The Trent House Personified: Using Artifact Biographies to Tell the Tale of a Storied House

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Artifacts are More Than Enough: Recentering the Artifact in Historical Archaeology", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Archaeological excavations at the William Trent House in Trenton New Jersey have revealed thousands of pre-contact and historic artifacts reflecting the occupation of this site from deep prehistory to the present. This site is one of the Delaware Valley’s most significant historic sites. This paper argues that close examination of individual and small groups of artifacts provides a compelling way of exploring and presenting the history of this site to the public. The artifacts examined include a pre-contact standardized marine-shell ornament, a wax seal inscribed LFK, and a glass intaglio with the name Lafayette. By exploring the histories of these artifacts the stories of the diverse individuals who lived at and visited the Trent House are made real and accessible and the site’s significance is revealed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Artifacts are More Than Enough: Recentering the Artifact in Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow