Understanding a Post-Emancipation Haiti: A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis of 19th Century Plant Remains at the Palace of Sans-Souci

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Excavations with The Milot Archaeological Project (MAP) have yielded significant information on the development of the Palace of Sans-Souci in northern Haiti. Strides have been made in understanding site chronology, the material culture within the palace, and regional/long-distant economic networks. However, little is known about natural resource use during this time of rapid political change resulting from the Haitian Revolution (1804). This paper summarizes the macro-botanical analysis of wood-charcoal from the Palace of Sans-Souci during an early post-revolutionary period under the leadership of Henry Christophe. Focusing primarily on the consumption of forest resources and its relationship to agricultural practices, this paper examines the use of these resources and what that meant for the recently self-emancipated, African population who served as the labor at the Palace of Sans-Souci.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow