United States of America (Geographic Keyword)
2,351-2,375 (3,819 Records)
This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. This poster compares the multi-scalar (individual sites and whole regions) macrobotanical data of over 700,000 seeds from 41 Viking Age farmsteads in the Skagafjörður region of North Iceland to examine the benefits and challenges of using multi-scalar data for paleoethnobotanical analysis. During the Viking Age, the Norse settled Iceland, a sub-arctic volcanic island at the climatic...
Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Research on USS Arizona: 40+ Years of Hard Science (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. This paper discusses the intellectual and managment rationales that have focused interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research on USS Arizona form more than 4 decades. The talk will focus on successes, lessons learned and pathways forward for the nex 40 years and then next generations of underwater...
Multimodal Diagnosis of Historic Baptistery di San Giovanni in Florence, Italy (2016)
Historical structures can pose great challenges when attempting to uncover their past and preserve their future. Centuries of damages induced by continued use, settling and natural disasters have impacted these structures, each of which have the potential to hinder their response to future events. This paper presents a methodological approach that utilizes technologies like laser scanning, photogrammetry, thermal imaging and ground penetrating radar in order to generate a holistic, layered...
A Multiplicity of Voices: Towards a Queer Field School Pedagogy (2015)
A queer theory inspired perspective is valuable not only for broadening the scope of archaeological interpretation and our understanding of past lived experiences, but also for informing an archaeological pedagogy which expands the diversity of authoritative viewpoints in the discipline. Field schools, as one of the most central aspects of archaeological training, have the potential to either reaffirm heteronormative structures which obscure non-conforming persons and viewpoints or to promote...
Multiscale Image Acquisition for Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Modeling of the Submerged Late Pleistocene Site of Hoyo Negro, Quintana, Mexico (2016)
The submerged cave chamber of Hoyo Negro contains a diverse assemblage of human and faunal skeletal remains dating to the Late Pleistocene. Many of the represented animals became extinct at least 10,000 YBP. The human skeleton is that of a young girl who ventured into the cave at least 12,000 YBP. Most of these deposits are extraordinarily well preserved. Detailed recording of this chamber is difficult, as the site is completely dark and at maximum depth of 57m. Over the past two years, the team...
The Multitude Of Conservation Techniques Used On Similarly Composed Artifacts (2020)
This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Over the last ten years the Warren Lasch Conservation Center has conserved 40 cast iron cannons. While these artifacts are all composed of the same material (cast iron), there has been a multitude of differing conservation techniques used in their treatment. This poster will explore similarly composed artifacts, various conservation methods used, the reason for choosing them and their...
Muscogee Wharf: Archaeological Investigation of an Enduring Pensacola Landmark. (2016)
Built in the 1880s to load Alabama coal onto ships for export, Muscogee Wharf has functioned as an important landmark along the Pensacola waterfront through present day. The wharf saw its fair share of damage from numerous hurricanes as well as various fires. The Louisville& Nashville Railroad (L&N) ceased operations in the 1950s due to significant fire damage. Although the wharf functioned through the 1970s as a dock for barges and tugboats, the remaining structure was left to deteriorate;...
Museum-Based Assignments at Strawbery Banke Museum (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Public Archaeology in New Hampshire: Museum and University Research" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Strawbery Banke is a 10-acre living history museum in Portsmouth, NH, with nearly 40 extant historic houses. Strawbery Banke archaeologists have been researching the area for over 50 years, assembling a collection of over 1 million artifacts related to the residents of this historic port city. In the spring...
Museums and Archaeology: Creating Partnerships to Engage Families and Children (2013)
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis created the "Treasures of the Earth" exhibit to engage children and families in the world of archaeology. Museum staff worked closely with archaeologist advisors to produce recreations of three distinct archaeological "sites", the tomb of Seti I in Egypt, the terra cotta warriors of China, and the underwater remains of an 18th century Caribbean shipwreck. Artifacts and activities in each area convey the sense of discovery that drives archaeology while...
Mystery Ships? Follow the Blue-and-White Trail (2015)
Identifying Manila galleon shipwrecks on the West Coast has been made possible by creating a tightly dated Chinese blue-on-white porcelain chronology. First, the porcelains left behind at Drakes Bay, California, by Francis Drake in 1579 were separated from those of the San Agustin shipwreck of 1595 in the same location. From the study of three additional shipwreck porcelain groups, a chronology of a key porcelain type called Kraak ware was created covering the period 1578 through 1643. The...
The Mystic Schooners of the 20th Century: The Legacy of the Last Sailing Merchant Vessels (2016)
At the dawn of the 20th century, a revival swept the ports of New England ushering in an era of wooden shipbuilding not seen on the Atlantic coast since the Civil War. These vessels, schooner rigged for the coastal trade, were built for bulk, ferrying cargo from southern ports and the Caribbean to the industrial powerhouses of Boston and New York. A builder, based in Mystic, Connecticut, joined in and produced a number of vessels that shared more than the same port of origin; nearly half met...
Mythical Beasts, Lotus Blossoms, and Bamboo: Examining the evidence for Chinese Porcelain in Virginia (2013)
From its first introduction into Western homes, Chinese porcelain held mystique and value. Treasured for translucency and decoration, porcelain crossed the Atlantic with the first settlers at Jamestown who brought with them wine cups and other pieces of Chinese porcelain as symbols of the society they had left behind. These commodities were signs of the wealth and status of those who owned them. Chinese porcelain continued to represent these qualities into the eighteenth century, even as it...
Mythology, Battlefields, Shipwrecks, and Forts: The U.S. Army and the settlement of the Oregon Territory (2015)
United States colonialism in the Oregon Territory was a maelstrom of hostility, ambiguity, and conflicting agendas among Native Americans, Gold miners, pioneer families, citizen militias, Indian agents, and Army personnel. The U.S. Army's role in this drama was particularly ambiguous; many of the pro-states rights pioneers in this pre-Civil War era of the 1850s resented the soldiers—to the point of armed conflict--for defending the treaty rights of Native American people, while the Army was...
Nails of Old Mission (2018)
Nail analysis is a tool to identify the function and changes of structures in late nineteenth century frontier buildings. Using techniques involving visual inspection and comparative analysis, one can identify the approximate age of the nails as well as practical uses for their type and size. The purpose of this paper is to show how nail analysis aids in our interpretation of the chronology and function of buildings at the Peter Dougherty site (1842-1852) on Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City,...
Narratives of Bravery in Fields of Fire at Wood Lake Battlefield (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Historical Memory, Archaeology, And The Social Experience Of Conflict and Battlefields" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The last battle in the Dakota- U.S. war took place near Yellow Medicine, Minnesota in 1862. The dominant narrative, initiated by memorialization events held by U.S. veterans at the site, is of a brave last charge by U.S. soldiers using shoulder arms, under the support of artillery, to...
Narratives of the Past: Positioning Modern Memory in a Historic Context (2013)
The field of historical archaeology is uniquely situated with simultaneous access to both past and present. Beyond analysis of material remains, researchers frequently take advantage of oral accounts to gain a more holistic understanding of past events. However, even when such accounts are not available from direct descendants, the possible use of oral histories in research should not be immediately discounted. Through investigations of a historic habitation in Charleston, South Carolina,...
NAS Initiatives in North Carolina and Virginia (2016)
In 2012, NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, East Carolina University, and the UNC-Coastal Studies Institute began a collaborative effort to offer NAS training to community members throughout North Carolina and Virginia. Since then the initiative further opened to additional partners from state agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and dive shops and an expanded offering of courses spanning from introductory courses to Part 3 modules (and standalone projects) are now offered. This...
Nasty Stuff In Historical Archaeology (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Meaning in Material Culture" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. As it is the purpose of historical archaeology to unearth the unknown, there can be unpleasant surprises. Books have been written on the lurking dangers of artifacts, especially in regard to biological contagion. Chemical toxicity may also rear its ugly head, especially in laboratories like ours, where we focus on the chemical identification of historical...
The Nate Harrison Historical Archaeology Project: Material, Methodological, and Theoretical Overviews (2018)
Ongoing research from archaeological and historical investigations into 19th-century San Diego County legend Nate Harrison (ca. 1833-1920) have revealed a wealth of insight into one of the region’s most celebrated pioneers. This paper offers an overview of the project’s most significant finds, places these ideas in context, and fosters comparisons between Harrison’s legend and the refuse uncovered at his hillside homestead. Instead of insisting that these lines of evidence be seen...
The National Historic Preservation Act and the NPS System-Wide Archeological Inventory Program (2016)
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) introduced a fundamental change to Federal agency archeology, promoting systematic and coordinated investigations of archeological resources in anticipation of Federal undertakings and for management purposes. In response to challenges of complying with NHPA Section 106 and 110, the National Park Service implemented the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP) in 1992. Its purpose was support archeological projects designed to locate,...
The National Historic Preservation Act on the Outer Continental Shelf: Challenges and Advances in the Stewardship of Submerged Maritime Heritage Resources (2016)
The mission of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, within the U.S. Department of the Interior, is environmentally responsible development of energy resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS). The OCS includes some 1.76 billion acres of submerged Federal lands and many types of historic properties. The activities that BOEM regulates on the OCS extend beyond this jurisdiction to include vast onshore and offshore Areas of Potential Effect. This paper will examine how BOEM archaeologists have...
National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Archeology Contributions: Successes (and Shortcomings) in Unexpected Situations at Two Historic Sites of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (2016)
Archeological investigations conducted to identify historic properties as part of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act often yield additional information to benefit the resources and the undertaking. Case studies from two National Park Service sites, Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial (ARHO) and Glen Echo Park (GLEC), both under the administration of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), provide examples from unexpected situations during...
National Parks Service and the Slave Wrecks Project (2017)
The National Park Service, as a partner in the Slave Wrecks Project, has begun a community archeology program at the site of the slave residences at the Danish West India and Guinea Company, St. Croix, in anticipation of the 100thanniversary of the transfer of the Virgin Islands to the United States. This program is part of multi-year effort combining underwater and terrestrial archeology with public engagement activities including educational and training programs, museum exhibits, professional...
Native American Lead Mining on the Volatile Frontier of the Expanding American Empire. (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Considering Frontiers Beyond the Romantic: Spaces of Encroachment, Innovation, and Far Reaching Entanglements" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. During the early 19th Century Native American people in the Driftless Region were participating in the industrial level mining of lead to fuel global markets. This success drew the attention of the growing American polity and led to the familiar process of intrusion,...
Native Interactions and Economic Exchange: A Re-evaluation of Plymouth Colony Collections (2016)
This research furthers our understanding of colonial-Native relations by identifying and analyzing artifacts that indicate interaction between Native Americans and English settlers in Plymouth Colony collections. This project explores the nature of these interactions, exposing material culture’s role in both social and economic exchanges. Selected 17th-century collections were excavated in modern Plymouth, Massachusetts, and nearby Marshfield and Kingston. My examination includes identifying...