Trowels for Plowshares: Experimental Archaeology, Public Engagement, and 19th Century American Agricultural Practices
Author(s): Travis M. Williams
Year: 2018
Summary
A state-owned museum in Park Hill, Oklahoma, the George M. Murrell Home, held their first annual Antique Agricultural Festival (AgFest) in October 2016. Much of the festivities involved living history demonstrations of mid-19th century agricultural practices, including horse-drawn plowing. In collaboration with the organizers and participants of AgFest, I oversaw an experimental archaeology research project documenting the effects of this plowing on artifact distribution and site formation processes. This paper explores the results of that research and discusses the significance of historical reenactment to archaeological researchers. The educational potential, popularity, and entertainment value of historical reenactment and living history provide archaeologists with valuable means for public engagement and collaboration as well as ways to gain insight into the processes and practices of the pasts that we study.
Cite this Record
Trowels for Plowshares: Experimental Archaeology, Public Engagement, and 19th Century American Agricultural Practices. Travis M. Williams. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441646)
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Keywords
General
Agriculture
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Experimental Archaeology
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Site Formation Processes
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
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): 774