Comparative Ceramics Analysis of Enslaved Contexts at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

Author(s): Caitlyn C Johnson

Year: 2017

Summary

Ceramics and socioeconomic analyses are useful tools for comparing market access, choice, and economic status between sites associated with enslaved people.  Located in Bedford County, Virginia, Poplar Forest plantation was home to enslaved peoples beginning with its establishment in the mid-18th century and continuing through multiple owners until emancipation.  Archaeology conducted since the 1990s has yielded substantial datasets for several different slave quarters on the property, which have provided insight into their occupants’ daily lives.  This poster presents a broad comparison of the ceramic assemblages from multiple quarter sites, with periods of occupation ranging from the late 18th century through the end of the antebellum period.  Ceramic analysis, including CC index values for each site are used in order to help elucidate differences and similarities between these sites to offer some initial interpretations of the temporal and social factors that may have shaped these assemblages.

Cite this Record

Comparative Ceramics Analysis of Enslaved Contexts at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Caitlyn C Johnson. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435584)

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Keywords

Temporal Keywords
Antebellum

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): 586