Beads of Bondage: Global Displacement and Cultural Connections in Western Tennessee

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Historic glass trade beads found at plantation archaeological sites have been identified as markers of African and African American culture and expression. In the southeastern United States, the presence of beads can be attributed to inter-cultural exchange with Native Americans and/or strategically obtained through the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Since 2011, Rhodes College has located and excavated two 19th century plantation sites, Fanny Dickins (400 acres) and Cedar Grove (5,000 acres), which are located in the transition zone of the Lower Mississippi Delta and the Upland South. The focus is on the households occupied by the enslaved African and African Americans who were forcibly migrated and labored the land in this region. Through a typological, documentary and chemical analysis, we reconstruct the origins, trade routes, practical and ritual purposes of the excavated beads. This analysis can aid in (re)humanizing communities that were held in bondage for centuries.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2021 SHA Poster Submissions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology