Charleston, South Carolina and Beyond

Summary

Charleston, South Carolina, is probably best known as an urban center servicing a plantation economy supported by slave labor, but this is only part of the city's function. The city was an important social, political, and economic port on the Atlantic seaboard, a vital link between interior centers of production and the transatlantic world. Charles Town began as a thriving hub for the Native American trade, as well as for cattle and forest products. This trade connected rural homesteads and cowpens with international markets. When the city wall, built for protection, interfered with trade, it was the wall that came down. Sometimes trade took place under the guise of warfare, but material culture shows close ties with the far-flung Spanish Empire, the Caribbean, and Europe. Charleston was also an intellectual center, an obligatory stop for scholars interested in natural history. These connections are all reflected in the city's archaeological record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Beyond and Between the Plantation; The Archaeology of "Everything But" in the American Southeast   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 292