United States of America (Geographic Keyword)
3,626-3,650 (3,817 Records)
Just days before I wrote this abstract, the city of New Orleans finished removing four monuments to the Confederacy and the Lost Cause, inspiring other cities to consider the same. This example of people taking control of the narrative inscribed in their own landscape serves as backdrop to this session in which we reflect on the changing nature of place-based historical memory. I consider the changing nature of America and what it means to be a society that appears to be moving away from a...
Virtual Archaeology: Teaching Archaeology Using Virtual Reality And Game-based Learning (2020)
This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Despite the importance of field work in teaching archaeology, field opportunities are available to few students due to logistical, financial, or mobility constraints. To address these challenges, we have created a virtual archaeology undergraduate course that uses game-based learning strategies to convey archaeological concepts and technical skills. We present the initial design and...
Virtual Public Archaeology: Using 3D Imaging and Printing to Engage, Educate, and Enthrall the Public (2017)
Three-dimensional (3D) modeling and printing are cutting-edge applications at the frontiers of archaeological data collection and dissemination. Recent advances in 3D modeling, coupled with reduced costs, provides broad access to these technologies, making them increasingly viable tools for archaeologists to share information not only with each other, but also with the public. Two case studies representing this type of public archaeology can be found in the separate efforts currently undertaken...
Virtual Shipwrecks; Photogrammetry and User Interface Design in Archaeological Outreach (2017)
In the past decade, new software has made it easier and less expensive for archaeologists to use the tools of photographers and game designers to produce novel outreach tools with photogrammetry. Among these relatively new applications is the ability to create virtual worlds from photographic and video data. The public can now access a number of archaeological sites through game platforms, like Steam, using VR goggles and mobile devices to experience a site. This paper addresses means of...
Visibility and Accessibility: Performing Archaeology at the Presidio of San Francisco (2016)
The Presidio Archaeology Lab is in its second year of a long-term research excavation located in the heart of the Presidio of San Francisco, a national historic landmark district and national park. Employing an open-site approach, visitors are invited to witness archaeologists at work and learn about the archaeological process at the site of El Presidio de San Francisco. The project also includes a robust volunteer program for those who wish to be more involved in discovery, offering the...
Visions in Brass: Personal Adornment and the Politics of Race in Creole New Orleans, 1790-1865. (2019)
This is an abstract from the "One of a Kind: Approaching the Singular Artifact and the Archaeological Imagination" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Buttons, buckles, and jewelry have long fascinated historical archaeologists for their capacity to address questions pertaining to social identity and the presentation of self in everyday life. But such artifacts are valued for more than their mere historical associations, often inciting scholarship...
Visualizing Jamestown’s 1617 Church: Creating a 3D Model of the Site of the First General Assembly (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Excavating the Foundations of Representative Government: A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Historical Archaeology." , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. 3D modeling, an effective tool for envisioning historical sites, has been used to visualize the interior and exterior of Jamestown’s 1617 church, where the first General Assembly was held form July 30 to August 4, 1619. The digital and archaeological teams have...
A Vital Legacy Enriching Future Generations of Americans: Some Reflections on Contributions of Stephen R. Potter, PhD. (2016)
The future of Historical Archaeology, cultural resource management, and the National Park Service are richer because of the contributions of Stephen R. Potter including his encyclopedic knowledge, robust research and syntheses, indefatigable energy, and his ability to partner, share, and support growth of the field, individual researchers, and public experiences and understandings. Beneficial outcomes of his NHPA Section 110 management studies along the C&O Canal include his support of...
Voices Amid the Stone Trees: Historic Era Rock Art and Inscriptions of Petrified Forest National Park (2018)
Petrified Forest National Park is recognized for its rich fossil deposits, stunning vistas, and Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites. Almost lunar in appearance, the arid landscape is often depicted and perceived as a primordial wilderness frozen in time. However, recently archaeologists have recorded and researched a range of historic era inscriptions and petroglyphs in the park’s backcountry. Despite documenting the presence of a diverse array of peoples upon this landscape, historic...
Voices Beyond the Rapids: Archaeology and Linear Historic Properties (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In the late 1960s, the Voices from the Rapids project identified underwater archaeological information from fur trade travel routes in Minnesota and Ontario. By the 1980s, historic preservation surveys began identifying former transportation routes such as roads and trails as...
Voices of a Community: How Oral Histories Can Guide Japanese American Archaeology (2018)
Archaeological research on the Japanese diaspora has grown considerably in the last decade but there is still plenty of room for broadening studies to understand and explore the importance, depth, and influence of the Japanese American experience. Oral histories of the Japanese American community reveal what is important to them and help us discover new perspectives that can guide and inform a much needed archaeological expansion of this field. Oral histories lead archaeologists to the people,...
Waders and Snake Chaps: Targeted Exploration and Ground Truthing in the Great Dismal Swamp (2016)
The Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina was home to disenfranchised Native Americans, enslaved canal company laborers and maroons who lived in the wetlands temporarily and long term ca. 1660-1860. This paper discusses recent and ongoing research to identify mesic islands, likely sites of maroon occupation, in the interior of the Swamp. In the past decade, the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (GDSLS) has intensively investigated a few maroon and enslaved labor sites, leaving...
The Wagner-Case Site: Pharmaceutical Historical Archaeology on the Western Frontier (2016)
Examination of the site of a 19th century drug store (ca. 1877-1889) at Silver Reef, a ghost town in southwestern Utah, involved excavations in both the ground and in the archives. Established and run by Julius Wagner (1877-1882) and then taken over by Charles H. Case (1884-1889), the site was the primay pharmacy for this mining community. Excavation under the floor of this former false-fronted, wood frame building recovered a small but informative assemblage of pharmaceutical items.. Many years...
Wagons, Trains, Trucks, and Bottles: Transportation Networks and Commodity Access in Castroville, Texas. (2017)
Transportation networks greatly influence the movement of commodities into a community. This paper uses a model of commodity flow developed by Pred (1964) and elaborated on by Adams and colleagues (2001) to analyze glass bottle assemblages from Castroville, Texas. The model suggests that a combination of commodity value, shipping costs, and distance from the North American manufacturing hub influence the movement of goods around the country ca. 1880-1950, creating regional differences in market...
The Walhain-Saint-Paul Project: Bringing new ideas and generations to the archaeological table since 1998. (2016)
Since 1998, the Walhain-Saint-Paul Project has connected the next generations of archaeologists on a global scale via a strong partnership between Eastern Illinois University and Belgium’s Archaeological Research Center (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve). Through the excavation of our 13th century castle site, we have also engaged the local community, providing them with new ways to understand and protect their heritage. Our student’s backgrounds encompass a variety of subjects, making this project...
A Walk on the Waterfront: Interpreting Pensacola’s Maritime Heritage for Passersby (2018)
In recent years, the downtown Pensacola waterfront has undergone a revival: new restaurants, stores, and investments in beautification have encouraged a bustling pedestrian thoroughfare. The National Park Service’s 2014 National Maritime Heritage Grant Program awarded a grant to the Florida Public Archaeology Network, the University of West Florida (UWF) History Department, and UWF Historic Trust in support of a series of interpretive panels along this high-traffic waterfront. This Pensacola...
Walls Have Ears, Bottles Have Mouths (2017)
Material culture can generally be interpreted using three broad perspectives that view objects as historical documents, commodities, or ideas. The analysis of glass bottles from historic archaeological contexts provides an especially compelling example of the utility of this approach. Bottle manufacturers often kept detailed records of changes in design, decoration, and style. As a result, glass bottles encode a wealth of information and can often be used to gauge the degree of connectedness...
Wampum’s Pre-Colonial Origins: An Indigenous Story (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Beyond Ornamentation: New Approaches to Adornment and Colonialism" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Scholarly and popular discourse on the history of wampum emphasizes the influence and agency of Europeans – as suppliers of tools, traders, tribute-takers, and eventually as direct producers. Conceptually, many scholars view the wampum tradition as “complete” only when large numbers of white and purple marine...
Wanted: Cheap Labor. Livings of Working Class European Immigrants in an Iron Furnace (2018)
Immigrants have always played a crucial role in America, and ironworkers were among them. Beginning in the early 19th century, many people emigrated from their countries of origin, bringing with them their traditions, customs, identities, and established households. Populations from Ireland and Germany, accounted for many of the known workers. While census data and tax assessments provide basic information such as name, address, age, and property, the availability of the surviving store and...
War On Our Doorstep: U-boats Off The Mid-Atlantic Coast (2018)
More than any other place in the United States, coastal Virginia and North Carolina serve as a uniquely accessible underwater museum and memorial to WWII’s Battle of the Atlantic. Since 2008, NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and partners have documented and surveyed this unique collection of WWII Allied and German vessels. NOAA’s goal is to protect these fragile historic resources for future generations, and to preserve the memory of the brave Allied service men and U.S. merchant...
War on the Chesapeake: Artifact Analysis of a War of 1812 Flotilla Ship (2016)
This paper examines and evaluates the material culture recovered from the suspected USS Scorpion, a War of 1812 flotilla ship that served in the Chesapeake Bay.The shipwreck is designated site 18PR226 and has previously been believed to be that of Jashua Barney's flag ship for the Chesapeake Flotilla. This paper uses a preposed model for material culture study developed from archaeologists E. M. Fleming's model for studying artifacts in an attempt to discover the function of the vessel. This...
War on the Homefront: National Division and South Africa's Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945 (2018)
In 1939, the Union of South Africa was caught unprepared for war. Lacking a servicable navy, the Union Defense Force was neverthelss tasked with protecting Allied supply lines through the Southern Ocean. Despite establishing a series of coastal defenses and RADAR stations to this end, Allied merchants rounding the Cape continued to suffer heavy casualties. As these losses mounted, competing ethnic, cultural, and political factions within the Union began using the U-boat war as fuel for their...
War-time Metal Production, Reappropriation, and Use: Spatial Patterning and Metal Technology at an early Seventeen Century Pequot Village (2016)
Site 59-73 is believed, based upon its location and archaeological assemblage, to be the location of several wigwams burned down during the English retreat after the Mystic massacre on May 26, 1637 as described in John Mason’s A Brief History of the Pequot War (1736:32). This village is believed to have been a response to the impeding war with the English. As such, its assemblage and spatial patterning provide a unique perspective into the use and reuse of metallic trade objects during the...
"The Ware is in Perfect Order": Reassessing the Transferprint Color Chronology using Period Newspaper Advertisements (2017)
As an artifact category, ceramics, especially those decorated with transferprints, represent one of the most ubiquitous pieces of material culture in historical archaeology. While a substantial amount research has been conducted on the origins and development of the transferprint technology, there is still considerable confusion regarding the introduction and popularity of specific transferprint colors, especially in the North American market. Despite recent refinements to the chronology, the...
Wares of Venus: The sensoriality of sex for purchase at a 19th-century Boston brothel (2018)
The archaeological examination of brothel spaces has expanded significantly in recent decades to include compelling interpretations of these sites within the framework of embodiment, sexuality, and urbanization. By incorporating the sensory experiences of the individuals living, working, and seeking entertainment in places of prostitution, archaeologists have an opportunity to examine these spaces in terms of the fantasy experiences being sold. In terms of this paper’s case study, the 27/29...