Identity, Spirituality, And Community At The John Dickinson Plantation Based On The Collection From Block III
Date
2022-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis analyzes material culture from the most recent excavation
completed in 2000 at the John Dickinson Plantation. This thesis aims to better
understand how the enslaved population who lived and worked in this area interacted
with and used this material culture to persist, resist, and survive bondage. Specific
artifacts such as an amethyst, varying dress items, ceramics, and a rumbler bell that
were found in features such as barrel pits, a packed earth floor, a post hole, and a
possible hearth were the focus of this analysis in order to consider what artifacts
relating to identity, spirituality, and community can tell us about the experience of
those who were enslaved at this site during the 1720 to 1820 time range. Through the
use of comparative historical and archaeological studies, resources regarding slavery
in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic, and the use of excavation field notes, images, and
summaries; it is evident that these artifacts were used to create a separate geography
from the dominant white plantation geography. The artifacts from Block III reveal the
complex actions and interactions that are important to understanding how the enslaved
population was able to imbue not only creativity onto their surroundings but create
space for the continuity of African cultural traditions within this environment of
bondage.
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Keywords
John Dickinson Plantation, Material culture, Enslaved people, African cultural traditions