest days of formulation. Part of the reason for the confusion developed because historical
archaeologists in Great Britain—who called themselves ‘post-medieval archaeologists’—generally
perceived their work as largely historical in orientation. They generally did not have the anthropological
background of historical archaeologists trained in the USA, and many of them saw little need for an
anthropological perspective in historical archaeology. Under a purely ‘historical’ definition of the field,
however, one can see the beginnings of historical archaeology much earlier in the work of classical and Near
Eastern archaeologists. These pioneering archaeologists used texts all the time, even though they seldom
considered themselves to be ‘historical’ archaeologists. Using this definition, the roots of historical
archaeology extend into the seventeenth century.
As historical archaeology enters the twenty-first century, its practitioners are no longer concerned with
making distinctions between themselves. Most historical archaeologists today can accept that they need both
anthropology and history (and many other disciplines, as well) to allow them to provide the most insightful
interpretations of the past. At the same time, they also realise that they share the same methodological
concerns as Mayanists, Egyptologists and classical archaeologists as they wrestle with the union of
‘archaeological’ and ‘historical’ information.
The differences of opinion about historical archaeology that have existed over the years mean that
historical archaeology is a diverse and broad field. Historical archaeologists can make detailed studies of
nineteenth-century glass buttons and then turn immediately to consider the theoretical nuances of cultural
evolution. They can investigate the construction methods of eighteenth-century forts in Canada, and then
consider the cultural impact of the Aztec conquest. Today’s historical archaeologists view their vast latitude
within the field as immensely positive. They correctly believe that their research is deeply important to the
understanding of both local and world history, and that they can make significant contributions on many
different geographical scales, extending from the household to the international level.
Historical archaeology has grown tremendously since the 1960s. Only fourteen individuals founded the
(largely North American) Society for Historical Archaeology in 1967. Today, the Society has well over 2,
000 members, as does its European counterpart, the (United Kingdom’s) Society for Post-Medieval
Archaeology. Societies dedicated to historical archaeology either now exist or are being created on all
continents and in most countries, and historical archaeologists are conducting exciting, new excavations in
every corner of the globe. The future of the discipline is exceptionally bright, indeed.
Given the breadth of historical archaeology and the rapid pace with which it is growing, readers of this
encyclopedia should think of this book as a guide or an introduction to the field rather than as a definitive
source or final word. Readers should use the entries in this book as a starting point to learn about various
aspects of historical archaeology, understanding that their own, further reading will provide even more
insights and greater information.
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As we compiled this encyclopedia, we tried to keep our readership firmly in mind. We knew that
archaeology students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, as well as our disciplinary colleagues would
have recourse to use its information. Its concise overviews are ideal for students seeking to learn the basics
of the many complex subjects investigated by historical archaeologists. We also felt confident that this work
would have great relevance to students and scholars outside archaeology, those studying and working in the
related fields of anthropology, history, geography, folklore, architecture and all the other disciplines that
historical archaeologists regularly consult. We also imagined that men, women and pre-university students,
having just discovered historical archaeology, could consult this book to learn more about it. Many of these
potential readers may have encountered the discipline at the growing number of outdoor museums and
historical parks that are being created with the assistance of historical archaeologists. They may have even
seen historical archaeologists at work and become intrigued by the field. In the end, we hope that the
material in this encyclopedia stimulates and informs all those who consult it.
Coverage and contributors
The creation of the headword list was a difficult and ongoing process. The general editor compiled the
original list and then shared it with the associate editors. Each associate editor made several additions to the
list and significantly strengthened it. The general editor was delighted that many of the contributors also
made suggestions about additional headwords. Their additions improved the coverage of the book and made
it a truly collaborative effort. This encyclopedia thus reflects what practising historical archaeologists view
as important at the start of the twenty-first century.
We have tried to provide a balance between the two ways that historical archaeology has traditionally
been defined and to provide an accurate representation of the field as it stands in 2001. We have adopted a
balanced approach to indicate the intellectual breadth of the field and to illustrate the vast range of topics
that historical archaeologists can conceivably investigate. This inclusive approach presented several
difficult decisions concerning the amount of coverage to allocate to other kinds of archaeology, especially
those that have long used written information in conjunction with archaeological excavation. For example,
classical archaeology, the archaeology of the Maya, maritime archaeology and industrial archaeology all
rightly stand as individual pursuits on their own. However, at the same time, each one can be perceived as a
kind of historical archaeology. We believe that anyone wishing to know more about maritime archaeology,
for instance, should begin here but then read more detailed accounts in books dedicated specifically to that
subject. The same can be said for all the other kinds of ‘historical’ archaeology. Our goal here is to provide
an introduction only, a signpost to further information.
Careful readers will note that we have not included any specific entries about individual archaeologists.
The decision to exclude such entries was a difficult one that the editors discussed at great length.
Reasonable pros and cons were voiced on both sides of the issue, but, in the end, we decided not to include
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such entries because most practising historical archaeologists, even many of the pioneering founders of the
field, are still alive. We did not wish to be selective with the list and face the possibility of having excluded
someone of importance. Readers will find the names of the most significant individuals within individual
entries, and discerning readers can develop their own perspectives on any individual’s importance to the
discipline.
We have been particularly fortunate in having been able to gather together an impressive list of
contributors, all of whom are experts in their particular areas of study. The editors discovered, when they
sent out the first calls for contributions, that the overwhelming majority of the archaeologists we contacted
immediately agreed to participate. We were heartened by their positive response, and we viewed their
willingness to assist us as a sign of the growing importance of historical archaeology around the globe, their
eagerness to promote the important research of the field and the need for this book. We did not always find
it easy to identify the most noted scholars in a particular area of study because a growing number of
individuals can justifiably lay claim to the title. In any case, all contributors were gracious enough to take
valuable time away from their busy research, teaching and writing schedules to provide entries. We hope
that we have not overlooked any major areas of study within historical archaeology, but we realise that
oversights are possible, especially given the field’s rapid growth. We especially hope that we have not
ignored the archaeologists in those regions that are just developing an interest in historical archaeology but
have yet to publicise their findings.
We have been somewhat limited by restricting the language of this volume to English. This restriction
was practical and necessary, and we have tried to remedy its selectivity by including entries from non-
English-speaking areas. We hope that these entries will encourage readers to explore the important works
prepared in those places, and to learn from the indigenous scholars in every country. Only through such
personal effort will readers discover the true richness of historical archaeology as it is practised everywhere
today. It is clearly not an ‘English-only’ enterprise.
Historical archaeology is happily now a global pursuit, and we want this encyclopedia to have world-
wide value. We apologise for any topic or region we may have inadvertently overlooked. Rather than being
embarrassed by our failure to include everything, however, we are encouraged that historical archaeology
continues to expand beyond limits that even we recognise. We understand—and in fact revel in the idea—
that this book is not complete. That no single encyclopedia of historical archaeology could ever be finalised
is a healthy sign for the field indeed.
Charles E.Orser, Jr