The Plymouth Colony Archive Project continues to present studies, articles, and materials for lesson plans in historical archaeology. We have just added two new articles by artist Ruth Major. She worked with archaeologists and historians, including Derek Wheeler, Craig Chartier, and Leon Cranmer, among others, to create the painting entitled "Harvest Time at the John Howland Homestead, 1650" and a related article entitled "Words Paint the Picture" that describes her process of historical research in preparing that work. Originally published in the "Howland Quarterly," these articles and images are available online at:

http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/HarvestTimeArticle.pdf

and

http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/WordsPaintArticle.pdf

The Plymouth Colony Archive presents a collection of fully searchable texts, including: court records, colony laws, seventeenth century journals and memoirs, probate inventories, wills, town plans, maps, and fort plans; research and seminar analyses of numerous topics; biographical profiles of selected colonists; and architectural, archaeological and material culture studies. Among other works, published here for the first time are a "Glossary and Notes on Plymouth Colony," "Seventeenth Century Timber Framing," and "Vernacular House Forms in Seventeenth Century Plymouth Colony: An Analysis of Evidence from the Plymouth Colony Room-by-Room Probate Inventories 1633- 1685," by Patricia Scott Deetz and James Deetz. We also present studies focusing on broader regional and temporal scales, including Jim Deetz's analysis of changes over time in Anglo-American gravestone styles in New England, and discussion of the Parting Ways site and archaeological evidence found there of architectural forms and mortuary practices consistent with elements of African-American heritage. In addition, we present a number of tributes concerning the works of Prof. Deetz (1930-2000) in historical archaeology. 

We welcome all comments and suggestions of how we can better present the materials we have made available and what additional materials you would like to see added. 

http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/

Thanks,
Chris