Delle 231 Syllabus Atlantic History Seminar

Archaeology Of Slavery and Freedom
Anthropology 231
Professor James A. Delle

COURSE OVERVIEW
In recent years an increasing number of archaeologists have focused their work on understanding
the material dimensions of the African experience in the Americas. This course will consider what archaeology has to contribute to our understanding of the historical experience of members of the African Diaspora through the analysis of recent archaeological studies of the slave trade, plantation slavery, and post-emancipation sites in both the Caribbean and American South.

REQUIRED READING FOR THE COURSE
You will need to gain access to the following books, all of which are on sale in the bookstore:

Deetz, James (1996) In Small Things Forgotten. New York: Doubleday/Anchor.
Deagan, Kathleen and Darcie MacMahon (1995). Fort Mose: America's Fortress of Freedom. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Ferguson, Leland (1992) Uncommon Ground. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Delle, James (l998). An Archaeology of Social Space: New York: Plenum Press.
Armstrong, Douglas (1990). The Old Village and the Great House. Urbana: University of Illinois
Press.
Agorsah. Kofi, ed (1994 ) Maroon Heritage. Kingston: University of the West Indies Press.
Rankin Hil!, Leslie (1997) A Biohistory of 19th-Century Afro-Americans. Westpon: Bergin and
Garvey.

RECOMMENDED READING
Haviser, Jay (1999) African Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean. Amsterdam: Markus Weiner.
Berlin, Ira and S. Morgan (1993) Cultivation and Culture. Charlottesville: University Press of
Virginia.

COURSE SCHEDULE

TOPIC I: INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN- AMERICA

THU 1/14: FILM: DIGGING FOR SLAVES
READ: Deetz, Chapters 1-3.

TUE 1/19: INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
READ: Deetz. Chapters 4-6.

TUE 1/21: ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN NEW ENGLAND
READ: Deetz, Chapters 7-9.
Fitts Handout.

TUE 1/26: ARTlFACT ANALYSIS AND LAB EXERCISE
READ: Artifact Handout.

THU 1/28: ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE US SOUTHEAST
READ: Deagan and MacMahon pp.1-19
US Southeast Handout.

TUE 2/2: FORT MOSE: A SOUTHEASTERN CASE STUDY
READ: Deagan and MacMahon pp,20-45
Landers Handout.

TOPIC II: THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE RICE PLANTATION SOUTH

THU 2/4: ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN RICE COUNTRY
READ: Ferguson: Prologue and Introduction
Rice Country Handouts.

TUE 2/9: THE MYSTERIES OF COLONOWARE
READ: Ferguson, Chapters1-2
Colonoware Handout.

THU 2/11: LIFEWAYS ON SOUTH CAROLINA PLANTATIONS
READ: Ferguson, Chapters 3-epilogue

TUE 2/16: FIRST EXAM

TOPIC Ill: ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN-JAMAICAN EXPERIENCE

THU 2/18: ARCHAEOLOGY OF JAMAICAN LANDSCAPES
READ: Delle, Chapters 1-2.

TUE 2/23: COFFEE PLANTATION SOCIETY IN JAMAICA
READ: Delle. Chapters 3-5.

WED 2/24: SPECIAL EVENING SESSION TO VIEW AND DISCUSS THE FILM BURN!

THU 2/25: DOMINATION AND RESISTANCE ON THE JAMAICAN LANDSCAPE
READ: Delle, Chapters 6-8.

TUE 3/2- THU 3/4: NO CLASS-SPRING BREAK

TUE 3/9: SUGAR PLANTATION SOCIETY
READ: None

THU 3/11: DRAX HALL: A JAMAICAN CASE STUDY
READ: Armstrong, Chapters 1-3.

TUE 3/16: THE ARTIFACTS AND HOUSE YARDS AT DRAX HALL
READ: Armstrong Chapters 4-5.
DUE: Topic and preliminary outline for term paper.

THU 3/18: NO CLASS: TRIP TO PROVIDENCE FOR THE NEAA

TUE 3/23: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
READ: Armstrong, Chapters 6-8.

THU 3/25: SECOND EXAM

TOPIC IV: MAROON SOCIETY

TUE 3/30: WHO ARE THE MAROONS?
READ: Agorsah, Forward, Chapters 1-4.

THU 4/1: THE VARlETY OF MAROON SOCIETIES
READ: Agorsah, Chapters 5-8.
Orser Handout.

TUE 4/6: ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE JAMAICA MAROONS
READ: Agorsah, Chapters 9-11.

TOPIC V: BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS

THU 4/8: NEW YORK'S AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND
READ: African Burial Ground Handout

TUE 4/13: BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
READ: Rankin-Hill, Chapters 1-2.
Handout on African Burial Ground.
DUE: First Draft or Term Paper.

THU 4/15:THE PHILADELPHlA COMMUNITY
READ: Rankin-Hill. Chapters 3-4.

TUE 4/20: WHAT CAN SKELETONS REALLY TELL US?
READ: Rankin-Hill, Chapters 5-epilogue.

TUE 4/22: COURSE REVIEW

FINAL EXAM DURING EXAM WEEK; TERM PAPER DUE AT OR BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM