The Disappearing Artifacts: Where are the 17th and 18th-century artifacts on rural New England farmstead sites?

Summary

Settlement of New England began with the founding of Plymouth and spread rapidly throughout the New England environment. Present on the landscape stand many buildings that can be dated to these early periods of settlement. However, during excavations of many rural 17th and 18th century sites, the material culture used and disposed by these early colonists is rarely recovered. Though these early homes and even outbuildings may be present, artifacts that can be used to understand the colonists lives remain hidden. Excavations at the Davenport estate in Milton, Massachusetts where the Davenport family lived on the same property since 1707, material culture belonging to the eighteenth century has been seldom recovered. In my paper I will attempt to understand the forces behind the disappearance of an important assemblage that would illuminate New England’’s colonial history.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Applying Contemporary Perspectives to New England Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-18,04