New Research on 16th and 17th century Forts in the Americas

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Forts were both domestic and defensive structures during the global expansion of European powers during the colonial period. From obscure mentions on maps and ephemeral remains to substantial structures, early forts leave us with fascinating insights into colonial projects. This session presents recent research on studies of 16th and 17th century forts from North and South America.

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Documents
  • Approach to the building strategies used in the early colonial forts in the Plata River Basin (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Iban Sánchez-Pinto. Agustin Azkarate. Sergio Escribano-Ruiz. Verónica Benedet.

    The arrival of the first European colonizers in the Southern Cone was followed by a settlement policy of a markedly military nature. The forts set up on the banks of the rivers were strategic enclaves from which to carry out the conquest of the inland Plata River Basin territories. The forts were also the building axis of the European settlements erected on the other side of the Atlantic. In this paper we study the main elements of the buildings in Sancti Spiritus, Buenos Aires and Asuncion to...

  • Archeological discoveries and hypothesis for a new colonial portrait (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Richard Fiset.

    The works at the Cartier-Roberval waiting for next phase of excavations. As there is many discoveries who involved a new comprehension of this first colony, there is some hypothesis made whom give us a better idea of the establissement. It is time to shom some of interpretive view of the site. Those hypothesis have now to be confronted with new archaeological findings on the site.

  • Colonial architecture from the Cartier-Roberval site (1541-1543), Cap Rouge, Quebec (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gilles Samson.

    Three buildings and a major defensive element were unearthed on the edge of the Cap Rouge cliff. Building materials and techniques as well as their principal characteristics are presented and discussed. Research has used specialized studies such as anthracology, geoarchaeology, sedimentology, chemical and mineralogical analysis of soils in order to document many architectural aspects. Also, a comparative approach has led to the examination of many medieval European as well as American colonial...

  • Fort San Juan: Lost (1568) and Found (2013) (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher Rodning. David Moore. Robin Beck.

    Between 1566 and 1568, after 50 years of Spanish exploration in southeastern North America, Captain Juan Pardo succeeded at establishing six forts and related settlements in the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. Fort San Juan and the town of Cuenca formed his principal outpost at the northern edge of the Spanish colonial province of La Florida. The archaeological remnants of Fort San Juan, Cuenca, and the native host community of Joara are located at the Berry site, in western North Carolina....

  • In Search of Mineral Resources (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Isabelle Duval.

    Several indicators may suggest that the Cap-Rouge Colony have tried to exploit certain minerals resources at its establishment. Stones such as pyrite, quartz and sandstone were studied to further the use of minerals by the French in the mid-16th century. Historical and archaeological data will be compared to better understand the beginnings of the development of mining resources in the Quebec region.

  • Quelle histoire! (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jean Provencher.

    Après deux voyages exploratoires de Jacques Cartier au Canada et une entente avec le pape, le roi François 1er dépêche en Amérique une véritable expédition pour «habiter esdites terres et pays, y construyre et ediffier villes et fortz, temples et églises». Plusieurs bateaux, des centaines de personnes. Hommes, femmes et enfants. Nobles et roturiers. Militaires et prisonniers. Des bêtes également. Voilà la Renaissance à Québec. D’ailleurs, le commandant La Rocque de Roberval, une bonne...

  • Quelques défis de la conservation archéologique au site Cartier-Roberval (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only André Bergeron.

    Depuis les débuts du projet archéologique au site Cartier-Roberval, la conservation archéologique a été intégrée tout au long des campagnes de fouilles. Plusieurs vestiges fragiles ont nécessité des mesures de protection particulières. Nous présenterons les grandes lignes des mesures de stabilisation retenues, ainsi que les questions soulevées par certaines découvertes en culture matérielle.

  • The Search for Fort St. Mary’s: Dreams of the Past, Hopes for the Future (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Justin Warrenfeltz.

    Though much of the 17th century landscape has been uncovered archaeologically at St. Mary’s City in the last several decades, researchers have yet to find the elusive 1634 Fort; primary accounts even describe the Fort’s location as well as its size and construction. Forts with regional and/or temporal relevance to the 1634 Fort ‘ such as Plymouth, Fort Casimir, and Jamestown ‘ provide valuable clues and lay the groundwork for locating and reliably testing for Fort St. Mary’s. Archaeologists have...

  • Searching for mineral wealth: a preliminary investigation into the metallurgical assemblage from Cartier-Roberval (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marcos Martinón-Torres. Yves Monette.

    There is little doubt that one of the major ambitions behind the first attempt at settling in Canada was the pursuit of metals and other mineral wealth. Archaeological remains of the metallurgical trials carried out in Quebec may hold important clues to understand skill-sets, expectations, and perhaps failures of those early explorers seeking to exploit the riches of an unknown territory. We present study and technical interpretation of a small number of crucibles and metallurgical residues...