". . . conforme your selves to the Customes of our Countrey . . .": Acknowledging the Contributions of Indigenous Women in Maryland’s Colonial Society

Summary

Subtypological analysis of historic-period indigenous ceramics indicates changes in Maryland Indian women’s pottery over the course of the seventeenth century may have helped normalize the selection and adaptation of aspects of English material culture, while preserving family- and clan-based cultural traditions.  Previous research, hypothesizing that native-made items including ceramics were purchased/traded for and used by English colonists, elucidates a shift in surface treatments while pottery-creation processes involving choices in tempering materials and clay sources remained consistent throughout the century. This implies maintenance of matrilineal traditions in the face of English encroachment on both territory and cultural norms.  As gender is enacted through external interactions with material culture, changes in surface decoration as performed/created by indigenous women may reflect shifting boundaries and changing perceptions of self and kin, even as meanings shifted within the new colonial context.  New research confirms the many contributions of indigenous women to Early British American society.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Maryland, My Maryland": Current Archaeology in the State   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 606