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Archaeology of the African Diaspora
ANT 300/600
Professor Theresa A. Singleton
Syracuse University
Spring 1999
In this course, we examine the formation and transformation of the Black Atlantic
World beginning with the transatlantic slave trade to the middle of the 19th
century through the study of archaeological and historical sources. The emphasis
in this course is on English- speaking African America, where the vast majority
of archaeological investigations have been undertaken. A major objective of
this course is to understand the material world of communities of the African
diaspora within the context of the history and historiography of the Black
Atlantic.
This course covers the following topics
I. Africans: IIi Africa
II. Africans In Americas to 1400-1800
III. Making of African-American Communities, 1700-1865 IV. Material Culture
of Everyday Life
V. Religious Beliefs and Practices of Diaspora Communities
VI. Analyzing Documentary and Oral historical Sources for Insights into Material
Culture
VII. The Cultural Politics of African-American Archaeology VII. The Future
of Archaeology of the African Diaspora
Required Texts: Books are available for purchase at Follett's Orange
Bookstore.
Thornton, John. 1998. Africa and Africans In the Making of the Atlantic World,
1400- 1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ferguson, Leland. 1992. Uncommon Ground: The Archaeology of African America,
1650-1800. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
In addition to the above texts a reader of articles will be available for
purchase at the
Copy Centers in Marshall Square Mall. Readings assignments from the Reader
begin February 22.
Course Format and Requirements:
In order to accommodate the needs and interests of both undergraduate and
graduate students, specialists in archaeology and non-specialists, this course
will consist of
lectures and discussion. Lectures highlight the major issues raised in the
readings, but will not cover the readings in detail. Readings will be examined
more fully during discussion. Come to class prepared to discuss readings thoughtfully
and critically. Everyone is expected to participate in discussion. To facilitate
discussion, each student will be expected to lead a discussion. Discussion
leaders should briefly summarize the material develop 2-4 questions or issues
to discuss. Graduate students will be expected to go beyond the assigned reading
to discuss the topic. We will have at least one discussion section per week
Class participation is 10% of your grade.
Examinations: There will be two take-home examinations: The first
exam will cover lectures and reading on Africans in Africa in the Americas.
The first exam is due Monday, February 15. The second exam will cover making
of African-American coomunities, the material culture of everyday life, religious
beliefs and practices of diaspora communities. The second exam is due March
29. Each exam is 15% of your grade 15% X 2 = 30%
Papers: A p~pei(5-10 pages) should be an analysis of a documentary or oral
historical i source(s) for evidence of the material world of African Americans.
These sources i constitute an additional reading assignment such as one of
the antebellum, African- American autobiographies also known as the "slave
narratives," one of the volumes of The American Slave Composite Autobiography,
edited by George Rawick (1972), a traverler account, diary, slave runaway
newspaper advertisements, one of the record groups found in John Blassingame's
Slave Testimony (1977), or other records you may know.
In this paper, you should evaluate the strengths and limitations of the source
as evidence for interpreting African-American material life, the perspective
of the source (who is the voice of the narrative, and what information does
it provide on material culture. Please submit to me in writing by March 10
the source or sources you have chosen and the area(s) of material culture
that you are analyzing. You should also be prepared to give a brief(10-15
minute) presentation of your analysis of documentary sources. This paper is
due April 21 and is 25% of your grade.
Final Seminar Paper: A final seminar paper is due at the end of the
course (10-20) pages. The paper can be on any topic of the African Diaspora,
but it should have implications for the study or presentation of material
culture. A topic and abstract should be submitted in writing March 22. You
should schedule an appointment to discuss your paper topic. This paper is
due May 12 and is 35% of your grade.
Class Participation/discussion 10%
2 Take-home examinations 30%
2 Documentary Analysis Paper 25%
Seminar Paper 35%
Course Outline
DATE TOPICS and ASSIGNMENTS
Jan. 20 - Overview and Structure of Course
Discussion of Key Concepts
Jan. 25-27 - Africans in Africa, Thornton, chapters 1-4,
Birth of the Atlantic World, and the emergence of transatlantic slave trade
Feb 1-3 - Africans in the Americas, Thornton, chapters 5-7 Africans in Colonial
America
Feb 8-10 - Africans in the Americas, Thornton, chapters 8-11 Cultural Transformations
Feb 15 - 1st Take-Home Exam Due
Feb. 15-22 - African-American communities and their material culture, Ferguson,
UnCommon Ground, all chapters
Feb.24-March 3 - Diverse communities of the African diaspora and their material
culture, readings 1-6, Emerson, Orser, Agorsah , MacMahon and Deagan, Singleton,
and Paynter.
March 8-10 - Material Culture of Everyday Life: Dress and Adornment, F oodways,
and Housing, readings 7-12. White and White (2 articles); Stine, et ai"
Pulsipher, and Yentsch, and McKee.
March 10 - Documentary Source Analysis Topic Due March 15-17 Spring Break
(No classes)
March 22-29 - Religious Beliefs and Practices of Diaspora
communities, 13-17. Levine, Orser, Wilkie Handler, Young.
March 24 - Society for American Archaeology, Chicago (possibility of no class)
March 29 - 2nd Take-home Exam Due
March 31-April 7 - Analyzing documentary Sources for insights into Material
Culture
April 5-7 - Oral Presentations of Documentary Analysis
April 12-14 - School of American Research Seminar Santa, Fe New Mexico, No
classes. Research time to work on the two remaining papers due in course.
April 19-21 - Cultural Politics of African-American Archaeology Readings 17-22:
McKee, Blakey and La Roche, McDavid, Derry, Franklin, Blakey, Singleton
April 21 - Docmentary Analysis Paper Due
Apri126 - The Future of the Archeology of the African Diaspora, Reading 23,
Orser.
April 28-May 3 - Student Presentations, Wrap-up
May 12 Final Seminar Paper Due
Diverse Communities of the African diaspora and their material culture
1. Emerson, M. 1994. Decorated clay tobacco pipes from the Chesapeake: An
African connection. In Historical Archaeology of the Chesapeake, edited by
B. Little and P. Shackel, pp.35-49.
2. Orser, Charles. Toward a global historical archaeology: An Example from
Brazil. Historical Archaeology 28( 1 ):5-22.
3. Agorsah, EK. 1994. Archaeology of Maroon Settlement in Jamaica. In Maroon
Heritage, edited by E. K. Agorsah, pp. 163-201.
4.MacMahon, D., and K. Deagan. 1996. Legacy of Fort Mose. Archaeology 49 (5):54-
58.
5. Singleton, TA. 1991. The Archaeology of Slavery. In Before Freedom Came
in the Antebellum South, edited by E. D. C. Campbell and K. Rice, 155-175,
(footnotes, pp188-191) .
6. Paynter, Robert. ,1992. W. E. B. Du Bois and the Material World of African
Americans in-great Barrington, Massachusetts. Critique of Anthropology 12(
3):277- 291. .
Material Culture of Evervdav Life: Dress and Adornment. Foodways
and Housing
7. White S., and Graham White. 1995. Slave Hair and African-American culture
in the Eighteen and Nineteenth Centuries. Journal of Southern History, pages
44-76.
8. White S., and Graham White. 1995. Slave Clothing and African-American culture
in the Eighteen and Nineteenth Centuries. Past and Present 148 (August) 149-184.
9. Stine,L., M. Cabak, and M. Grover. 1996. Blue Beads as African-American
Cultural Symbols. Historical Archaeology 30(3):49-75.
10. Pulsipher, L. "They have Saturdays and Sunday to Feed Themselves:"
Gardens in the Caribbean. Expedition 32(2):24-33.
11. Yentsch, Anne. 1995. Hot, Nourishing, and Culturally potent: The transfer
of West African Cooking Traditions to the Chesapeake. SAGE: A Scholarly Journal
on Black Women, Summer 9(2):15-29.
12. McKee, Larry. 1992. The Ideals and Realities Behind the Design and Use
of 19th Century Virginia Slave Cabins. In The Art and Mystery of Historical
Archaeology:
.-- Essays in Honor of Jim Deetz, edited by A Yentsch and Mary Beaudry, pp.
163-213.
Religious Beliefs and Practices of DiasDora Communities
13. Levine, L. 1977. The Sacred World of Black Slaves. In Black Culture and
Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thoughtfrom Slavery to Freedom, chapl.,
pp.2-80.
14. Orser, C. 1994. The Archaeology of African-American Slave Religion in
the Antebellum South. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 4(1 ):33-44.
15. Wilkie, L. 1995. Magic and Empowennent on the Plantation: An Archaeological
Consideration of African-American World view. Southeastern Archaeology 14(2):126-
148.
16. Handler, J. S. 1997. An African-Type Healer!Diviner and His Grave Goods:
A Burial from a Plantation Slave Cemetery in Barbados, West Indies. International
Journal of Historical Archaeology 1 (2):91-130.
The Cultural Politics of African-American Archaeology
17. McKee, L. 1994. Commentary: Is It Futile to Try and Be Useful? Historical
Archaeology and the African-American Experience Northeast Historical Archaeology
23: 1-7.
18. L.a Roche.CJ, and M. Blakey. 1997. Seizing Intellectual Power: The Dialogue
at the New York African Burial Ground. Historical Archaeology 31(3):84-106.
21. McDavid, C .1997. Descendants, Decisions, and Power: The Public Interpretation
of the Archaeology of the Levi Jordan Plantation. Historical Archaeology 31(3):114-113.
22.Singleton T A. 1997. Commentary: Facing the Challenges of a Public African-
American Archaeology Historical Archaeology 31 (3): 146-152.
The Future of the ArchaeoloQv of the African DiasQora
23. Orser, CE.1998. The Archaeology of the African Diaspora. Annual Reviews
27:63- 82.
©
2002 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College.