Contextualizing Consumption: Examining the Benefits of Multi-Site Discussion at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Frequently, discussions of the artifact assemblages uncovered at presidential sites focus only on the households of the president's that the site commemorates. By excluding the surrounding residential sites, researchers sacrifice valuable information regarding typical consumption and use behaviors in the area. The analysis presented seeks to utilize the extensive excavations of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site (LHNHS) residences by Fever River Research to gain a glimpse into typical consumption behaviors found in Springfield, Illinois during the rapid expansion that followed the movement of the state capitol to Springfield in 1839. Located within walking distance to the downtown area of Springfield, neighborhood residents had access to a rapidly expanding array of products as catalog outlets and multiple pharmacies introduced increased consumer choices. Using the data uncovered from sites at the LHNHS, researchers can more closely examine resident's preferences within the context of the urban environment in which it was contained.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• 2020 SHA Poster Submissions

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1073