Knowing Your Neighbor: Ceramic and Glassware Consumption Patterns and Sociality in a 19th-Century African American Household

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.

Artifacts recovered in the summer of 2021 at 263 Dunkerhook Road suggest the 19th-century property was the location of a vibrant community social life. Recovered were numerous artifacts related to tea and alcohol use and service. The ceramic consumption pattern in this African American household is distinct from the matching tea wares of Victorian white society. Although there was some aesthetic uniformity to the American-made ceramics, no two vessels matched; a consumption pattern Mullins (2002) suggests was a uniquely Black resistive strategy. Documentary records show 263 Dunkerhook Road was the home of Benjamin and Katherine Bennett, two prominent and respected members of this Bergen County, New Jersey African American enclave. This paper hypothesizes that the Bennett’s social position, in conjunction with the neighboring local AME pastor, contributed to making 263 Dunkerhook Road a community focal point, emphasizing the need for greater protection of the last remaining Jersey Dutch-built structure on Dunkerhook Road.

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