In a message dated 8/24/2006 3:16:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Clearly,  archeologists need to do their own research in their own geographic 
areas,  taking into account the history of their research areas (but also the 
 
attitudes of the living descendants of whom we are trying to  understand).  
There is plenty of evidence and scholarly research,  including much work done 
by 
African-American scholars themselves, that  demonstrate a clear presence and 
use 
of symbolism in (and, perhaps even,  by) African-American communities that 
would fall under that category of  "conjuring" "hoodoo" or whatever folky 
term one 
can find.  
Coming from South Carolina where there was a root doctor in my home town, I  
am aware of ritual medicine etc that can be termed "Hoodoo." There is even  
historical evidence of the term being used in the 19th century (see Lawrence  
Levine, Black Culture and Black Conciousness for some examples).My main  
complaint is that it is a laymans term for a broad range of activities, not a  
scientific term. In my experience however the term is used in a derogatory  manner, 
usually by white people, and usually with an air of superiority. 
 



Regarding cosmological symbols found on ceramics from a cache  in Annapolis, 
it might interest folks to know that the interpretation of  the cache came 
through extensive research and collaboration with  African-American scholars 
who 
were knowledgeable about the existence of  these practices, however disparate 
they 
might seem. 
 
I have seen the evidence and do not buy it. Show me one clear example of a  
17th or 18th century group that used that symbol (the so-called "Bakongo  
Cosmogram"), and then show me one example of a member  of that group even  coming 
to North America. If you can show me that, prove they were the potters  
responsible. I will be happy to apologize. But I don't think any of the  three can be 
proven, and that the people who accept this evidence do so because  they 
simply want to believe it. I say this because the  enslaved African Americans 
lived in a militantly Christian environment not  known for tolerance of any 
competing views - even within Christianity. Catholics  were banned in South Carolina 
under British rule for instance. Slaves recieved  religious instruction in 
South Carolina from at least the 1710s, and after the  rise of Baptist and 
Methodist faiths later in the 18th century both races  flocked to camp meetings and 
services. If we were looking for a supporatble  argument I'd argue that they 
are Christian crosses, not some unknown African  symbol. Then, lets not forget 
that a cross in a circle is one of the foermost  symbols of the Southeastern 
Indians - who made up nearly 30% of the slaves in SC  as late as 1730. No, I 
just can't buy the "Bakongo Cosmogram" idea.