Plymouth Memory Capsule: A 19th-Century Tale of Woe?

Summary

While searching for remnants of 17th-Century Plymouth, Massachusetts, a collection of organic materials and Victorian-era artifacts of personal adornment—all associated with a female—were uncovered in during excavations associated with Project 400 carried out by the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This unexpected cache provides a rare glimpse into the town of Plymouth’s rich history. This memory capsule filled with domestic items including a sewing kit, locket, and assorted brooches, may have been purposefully placed as a memorial for the woman who owned the items. The conservation and analysis of these objects can yield insight into the gender ideologies and mourning practices of 19th-Century America.

Cite this Record

Plymouth Memory Capsule: A 19th-Century Tale of Woe?. Victoria A Cacchione, Nadia Waski, Laura Medeiros. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435590)

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Keywords

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): 661