The Maritime Taskscape Of An Enslaved Community

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Landscapes Above and Below in Southern Contexts (General Sessions)" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

While the concept of “taskscape” has been introduced and utilized within archaeological and historical study, this theoretical approach has an even greater potential to interpret complex archaeological and cultural maritime landscapes. With Somerset Place, near Creswell, North Carolina as a focus site, the collection of evidence from historical documents such as personal letters and plantation log books combined with archaeological surveys, both terrestrial and maritime, from the surrounding areas are analyzed to provide an in-depth understanding of the task-based relationship between an enslaved community and the maritime spaces which pushed the necessity of enslaved labor. This analysis of historical and archaeological evidence document and map seasonal patterns of movement regarding water-based activities to understand the historical cognitive maritime cultural landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Landscapes Above and Below in Southern Contexts (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology