Geochemical Identification of the Extramural Activity of Laundry Washing at Cantonment Burgwin (LA 88145), Taos, New Mexico

Summary

During the occupation (1852-1860) of Cantonment Burgwin near Taos, New Mexico, the Army laundresses processed the soldiers’ laundry using lye soap near their quarters. Lye, or potash, contains phosphorus, an element that is relatively immobile when added to the soil, as with discarded wash water. Archaeological excavation of Cantonment Burgwin’s laundresses’ quarters identified the footprint and internal configuration of their four-room building. To locate the laundry washing area, chemical analysis was conducted on soil samples using the Colorimetric method to determine the amount of phosphorus within each sample. The differential phosphorus patterning identified an area near the laundresses’ quarters where the washing process had left a phosphorus signature in the soil. This paper summarizes the research conducted to geochemically identify the chemical signature of the extramural activity of laundry washing.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Blood, Sweat and Tears: New Research in Military Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-15,01