Macrobotanical Evidence for Tobacco Use within Enslaved Communities: Emerging Patterns from the Middle Atlantic States.

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "New Avenues in the Study of Plant Remains from Historical Sites" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Tobacco agriculture was central to the landscape, economy, and cultural heritage of much of the Middle Atlantic region from the 17th through the 19th centuries. A growing body of macrobotanical evidence recovered from the homes and workspaces of enslaved Africans in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware suggests that tobacco was used and valued in unique ways within these communities. Ongoing research points to tobacco as an important therapeutic, economic, and spiritual plant tied to African cultural practices and traditions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• New Avenues in the Study of Plant Remains from Historical Sites   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology