Beliefs, protection, and personal items: The Archaeology of the Basil & Nancy Dorsey Site, a free African American farm in the Sugarland Community Tara L. Tetrault, Gwendora Reese, Suzanne Johnson, and Jeff Sypeck

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "African American Voices In The Mid-Atlantic: Archaeology Of Elusive Freedom, Enslavement, And Rebellion" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

We began testing the 1874 Basil and Nancy Dorsey site because the Sugarland Ethnohistory Project wanted to learn more about the early settlement. When the Dorsey’s purchased their farm it is believed that they took in members of the Haskin, & Offutt families. Using archaeology, we found evidence of beliefs, farming, protection, and personal items that provided a safe space in their new home. Communities like Sugarland thrived because of the strength and hope people had for the future (Leone 2010; 2016). The power of the free community is an important story to tell about African American Culture. Therefore, the SEPH Project published a new book entitled, “I have Started for Canaan” and the project includes social justice measures to increase student understanding of early African American history by including the creation of virtual exhibits, an archaeology publication, and an archaeology curriculum module & teacher training opportunity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• African American Voices In The Mid-Atlantic: Archaeology Of Elusive Freedom, Enslavement, And Rebellion   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology