The Shift From Tobacco To Wheat Farming: Using Macrobotanical Analysis To Interpret How Changes In Agricultural Practices Impacted The Daily Activities Of Monticello’s Enslaved Field Laborers.

Summary

In 1997 Site 8 was uncovered at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello through excavations conducted by the staff of the Monticello Department of Archaeology and students in the Monticello-University of Virginia Archaeological Field School. Six features identified as either storage pits or cellars provide evidence of four buildings that once stood to house enslaved field hands between c. 1770 and c. 1800. This occupation is contemporaneous with the period in which Thomas Jefferson shifted Monticello’s agricultural practices from slash and burn tobacco farming to wheat farming in 1793, resulting in significant changes to both the landscape and daily labor practices. Macrobotanical analysis from Site 8 is ongoing to enhance our understanding of how Monticello’s changing agricultural landscape impacted the daily activities and choices of the enslaved field laborers. The preliminary macrobotanical data suggests the shift from tobacco to wheat agriculture resulted in an increased utilization of wild edible plants.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Crops and Culture: The Archaeology of Agricultural Thought   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 917