Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD

Part of: Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

St. Mary’s College of Maryland received NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) support for a collaborative, collections-based archaeological study focused on the lower Potomac River Valley between c. 1500 and 1720 AD. During this period, the Potomac was an important setting in which people from three continents worked out new understandings of one another and of the new world in which they lived. The 16th and 17th centuries were a transformative period in early American history, and especially so in this region: in 1608, while mapping the Chesapeake Bay, Captain John Smith encountered an Algonquian world along the Potomac’s shores; at century’s end, it was a world that was no longer Indian, nor English, nor African. The legacy of those colonial encounters and interactions shapes and gives meaning to present-day Americans.

Thirty-three archaeological collections representing sites occupied by Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans on both shores of the Potomac were identified, which are available for this comparative study. These collections include tobacco pipes, ceramics, stone tools, glass bottles, architectural artifacts, trade items, animal bone, and many more materials with important stratigraphic and other contextual information that can be used to document and interpret economic, social, and cultural life in the region. All of these collections are housed at publicly-accessible repositories throughout the region. Most are cataloged with detailed site plans depicting architecture, fences, gardens, and fortifications available. These collections and the information found in them constitute a rich resource about life in the Potomac River at an important period in American history.

The digital materials contained in this collection are based on physical collections held by the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, and include photographs and catalogs created as part of the Colonial Encounters project. The materials come from three different sites in Maryland: Mattapany (18ST390), Old Chapel Field (18CH233) and Posey (18CH281).

For more information about the Colonial Encounters project, visit www.chesapeakearchaeology.org.

Site Name Keywords
18ST390 • 18ST233 • 18CH281 • Posey Site

Site Type Keywords
Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Archaeological Feature • Domestic Structures • Settlements • House • Artifact Scatter

Other Keywords
Phase II • Navy • Compliance • Potomac Creek Ceramics • Tobacco Pipe • Rhenish blue / gray • Lead Shot • Morgan Jones • Copper Triangle • Copper tinkling cone

Culture Keywords
Historic • Euroamerican • Colonial • Archaic • Early Archaic • Middle Archaic • Late Archaic

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Site Evaluation / Testing • Systematic Survey • Collections Research

Material Types
Ceramic • Metal • Glass • Chipped Stone • Building Materials • Fauna • Fire Cracked Rock • Macrobotanical • Mineral • Shell

Temporal Keywords
Historical • Prehistoric • 17th Century CE • 18th Century CE

Geographic Keywords
US (ISO Country Code) • United States of America (Country) • Maryland (State / Territory) • North America (Continent) • St. Mary's County (County) • Naval Air Station Patuxent River • Patuxent River • Mattapany-Sewall Archeological Site • Charles County (County) • Potomac River

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)

There are 10 Images within this Collection [remove this filter]

Archaeological Investigations at the Posey Site (18CH281) and 18CH282 Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (2005.012)
  • Artifact Photographs, Posey Site, Colonial Encounters (1 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland. Colonial Encounters Archaeological Project.

    These photographs were generated by archaeological investigations of the Posey site during the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record (part 1) includes the first 50 images.

  • Artifact Photographs, Posey Site, Colonial Encounters (2 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland. Colonial Encounters Archaeological Project.

    These photographs were generated by archaeological investigations of the Posey site during the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record (part 2) includes the next 50 images.

  • Artifact Photographs, Posey Site, Colonial Encounters (3 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland. Colonial Encounters Archaeological Project.

    These photographs were generated by archaeological investigations of the Posey site during the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record (part 3) includes the next 12 images.

Mattapany, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland (1998.032, 1998.034, 1998.035)
  • Artifact Photographs, Mattapany, Colonial Encounters (2014)
    IMAGE Colonial Encounters Archaeological Project. St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland.

    These photographs were taken of artifacts recovered through archaeological investigations of the Mattapany site. The photographs were generated as part of the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project.

  • Artifact Photographs, Mattapany, Colonial Encounters (1 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

    These photographs were taken of artifacts recovered through archaeological investigations of the Mattapany site. The photographs were generated as part of the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record includes the first 50 images.

  • Artifact Photographs, Mattapany, Colonial Encounters (2 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

    These photographs were taken of artifacts recovered through archaeological investigations of the Mattapany site. The photographs were generated as part of the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record (part 2) includes the next 50 images.

  • Artifact Photographs, Mattapany, Colonial Encounters (3 of 3) (2014)
    IMAGE Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

    These photographs were taken of artifacts recovered through archaeological investigations of the Mattapany site. The photographs were generated as part of the Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac River Valley at Contact, 1500-1720 AD project. This record (part 3) includes the last 50 images.

Phase II Archaeological Investigations of 18ST233 and 18ST329, Webster Field Annex, Naval Air Station Patuxent River (2001.002)