To address how to determine significance of 19th-century artifact scatters:
One thing you really need to do (if you haven't already) is some research
into the property ownership, especially looking at tax records, deeds, and
plat maps. Sometimes, this will let you know if a scatter was associated
with a nearby homestead, or just a rubbish heap in the woods. It's going to
be hard to recommend more work on a trash scatter if you can't find any
evidence that there was a structure associated with it.
Some references I've found handy include:
Cabak, Melanie
1999 Rural Modernization During the Recent Past: Farmstead Archaeology in
the Aiken Plateau. Historical Archaeology 33(4)
Smith, Steve D.
1994 Context and Archaeology of Settler Communities: An Example from Fort
Leonard Wood, Missouri. in Proceedings of the Settler Communities in the
West Symposium 1: 95-105.
Townsend, Jan, John H. Sprinkle, Jr. and John Knoerl
1999 "Guidelines for Evaluating and Registering Historical Archaeological
Sites and Districts." National Register Bulletin (orignally published 1993).
US Dept. of Interios, National Park Service
Wilson, John S.
1990 We've Got Thousands of These! What Makes a Historic Farmstad
Significant? Historical Archaeology 24:23-33.
If you want to see how I approached the problem when I worked at an Army
Reserve post in Wisconsin, contact me off-list and I can send you a copy of
my report that dealt with survey and evaluation of over a hundred
farmsteads.
Regards,
Andrew R. Sewell, MS, RPA
Principal Investigator
Historic/Industrial Archaeology
Hardlines Design Company
4608 Indianola Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43214
(614)-784-8733
fax: (614)-784-9336
www.hardlinesdesign.com
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Jessica White
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 8:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 19th-Century Homesteads and CRM
Hello!
Does anyone have any references for work done with 19th-century homesteads
in
the context of CRM work? How does one determine if an artifact scatter (in
this context) should be recommended for more work? What sort of research
questions can one ask?
Obviously, any help/advice is much appreciated! :)
Thanks,
Jessica
*************************************************
Jessica White
Historical Archaeologist
Glenn A. Black Lab of Archaeology
Office of Cultural Resource Management
Bloomington, Indiana
*************************************************
|