The Beginnings of Modern Historical Archaeology in the Northeast and the Origins of the Conference on Northeast Historical Archaeology Paul R
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Northeast Historical Archaeology Volume 15 Article 2 1986 The Beginnings of Modern Historical Archaeology in the Northeast and the Origins of the Conference on Northeast Historical Archaeology Paul R. Huey Follow this and additional works at: http://orb.binghamton.edu/neha Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Huey, Paul R. (1986) "The Beginnings of Modern Historical Archaeology in the Northeast and the Origins of the Conference on Northeast Historical Archaeology," Northeast Historical Archaeology: Vol. 15 15, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.22191/neha/vol15/iss1/2 Available at: http://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol15/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in Northeast Historical Archaeology by an authorized editor of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. 2 The Beginnings of Modern Historical Archaeo/ogy/Huey THE BEGINNINGS OF New York the New York State Historic Trust was established October 1, 1966. Re MODERN HISTORICAL view of a sampling of projects representative ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE of the development of historical archaeology in the years preceding 1966 in the Northeast NORTHEAST AND THE makes it possible to understand more clearly ORIGINS OF THE the origins of modern historical archaeology and the ideas that have influenced its CONFERENCE ON present direction. Not included, however, is NORTHEAST the work that was done in this period at historic contact Indian sites, since that re HISTORICAL search, at least initially, generally followed ARCHAEOLOGY a separate course of development (Wilderson 1975: 116-117). Modern historical archaeology had its di rect origins in the late 1950s and early Paul R. Huey 1960s during a remarkable period of grow ing interest in and awareness of archaeology Historical archaeology entered a remarkable and its potentials for research and historical period of growth and development following interpretation. Archaeological methods that World War II and continuing through the had been applied primarily at prehistoric 1950s and the first half of the 1960s. In addition to the pressing need for salvage sites, which often had shallow stratification archaeology at threatened sites, excavation or none at all below plow zone, were at occurred at many other sites for research tempted with varying degrees of success at purposes including reconstruction of historic sites for which documentation from histori buildings. New techniques of underwater ex cal sources was also available in order to ploration increased accessibility of shipwreck supplement the historical record. Knowl sites in the 1950s, and attention also focused edge of ceramics and other artifact typolo increasingly on the problem of developing gies vital to the interpretation of archaeo~ artifact typologies. Early in the 1960s statis logical evidence was only in its earliest tical analysis and comparative study of ar stages. Some excavators cared little about chaeological data set a new direction, while an increasing number of excavations also artifact~ except for rare or unique objects occurred at military sites. In 1960 Stanley and conducted excavations to reveal founda South organized the first professional society tions or ruins, often with the result that for historical archaeologists. Following this, conjectural reconstructions were built and Jack Mead in 1966 organized a separate sites totally destroyed. A third element in group for historical archaeologists working historical archaeology became increasingly in the Northeast, called the Symposium on apparent during the 1950s with the need for Historic Site Archeology. The federal Preser salvage archaeology as new construction fol vation Act followed later in 1966, and the lowing World War II threatened numerous Society for Historical Archaeology was for sites, particularly flood-control projects in mally organized in January, 1967. the Missouri River Basin in the West. Sal The year 1986 marked the 20th anniver vage excavations at threatened historical sary, on April 2, of the first meeting of the sites along the Missouri in the Dakotas Symposium on Historic Site Archeology, began in the late 1940s and continued in the now the Council for Northeast Historical 1950s, resulting in the important publica Archaeology, at New Windsor Cantonment tion of the River Basin Surveys Papers, State Historic Site, New York. Moreover, Numbers 15-20, by the Smithsonian Institu October 15 was the 20th anniversary of the tion in 1960 (Roberts 1960). National Historic Preservation Act, and in In the Northeast, five years of digging at Northeast Historical Archaeo/ogy/Vol. 15, 1986 3 !;I;J.:.i~~.c_;_· PORTION OF PO>T REOUC.E.O TO MOLD -+- E)(TE.RIOR 0 z e=:====:i====='i FE.eT a b Figure 1. Cross section (a) and plan (b) of the stockade trench uncovered at Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania in 1952 and 1953 (Harrington 1957: 40). the site of the Saugus Ironworks in Massa its systematic program of testing areas chusetts between 1948 and 1953 ultimately where new construction was scheduled in led to a reconstruction of that site (Robbins Independence National Historical Park and Jones 1959: 38, 48). In Pennsylvania, a (Cotter 1960: 29-31). In Pittsburgh, mean classic project of careful documentary re while, the Carnegie Museum that same year search and excavation occurred in 1952 and commenced salvage excavations at the site 1953 with the work at Fort Necessity (FIGS. r, of Fort Pitt in conjunction with park devel 2; Harrington 1957). Other very early efforts opment (Swauger and Hayes 1959: 247). to conduct historical archaeology in the Near Albany, New York, amateur archaeol Northeast occurred at sites such as Franklin ogists excavated the site of the 18th-century Court in Philadelphia and Fort Pitt in Pitts Vereberg Tavern, discovered during New burgh. Excavation of a distinctive delft tile York State Thruway construction, in 1953- fragment at the site of Franklin's house in 1954 (Feister 1975: 5). Philadelphia by the National Park Service In Canada, excavations were resumed be in 1953 aroused considerable interest, and tween 1948 and 1951 at the 17th-century at the same time the Park Service initiated site of Ste Marie I, and in 1949 a detailed 4 The Beginnings of Modern Historical Archaeology/Huey Fig. 25. Typical cross-section through 193~ stockade and across line of 1754 earthworks. EA.R..THWORV...S AS C.ON5TRUCTED IH 195.3 Figure 2. Cross section of 1754 earthworks and of earthworks constructed in 1953, with conjectural parapet, at Fort Necessity (Harrington 1957: 45). report on the previous excavations earlier in prelude to Virginia's 350th anniversary in the 1940s was published (Kidd 1949, 1969: 1957, and this work gave historical archae 15). Other excavations had occurred as early ology wide and unprecedented public recog as 1951 in Quebec under the Societe histo nition (Cotter 1958). Work elsewhere in rique de Quebec as a search for remains of 1954 included excavations at the 17th the Champlain chapel, a memorial con century "De Vries Site" in Delaware (Bonine structed in 1636 in honor of Samuel de 1954), and in 1955 excavations were begun Champlain (Dumas 1958). At Sillery, exca in a French village site (FIG. a) at Crown vations in 1953 revealed an early feature at Point, New York, under the sponsorship of the "Old Jesuit House" dating perhaps from the then owner-developer (Huey 1959). The the 17th century, while between 1952 and commercial development of Fort William 1954 excavations in Ontario uncovered re Henry at Lake George as a reconstruction in mains of the War of 1812 Fort Pene 1957 was preceded by excavations, and three tanguishene south of Georgian Bay (Kidd years of extensive excavations at Johnson 1969: 14, 18). In 1955, excavations also fo Hall State Historic Site in New York also cused on another 17th-century French site, commenced at that time. On the Niagara Fort La Tour in New Brunswick (Harper River, in New York, excavators uncovered 1956). the French "Joncaire trading post" site of Jamestown became the focus of extensive 1720 (McCarthy 1957: 101), and Fort Ticon excavations between 1954 and 1956 as a deroga sponsored excavations in the French Northeast Historical ArchaeologyNol. 15, 1986 5 CROWN POINT- VILLAGE SITE TOWN OF CROWN POINT. NEW YORK Closs IV survey mode in July 1957 by Louis F. Ismay of a small portion of o colonial village site at Crown Point. This area is south west of the southwest bastion of the main British Fort. De Kiln N£Comer (!J O"' ()27 "" PP<Oximotely) 2 more sites I an this oreo. - Roads or ear then ridges o 0 o Depressions {supposed ce liars{ 0 o o Mounds (supposed chimney ruins{ IOpproximo/e size~ shape, location 8 alignment Source:redrown from o copy of the original Ismay map. Figure 3. Plan of the colonial village site at Crown Point, New York, surveyed in July 1957. The area is now a part of Crown Point State Historic Site (after Huey 1959). village site at Ticonderoga (Campbell1958). in 1958 excavated the site of Fort Indepen Excavation work also began in 1957 at dence, a Revolutionary War site in Bronx Batsto Village State Historic Site in New County (Lopez 1978), while in 1958 and Jersey. lvor Noel Hume arrived at· Willi 1959 a group of Rome Free Academy stu amsburg, Virginia, that year as Chief dents excavated a late 18th-century site Archaeologist, and books on British archae located on the Great Oneida Carry in New ological methods exemplified by Sir Mor York (Hagerty 1960: 5-6). The National timer Wheeler's Archaeology from the Earth Park Service began excavations at the and others served to emphasize the critical Schuyler House at Schuylerville, New York, importance of close attention to stratigra in 1958, and in 1960 expanded the work to phic contexts in historical archaeology include testing in Saratoga Battlefield (Wheeler 1956: 94).