Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects
Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2020
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
This session brings together scholarship intent on exploring themes of agency and habitus in the maritime archaeological record. When examing archaeological objects and datasets looking for personhood and individuals, it is crucial to incorporate anthropological theories on identity, entanglement, intersectionality, etc. The maritime community is a diverse, fluctuating arena, whose transitory nature makes it ideal for studying themes such as the material expression of identity through an anthropological lens. Personal tools and possessions, foodways, and occupational practices are represented in the archaeological record and can be used to identity aspects of individual identity as well as larger cultural paradigms.
Other Keywords
Sword •
Material Culture •
Historic Tools •
Zooarchaeology •
Experimental Archaeology •
Coins •
Foodways •
Identity •
Shipwreck •
Roman
Temporal Keywords
Roman •
18th Century •
1500-1900 •
1718 •
1800-1812
Geographic Keywords
Coahuila (State / Territory) •
New Mexico (State / Territory) •
Oklahoma (State / Territory) •
Arizona (State / Territory) •
Texas (State / Territory) •
Sonora (State / Territory) •
United States of America (Country) •
Chihuahua (State / Territory) •
Nuevo Leon (State / Territory) •
Delaware (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-5 of 5)
- Documents (5)
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Laying Aloft in Modern Times: Exploring the Potential of Collaborative Work Between Nautical Archaeology and Tall Ship Organizations (2020)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. For those studying the act of sailing a vessel during the Age of Sail, roughly 1500-1900, details regarding a sailor’s day-to-day sailing experience, as well as the detailed mechanics of the operation of the vessel, can be frustratingly rare. Texts that do exist, in the form of rigging guides or sailor autobiographies for...
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Steel and Honor: An Artifact Examination of Edward Preble's Naval Officer Sword (2020)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Commodore Edward Preble was a founding father of the United States Navy. He served in the Revolutionary War, Quasi-War with France, and led a squadron that was pivotal in ending the Barbary Wars (1801-1805). During his command in the Barbary Wars, he commanded from his flagship, USS Constitution, always carrying his sword,...
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Tools of the trade: Shipboard crafts on the Queen Anne's Revenge (2020)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The artifact assemblage from Queen Anne’s Revenge represents a rich and diverse shipwreck collection from the early eighteenth century. Ongoing conservation of the artifacts continues to reveal new and compelling insight into the lives of sailors aboard this vessel. Among this collection are hand tools which include several...
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The Turtlers of Early 18th Century Grand Cayman (2020)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The turtle fishery off the coast of the Cayman Islands was a well-known supplier of meat for mariners involved in the trans-Atlantic trade of the 18th century. Salted and barreled or taken aboard live, these reptiles played a vital role in shipboard foodways. The Turtle Bone Site, located on the north side of Grand Cayman’s...
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The Uncertainty of Sailing: "Hidden" Coin Hoards from Late Imperial Roman Shipwrecks (2020)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. When reading first-hand accounts of shipwrecks in the late Imperial Roman world, the authors describe the apparently common custom of tying their wealth around their necks as a vessel founders. Therefore, one might expect non-religious coin hoards to be a rare find on shipwrecks from this date. However, not only have coin...