Willtown an Archaeological and Historical Perspective
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willtown an archaeological and historical perspective Archaeological Contributions 27 the Charleston Museum 19 99 Willtown: An Archaeolgocial and Historical Perspective Martha Zierden Suzanne Linder Ronald Anthony with contributions by: Andrew Agha Jennifer Webber Elizabeth Reitz Jean Porter Genevieve Brown James Catto Elizabeth Garrett Hayden Smith Matthew Tankersley Marta Thacker The Charleston Museum Archaeological Contributions 27 May 1999 0c 1999 The South Carolina Department of Archives & History Produced for The Charleston Museum and Hugh C. Lane, Sr. Designer: Judith M. Andrews Assistant: Tim Belshaw ISBN 1-880067-53-6 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................. xi I. Introduction ...................................................................... 1 Site description ................................................................................................. 2 Previous research ............................................................................................... 2 Comparative data base ....................................................................................... 7 Theoretical basis ............................................................................................... 9 Interpretive issues ........................................................................................... 12 II. The Willtown Community Exploration and settlement of Carolina ....................................................... 15 Protection of the colony................................................................................. 19 The founding of Willtown ............................................................................. 23 The Willtown community .............................................................................. 31 Native American residents and European traders ....................................... 34 The religious dissenters ................................................................................. 45 African bondsmen .......................................................................................... 47 Willtown’s economic heyday and the planter community ......................... 51 III. Archaeological Sites at Willtown Bluff Site recording in 1996 .................................................................................... 59 Sites surveyed .................................................................................................. 59 IV. Site 38Ch482a: the Willtown lots Site description ............................................................................................... 73 Site history ...................................................................................................... 73 Background ..................................................................................................... 74 Field methods ................................................................................................. 74 Dating techniques........................................................................................... 77 Description of encountered proveniences ................................................... 79 Description of recovered artifacts ................................................................. 88 Interpretations ................................................................................................ 93 V. The New Willtown church: 38Chl661 Introduction.................................................................................................... 95 Fieldwork ......................................................................................................... 97 The artifact assemblage.................................................................................. 98 The cemetery ................................................................................................... 99 The documentary evidence .......................................................................... 104 VI. 38Ch482d: Test excavations at the vats Introduction.................................................................................................. 105 Historical survey ............................................................................................ 105 Site description .............................................................................................. 107 Field and lab procedures .............................................................................. 110 Analysis of shovel tests ................................................................................... 110 Analysis of excavated units ............................................................................ 114 Description of excavated features ................................................................ 116 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 117 VII. Site 38Chl659: the rice plantation Site description .............................................................................................. 121 The process of site discovery ........................................................................ 121 Site history ..................................................................................................... 125 The site revealed ............................................................................................ 135 Field and laboratory methods ...................................................................... 136 Description of excavated proveniences ....................................................... 141 Dating the proveniences ............................................................................... 168 VIII. Artifacts from 38Chl659........................................... 185 Kitchen-related artifacts from James Stobo’s plantation ............................ 186 Architecture ................................................................................................... 193 Arms ............................................................................................................... 193 Clothing ......................................................................................................... 194 Personal .......................................................................................................... 195 Furniture ........................................................................................................ 196 Other activities ............................................................................................... 197 Horizontal and vertical patterning .............................................................. 222 Horizontal distribution ................................................................................. 224 IX. Willtown Colono wares ............................................... 261 X. African American slaves and rice dike construction .. 275 Archaeological research ................................................................................ 277 Interpretations ............................................................................................... 280 XI. Animal use on the eighteenth century frontier Introduction................................................................................................... 283 Methods.......................................................................................................... 285 Results, 1720–1740 ........................................................................................ 290 Results, Inside House, 1740–1770 ................................................................ 291 Results, outside units ..................................................................................... 292 Results, demolition ........................................................................................ 293 Discussion....................................................................................................... 294 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 297 XII. Interpretations of Life in the Willtown Community Site formation processes ............................................................................... 299 Architectural evidence .................................................................................. 302 Refinement and consumerism among lowcountry planters ...................... 308 Pluralism and cultural interaction on the Carolina frontier...................... 312 Evolution of the Willtown community ......................................................... 323 Afterword ....................................................................................................... 352 References cited ................................................................ 327 Appendix I: Pollen analysis from the Stobo Plantation .. 338 by Jean Porter Appendix II: Calculated OCR dates for Willtown ......... 341 by Douglas Frink Appendix III: Additional tables, Faunal Analysis .......... 345 by Jennifer Webber The family of James Stobo (1705–1781) ........................... 369 List of figures 1. The Carolina coast ........................................................................................ 3 2. Aerial view of the Willtown area ................................................................... 4 3. The rice mill chimney, the church column at Willtown ............................. 5 4. The Morris house, the bluff