Feature 43: Re-examining Cultural Relationships and Trade in 17th Century Charlestown, MA

Summary

A significant issue in archaeology today is the need to revisit interpretations of long-held collections. One such site is Feature 43, a 17th century domestic cellar that was once used as a refuse pit and later filled. Feature 43 provides a window into the activities and relationships of the Massachusetts Bay merchants of coastal Charlestown. Although Feature 43 was studied in the 1980's, the assemblage remained in storage for nearly thirty years, demanding a recontextualization of the site and its role in the grander scheme of English colonialism. Feature 43 illuminates the exploitative nature of trade, its role in objectifying otherness, and the contributions of marginalized peoples in the emerging globalized economy. This paper focuses on methods to reestablish lost provenience information, as well as reinterprets the site within a modern framework of colonialism.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Boxed but not Forgotten (Again!): The Importance of Collections-Driven Research   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 815