Tools of the trade: Shipboard crafts on the Queen Anne's Revenge

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The artifact assemblage from Queen Anne’s Revenge represents a rich and diverse shipwreck collection from the early eighteenth century. Ongoing conservation of the artifacts continues to reveal new and compelling insight into the lives of sailors aboard this vessel. Among this collection are hand tools which include several varieties of hammers, gouges, files, crowbars, and a metal vise. This study aims to evaluate these tools in order determine whether they represent the kit of a shipboard carpenter, cooper, or blacksmith, or if they could comprise a composite shipboard tool kit. Provenience of the tools within the site could help to determine function and may provide insight into the locations of shipboard workshops and storage areas. Each tool will be evaluated against historical documents and illustrations to determine function and if the form reflects the demands and constraints of shipboard life, including spatial limitations and the need for creative problem solving.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Innovative Approaches to Finding Agency in Objects

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 704