Buying Into It: A Study of Economic Engagement on the Eastern Pequot Reservation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This multi-scalar project examines economic patterns and foodways related to Native American ceramic use on the Eastern Pequot reservation in North Stonington, Connecticut. Engagement with local Euro-American markets by the Eastern Pequot was necessary during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Analysis of ceramic assemblages focusing on ware type, vessel form, and decoration inform how the Eastern Pequot negotiated these markets and utilized ceramics. The three sites from the reservation examined in this study date to different time periods, allowing for a diachronic study of Eastern Pequot ceramic use and associated household practices. The analysis of ceramics lends insight into consumer and social practices on the Eastern Pequot reservation. Using additional comparative site analysis, this study provides a unique addition to the discussion of indigenous experiences during colonialism through a focus on market engagement and foodways. In order to solidify these interpretations, the three sites are then compared to nearby Anglo sites at Lake of Isles in southeastern Connecticut and the Nipmuc site of the Sarah Boston farmstead in Grafton, Massachusetts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24212