Dear Histarchers,
I have had a few students who have decided that the will not be able to attend my field school in Maine. If you know of any students who might be interested, please have them contact me ([log in to unmask]). Many thanks!
Here's the original post:
With apologies for cross-postings, please share the following with
students who may be interested.
The faculty of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at
Muhlenberg College are pleased to announce the fourth year of our
archaeology field school. Join us as we investigate the early
Euroamerican settlement of Downeast Maine at an 18th century site
overlooking Acadia National Park. This 4-week archaeological program
introduces students to excavation, survey and laboratory analysis. The
site was one of the first houses built in the area and hence can inform
processes of adaptation and adjustment to new environments.
We will be studying a late 18th century residence on Harriman Point in
Brooklin, Maine. The site was occupied by some of the first Euroamerican
settlers to arrive in Downeast Maine (east of the Penobscot River-
modern day Hancock and Washington Counties). It is these people, and
those like them, that are the original Downeasters. Today, Downeast
Maine is largely known for lobsters and blueberries, but the region has
a fascinating and unique history.
We have three essential questions:
First, how do people behave in pioneer situations? When settlers arrived
in Maine, the Native American population had been drastically reduced by
European diseases and a series of destructive wars. In this nearly empty
void, how did communities develop? Where they extensions of the
communities from which these families came? How do they see and utilize
the apparent abundance of natural resources? Did they have access to
markets like other Euroamericans?
Second, most studies of pioneers in the late 1700s and 1800s focus upon
movement westward. The coast of Maine has been ignored as important
frontier region. Mainers had something that few pioneers of the time
possessed- coast. In particular, the rocky coast provided an amazingly
bountiful harvest that frequently kept people alive when agriculture in
the rocky, acidic soils proved less than ideal. What role did the coast
and coastal resources play in the way that the land was settled and in
the resultant communities? How did settlers play off the "commons" of
the ocean and the "private" of their own land? The dynamic interaction
between the settlers and their resources would make their pioneering
experience significantly different than for those headed west.
Third, how did the history of Downeasters affect the way in which
community developed? In 1762, the General Court of Massachusetts (Maine
was a part of Massachusetts until 1820) began to grant townships along
the coast to groups of proprietors. The original grant for Sedgwick
included 5 other townships (modern day Bucksport, Orland, Castine,
Penobscot, Brooksville, Surry, Brooklin and Blue Hill) and listed 360
proprietors, all from Massachusetts, especially Essex County. Very few
of these proprietors settled the land they were granted, but were
following a long tradition of land speculation in Massachusetts. The
land was settled by young men from southern Maine, who did not own the
land and, hence, were considered squatters. Land occupation and
ownership was contentious until 1785, when squatters were "quieted" by
the General Court who granted them rights to the land they occupied. How
does this contradiction between documented ownership and occupation
affect the development of Downeast communities?
A Typical Day
Because the site is c. 30 minutes from our housing, we will work 4 long
days this summer. On those days, students begin the day by preparing
their own simple breakfast (e.g., cereal, granola and yogurt, toasted
bagel with butter, etc.). In contrast to previous years, we will be
working four ten-hour days in the field. We depart the house at 7am to
drive to the site. We spend the day on a variety of activities including
survey, mapping and excavation. We break at noon for a 45 minute lunch
of standard field fare (e.g., pb&j sandwiches, fruit, cookies and water)
and end the field day at 5:30 pm. Upon our return to the house,
designated students will prepare the evening meal. Afterwards, we wash,
label and catalog artifacts until all materials from the day have been
processed. Students will also ensure that their paperwork for the day
are entered into a digital database.
Date- July 4th until August 1st, 2015 (four full weeks)
Application Due- March 10th, 2015
Location- Hancock County, Maine
Credit- 1 course unit credit at Muhlenberg College (equal to one full
course)
Cost - $2400
Cost includes tuition, room, board and transportation in Maine. It does
NOT include travel to Maine, personal items (clothing, toiletries,
etc.) or books (c. $50) and personal field equipment (c. $75). Also,
non-Muhlenberg students will need to pay a $25 registration fee.
Lodging- We will be living in close quarters in a small house and a
small camp.
Website:
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/soc-anth/faculty/ArchaeologyinMaine2015.html
Contact:
Benjamin Carter
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology
Muhlenberg College
2400 Chew St
Allentown, PA 18104
(484)-664-3961
Office # SA 9
email: [log in to unmask]
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