Dr. Faulkner
Spring 2005
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50 AM
232a South Stevens (Anthropology Teaching Laboratory)

Texts

Required

Deetz, James, In Small Things Forgotten, "expanded and revised" edition
Faulkner, Alaric and Gretchen Faulkner, The French at Pentagoet 1635-1674: An Archaeological Portrait of the Acadian Frontier

Optional

Ivor Noël Hume, In Search of This & That: Tales From An Archaeologists Quest. Selected essays from the Colonial Williamsburg Journal, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia 1996.

     In the Americas, “historical archaeologists” study the effects of the spread of European culture to the New World since the time of Columbus, which we term here “colonial archaeology” for convenience. Our emphasis is on the analysis of changing western world views as reflected in the footprints of early settlements, foodways, refuse disposal habits, and other aspect of early Euro-American lifeways. Our coursework attempts to integrate excavation techniques, documentary research and analytical methods. Our emphasis will be more on western construction techniques, world view, and use of space as reflected in archaeological site plans than on specific details of regional history. Whether or not you have had previous course work in archaeology, if you have a genuine interest in colonial and early American lifeways you should be comfortable in ANT 473. You should also benefit from the Acadian case study if your interest is in Canadian Studies. Furthermore, the course will help prepare you for work in the field, such as the recent excavations of the Foxwell House in Cushing, Maine or the current excavations of 18th- and 19th- century military sites in Witherle Woods, Castine, Maine.

     Although touching on other areas and periods, the case studies used in this course have a distinctly northeastern focus. In particular, here in Maine we have the advantage of having a fairly large number of French and English colonial sites dating from the 1600s which have survived in spite of the urban sprawl characteristic of much of the northeast. One site you will read about in detail is Fort Pentagoet, a seventeenth-century Acadian site in Castine, Maine. This case study concentrates on the early European colonization of this part of the northeast and its effects on the indigenous population. Other sites we will study this semester are the Colonial/Early American seaport at Newburyport, Massachusetts, the Shaker settlement at Poland Hill, Maine, the Canada Road, Jamestown Virginia, and the 1607 Popham Colony in Phippsburg, Maine.

     Aside from having written documents to go on, historical archaeology differs substantially from prehistoric archaeology in the kinds of materials recovered and the methods used to retrieve and interpret them. Here we will only touch on the vast problem of artifact identification and analysis, for this is the subject of a complementary course, ANT 474 Artifacts of Colonial America. But we will consider in some detail how historic artifacts and related materials are used in anthropological interpretation, and reconstruction of historic sites. Such sites generally provide substantial, distinctive architectural remains, and we will study many kinds of structural evidence, from colonial floor plans to the lowdown in wells and privies. More to the point, we will study the changing world views they represent. As skill in using original documents is of great importance in studying people who have left written records, we will have some take-home problems which deal with a few typical examples including probate inventories, deeds, charts, tax maps, and insurance records.

Prerequisite: any 100 level course in archaeology or history.

3 Credit hours.

     This is a visually oriented course, developed for on-screen lecture presentation, using numerous illustrations and animations. You cannot possibly benefit from these features unless you see them. Since exam questions will be derived from these lectures as well as readings, regular attendance will be to your distinct advantage! Grades will be based on two prelims and a final exam. You will have a take-home problem to be handed in with each exam, including the final. Essays on the take-home questions will be graded for proper English form, as well as content, thus giving you practice in developing your writing skills. Each prelim will count 30% of your grade, while the final will count 40%.

     The prelims and the final will cover all materials on the attached outline that have been covered prior to the exam date.

Wednesday, February 16

Wednesday, April 6

Final:

Monday, May 2, 10:30 AM (finals week)

Make-ups

     Makeups will be allowed only in extenuating circumstances such as illness, and only if I am notified promptly of the circumstances, generally before the exam is given.

Office Hours, Appointments, etc.

     If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact either your instructor or Ann Smith, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (Onward Building, 581- 2319), as early as possible in the term.

     Office hours are Monday 2:00-3:30, and by appointment, in South Stevens room 228a. At other times be sure to check the Historical Archaeology Laboratory in room 246. The easiest way to contact me is often by e-mail:

"Alaric Faulkner" on First Class or

Telephone: 581-1900

 

Material culture; relation to history and prehistoric archaeology; common interests with history, cultural geography, folklore, and museology; opportunities as a career. Written records, their biases, and their expression of world view. Archaeological remains, their biases, and their tacit expression of world view.

Readings:

Deetz: Ch 1-2 (1-67) Skim the rest of the book now, if you wish!
Faulkner & Faulkner: Ch 1-2 (1-36)
Ivor Noël Hume, In Search of This & That: (optional)

II. Locating Sites and Beginning Excavation

Models for finding sites; historical and environmental considerations; cultural preferences for settlement choice; site survey and use of historic maps; remote sensing using aerial photography, proton magnetometry and soil resistivity probes, etc. Preliminary mapping; tools; sampling techniques; excavation strategies.

Readings:

Faulkner & Faulkner: Ch 3 and beginning of Ch 4 (37-65) 

Horizontal and vertical control

Prelim 1: Wednesday, February 16

IV. Recording Context II

Recording complex stratigraphy; relative chronology.

Readings:

Faulkner & Faulkner: remainder of Ch 4 (65–122) and Appendices C–D (283-298)

 V. Historic Site Structural Makeup

Archaeology of the Leander Felt site, Nelson New Hampshire.
Builders’ competence, design and use of space. Clues to the organization of life: domestic floorplans.

Readings:

Faulkner & Faulkner: remainder of Ch 4 (65–122) and Appendices C–D (283-298)
Garvin: brick making, chimney and fireplace construction: 48-58
Faulkner & Faulkner: Ch 5 (135-164)
Deetz: Ch 5 (125-164)
Garvin: house plans (95-100)
Garvin: how a house is built: framing (1-28)

Prelim 2: Wednesday, April 6

VI. Historic Site Structural Makeup II

Foundation details, driplines, wall, roof, and window construction and other details; drains, wells, privies and other ancillary features.

Readings:

Garvin: masonry foundations (42-48)
Garvin: exterior walls, brick masonry: (59-64)
Garvin: exterior walls, clapboards and sheathing: (32-36)
Garvin: interior walls, plastering (65-73)
Garvin: roofing (28-32)
Garvin: window glass: (91-94)
Garvin: hardware (optional, 74-84)

VII. Documentary Research (a review of topics related to your take-home problems)

Maps and plats; deeds, probate research and inventories; newspapers and municipal records; censuses and directories; photographs; county court houses, State Archives, State Library, Historical Society and other special resources; reconstructing plats from property descriptions; using colonial units and measures. Examples from Newburyport.

Readings:

Faulkner & Faulkner: review Ch 2-3 and examine Appendices A (273-278), B(279-282), and H(311-131)

VIII. Northeast Colonial History: an Archaeological Perspective (on your own)

European contact through 18th century. English and French work stations and settlements. Review of medieval, Georgian, and American world views, reflected in material culture. The Anglo-American Past and Afro-American Past: a re-examination of historical stereotypes (from readings).

Readings:

Deetz: Ch 7-9 (187-260) and review Ch 2 (28-43)
Garvin: architectural evolution, pp. 110-135 

Final exam—Monday, May 2, 10:30 AM Regular classroom (finals week)