Painted, Molded, Printed, Sponged: Ceramics From Two Communities At One Site

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Before, After, and In Between: Archaeological Approaches to Places (through/in) Time" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 1793, trustees of Liberty Hall Academy – the forerunner of Washington and Lee University (W&L) – built a steward’s house for student dining near the main academic structure. When the latter burned in 1803, the institution moved to its current location. The former campus became a plantation, and the steward’s house was repurposed as a quarter for enslaved people (c. 1803-1860s). W&L archaeologists excavated the site in the 1970s. This paper reports on current reanalysis of the ceramic assemblage, focused on distinguishing vessels used by the steward’s family and students before 1803 from those used by enslaved people afterwards. In addition to diagnostic decorative techniques, motifs, and palettes, the authors also consider site formation processes and possibilities of curation and re-use during the nineteenth century. This analysis addresses the hypothesis that ceramics associated with members of the enslaved population supported commensality and mutual support through exchange.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Before, After, and In Between: Archaeological Approaches to Places (through/in) Time

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 337