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Homemade Magic HOMEMADE MAGIC: CONCEALED DEPOSITS IN ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXTS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY BY M. CHRIS MANNING DR. MARK GROOVER, ADVISOR BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA DECEMBER 2012 ABSTRACT THESIS: Homemade Magic: Concealed Deposits in Architectural Contexts in the Eastern United States STUDENT: M. Chris Manning DEGREE: Master of Arts in Anthropology COLLEGE: College of Sciences and Humanities DATE: December 2012 PAGES: 473 The tradition of placing objects and symbols within, under, on, and around buildings for supernatural protection and good luck, as an act of formal or informal consecration, or as an element of other magico-religious or mundane ritual, has been documented throughout the world. This thesis examines the material culture of magic and folk ritual in the eastern United States, focusing on objects deliberately concealed within and around standing structures. While a wide range of objects and symbols are considered, in-depth analysis focuses on three artifact types: witch bottles, concealed footwear, and concealed cats. This thesis examines the European origins of ritual concealments, their transmission to North America, and their continuation into the modern era. It also explores how culturally derived cognitive frameworks, including cosmology, religion, ideology, and worldview, as well as the concepts of family and household, may have influenced or encouraged the use of ritual concealments among certain groups. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis truly would not have been possible without the continuous love and encouragement of my family, especially my amazingly supportive parents, Michael and Mary Manning, and my sister, Becca, my rock, who’s always there when I need her, night or day. Most of all, this thesis is dedicated to Spencer, who has put up with so much and yet still remains smiling. I also owe a big debt of gratitude to my incredible friends and church family who have supported me in every way possible. Thank you, Laura and Jeff, Markie and Eleanor, Kristina, Mary, Nina, Carol and Phil, Bea and Lynn, Crystal and Eric, and everyone else who has been there to cheer me on and lift me up. It means so much to me. I would also like to thank the members of my committee for their guidance and suggestions, for pushing me to explore new avenues of investigation, and for providing constructive feedback. I especially want to thank my advisor, Dr. Mark Groover, for suggesting I do a little research on house spirits. And lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to the many colleagues who assisted me during my research, fielding questions, listening to my ideas, helping me track down obscure sources, and alerting me to new finds. This list could go on forever, but I would like to especially thank Ian Evans and Megan Springate for their continuing intellectual and emotional support. I would also like to thank Jessica Geisler Costello, iii Timothy Easton, D. A. Saguto, C. Riley Augé, Brian Hoggard, Chris Woodyard, and many, many others for their assistance. And last but not least, I want to say thanks to Shirely Bateson for her research on “Frank’s Shoe,” which initiated my own interest in ritual concealments. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Magic, Religion, and Ritual 4 The Principles of Magic 7 Related Concepts and Terminology 9 The Archaeology of Magic, Religion, and Ritual 11 The Archaeology of Magic, Religion, and Ritual in the United States 19 Existing Research on Architectural Concealments 21 Culture Change and Cultural Continuity 23 Domestic Religiosity and Ritual 26 Scope of Research 29 Research Objectives 31 Research Methods 33 Archaeological and Material Data 33 Ethnohistorical Data 35 Summary of Analysis and Results 40 CHAPTER 2: CULTURAL-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 42 The Old World 43 Pre-Christian Roman Religion and Domestic Ritual 46 The Conversion Period 51 Development of a Christian Cosmology 55 Domestic Religiosity, Magic, and Ritual in the Middle Ages 57 Fairies and Domestic Spirits 61 European Witchcraft in the Early Modern Period 72 The New World 77 Magic and the Supernatural in the 18th Century 84 Magic and the Supernatural in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries 87 Magic and Ritual in the Modern Era 90 v CHAPTER 3: WITCH BOTTLES AND OTHER BOTTLE CHARMS 94 Witch Bottles in England 96 Ethnohistorical Descriptions of Witch Bottles in England 105 Witch Bottles in the United States 108 Ethnohistorical Descriptions of Witch Bottles in the United States 118 Analysis and Discussion 123 Syncretic Expressions 131 Modern Reinterpretations 137 Chapter Summary 139 CHAPTER 4: CONCEALED FOOTWEAR AND ASSOCIATED DEPOSITS 141 The Study of Concealed Footwear 142 Concealed Footwear in the British Isles, Europe, and Australia 147 Associated Artifacts 153 Ethnohistorical Evidence in the British Isles and Europe 159 Concealed Footwear in the United States 172 Ethnohistorical Evidence in the United States: European Americans 192 Ethnohistorical Evidence in the United States: African Americans 195 Analysis and Discussion 200 A Suggested Typology 204 Syncretic Expressions 209 Modern Reinterpretations 213 Chapter Summary 215 CHAPTER 5: CONCEALED CATS 218 Concealed Cats in the British Isles, Europe, and Australia 219 Ethnohistorical Evidence in the British Isles and Europe 234 Concealed Cats in the United States 244 Ethnohistorical Evidence in the United States 256 Syncretic Expressions 260 Modern Reinterpretations 262 Analysis and Discussion 264 A Suggested Typology 273 Chapter Summary 274 CHAPTER 6: OTHER CONCEALMENTS 279 Garments and Textiles 280 Dolls and Poppets 289 Horse Skulls 294 Iron Tools and Implements 305 Horseshoes 310 Painted and Inscribed Marks and Symbols 318 Printed and Written Texts and Charms 322 Chapter Summary 328 vi CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 329 Geographic and Temporal Patterns 330 Temporal Distribution of Concealments in the United States 330 Geographic Distribution of Concealments in the United States 335 The Role of Religion and Magic in Concealment Ritual 337 The Function of Concealment 341 Manipulative Magic: Cursing, Binding, and Maleficium 342 Agricultural Concealments 344 Builders’ Rituals 345 Household Ritual and Protection: Concealments in Domestic Spaces 347 Regional Variability in Household Composition and Family Structure 348 Spirits, Demons, and Familiars 350 The Hearth as the Heart and Soul of the Household 357 Ethnicity, Cosmology, and Household Structure 363 Extending the Model: Unusual Deposits in Colonial Wells 367 CHAPTER 8: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 373 AND FUTURE RESEARCH Recommendations for Investigating Concealments in Standing Structures 374 Locating Concealments 375 Recognizing Concealments 377 Documenting Concealments 378 Interpreting Concealments 380 Avenues for Future Research 383 Concluding Remarks 386 REFERENCES 388 APPENDICES Appendix A: Concealed Footwear in the United States 439 Appendix B: Concealed Cats in the United States 467 Appendix C: Concealed Garments and Textiles in the United States 470 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 Locations of concealments reported in this study. 30 2.1 A tomte or nisse at work in the barn. 65 2.2 A witch feeding her animal familiars. 75 2.3 Origins of English-speaking immigrants to the American colonies. 79 2.4 A 17th-century house under attack by demonic spirits and non-human 81 beings. 2.5 Red Sox jersey recently freed from the concrete of Yankee Stadium. 91 2.6 Lucky charms carried by presidential candidates in the 2008 election. 92 3.1 Locations of English witch bottles identified by Merrifield. 98 3.2 Temporal distribution of English witch bottles. 99 3.3 Spatial context of English witch bottles. 99 3.4 Position of an English witch bottle at the edge of a field. 101 3.5 Two English bellarmine witch bottles and their contents. 102 3.6 Contents of English witch bottles. 103 3.7 CT scan of an unopened witch bottle, Greenwich, London. 105 3.8 Locations of witch bottles recovered in the United States. 109 3.9 Essington witch bottle, Great Tinicum Island, Delaware County, 113 Pennsylvania. 3.10 Great Neck witch bottle, Virginia Beach, Virginia. 114 3.11 Possible witch bottle from the Armstrong Farmstead, Fayette County, 114 Kentucky. 3.12 Market Street witch bottle and contents, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 115 3.13 Contents of an English witch bottle, including a fabric heart pierced with 115 pins. 3.14 Horn Point witch bottle, White Oak Site, Dorchester County, Maryland. 116 3.15 Early 20th-century witch bottle from Cornwall, England. 117 3.16 Artifacts from the Patuxent Point Site, Calvert County, Maryland. 117 3.17 Temporal distribution of American witch bottles. 124 3.18 Corked bottle with pentagram on one side. Found in soffit of Raitt 131 Homestead Farm Museum, Eliot, Maine. 3.19 Possible conjure bottle from Montpelier, Virginia. 132 3.20 Bottle trees in Simpson County, Mississippi. 136 3.21 Modern bottle charm found on the banks of the Thames River in England. 139 3.22 Written spell from a modern bottle charm retrieved from the Vermilion 139 River in Louisiana. 4.1 Distribution of concealed footwear in Great Britain. 147 4.2 Temporal distribution of concealed footwear worldwide. 148 viii 4.3 Spatial distribution of concealed footwear within structures worldwide. 149 4.4 Common locations for concealed footwear deposits associated with the 150 fireplace and chimney. 4.5 17th-century shoe slashed into strips. 153 4.6 Reconstruction of a deposit containing two shoes, four chickens, a broken 154 goblet, and various other artifacts in a house in England. 4.7 Child’s boot and miniature Bible found inside a chimney cavity in 154 Lincolnshire, England. 4.8 Artifacts found in association with concealed shoes. 155 4.9 Concealed deposit discovered in a wall above the doorway of a townhouse 156 in Devon, England. 4.10 Location of concealed deposits or “spiritual middens” found in the walls 159 of a house in Suffolk, England.
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