Artifacts of Agency, Status, and Empowerment: Colonoware, Crystals, Wig Hair Curlers
Author(s): Laura Galke
Year: 2016
Summary
Section 110 archaeological investigations at Manassas National Battlefield Park (MANA) sparked breakthroughs in the recognition of quartz crystal caches and the meaning of colonoware: contributions which continue to shape historical archaeology. These categories of material culture have become emblems for spirited discussions about the dimensions of meaning, identity, and agency. The corpus of work from MANA continues to influence and contribute to understanding multivariate dimensions of meanings embedded within material culture, illustrated by one of the tools of enslavement at the mid-eighteenth century home of George Washington: wig hair curlers. Used to maintain the wigs so essential to a gentleman’s identity, wig hair curlers were employed by enslaved valets to bolster their masters’ status. Curlers embody complex expressions of status, identity, and meaning.
Cite this Record
Artifacts of Agency, Status, and Empowerment: Colonoware, Crystals, Wig Hair Curlers. Laura Galke. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434892)
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Keywords
General
National Park Service
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Section 110
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Stephen Potter
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
1740-1875
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): 87