The Archaeology of Enslaved Labor: Identifying Work and Domestic Spaces in the South Yard
Author(s): Terry Brock
Year: 2016
Summary
While the domestic lives of enslaved families and communities are a critical element of understanding enslaved life, the majority of each day was spent carrying out work for their masters. Recent excavations at Montpelier have begun to examine structures related to the work of James Madison's domestic slaves. These excavations include work on the extant kitchen and two smokehouses, buildings clearly designed for the support of the Montpelier Mansion. However, the proximity of these structures to three duplex slave quarters raises questions about the boundaries of space dedicated to the work and domestic lives of the enslaved. By using the material and historical record to identify activity areas around these structures, this paper will begin examining the way in which these spaces of work were used and reused by the enslaved communities that lived near them.
Cite this Record
The Archaeology of Enslaved Labor: Identifying Work and Domestic Spaces in the South Yard. Terry Brock. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434717)
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Keywords
General
African American
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Plantations
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Slavery
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
19th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 443