The New York City Archaeology Repository: the Van Cortlandt Collection

Author(s): Cara Frissell

Year: 2016

Summary

The New York City Archaeology Repository houses public archaeological collections from the city, revealing the material culture of the city’s history. Using a case study, this poster explores expanding access to the archaeological data of New York City.  In 1991 and 1992, Professor H. Arthur Bankoff, Chair of the Anthropology and Archaeology Departments at Brooklyn College, led excavations of Van Cortlandt Park. The toothbrushes, chamber pots and medicine bottles recovered from the mansion and estate at Van Cortlandt Park give insight into the mundane daily practices that constructed the home of one of New York City’s most elite families.  This collection highlights the ways in which New Yorkers used their everyday items to define and project their class and gender identity in their emerging metropolitan environment.         

Cite this Record

The New York City Archaeology Repository: the Van Cortlandt Collection. Cara Frissell. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434868)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

General
domestic public Urban

Geographic Keywords
North America 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): 696