Magic and Mystery on a Chesapeake Plantation

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Digging Deep: Close Engagement with the Material World" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

At Smith’s St. Leonard, the site of a Maryland tobacco plantation dating to the first half of the 18th century, a number of apotropaic objects have been discovered by archaeologists over the last two decades. Including bent silver coins, horseshoes, fossils and altered spoons and lead disks, these objects seem to embody magical beliefs based both in European and African traditions. This paper will explore how the contexts in which these objects were found assisted the archaeologists in determining their magical functions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021   •
• Digging Deep: Close Engagement with the Material World

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology