ABSTRACT Title of Document: REORDERING THE LANDSCAPE: SCIENCE, NATURE, AND SPIRITUALITY AT WYE HOUSE Beth Pruitt, Ph.D. 2015 Directed by: Professor Mark P. Leone, Department of Anthropology This dissertation draws on literature and theoretical frameworks of gardening and social ordering that examine early Euro-American and African-American material culture as they came together on the plantation landscape at Wye House. Located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the plantation was home to the Welsh Lloyd family and hundreds of enslaved Africans and African- Americans. Using archaeological and archeobotanical remains of garden-related buildings and slave dwellings, this project acknowledges the different possible interactions and understandings of nature at Wye House and how this gave shape to a dynamic, culturally-based, and entangled landscape of imposed and hidden meanings, colonization and resistance. REORDERING THE LANDSCAPE: SCIENCE, NATURE, AND SPIRITUALITY AT WYE HOUSE By Beth Pruitt Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Dr. Mark P. Leone, Chair Dr. Paul Shackel Dr. Stephen Brighton Dr. Cheryl LaRoche Dr. Kelly Cook Dr. Mary Sies © Copyright by Beth Pruitt 2015 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the enslaved people at the Wye House Plantation. Your names and legacy are not forgotten. ii Acknowledgements Writing is a group effort, and I have to thank the individuals who helped me through this particularly long effort. Mark Leone, as my advisor and committee chair, has guided me through the past five years of bewilderment and challenges. You were exactly the right balance of encouragement, humor, nudging, and straightforward criticism that I needed. The other members of my committee, Dr. Paul Shackel, Dr. Stephen Brighton, Dr. Cheryl LaRoche, Dr. Kelly Cook, and Dr. Mary Sies, were invaluable in helping me to structure and articulate this research. Thank you for being there to talk through ideas and offer wisdom. Just as, if not more, important in shaping this dissertation was my Archaeology in Annapolis graduate student family. Thank you (in staff meeting order) Jocelyn Knauf, Amanda Tang, Kate Deeley, Ben Skolnik, Stefan Woehlke, Tracy Jenkins, Trish Markert, and Janna Napoli. Especially thank you to Ben, for being my twin and not teasing me much that night I locked everything in the field school van. You would have been justified, but instead you had my back completely. I also owe a great deal to Dr. Lynne Goldstein and the graduate students at Michigan State University—Terry Brock, Chris Stawski, Duane Quates, and others— who took me under their wing and set me on the path. In particular, thank you to Chris Valvano, who suggested that a PhD might be a good idea and that the University of Maryland might be the place for me. I’ll see you all at the next conference. Excavating at the incredible Wye House would not have been possible without the continued support of the descendants. I regret that I could only meet the late Mrs. iii Tilghman a few times, but her actions and enthusiasm were directly responsible for this research. Thank you so much to Richard and Beverly Tilghman, for opening your home to us and our band of new undergraduate archaeologists each summer. For the descendants of the enslaved people in Unionville and Easton, you are the reason I made it this far. Thank you to Harriette Lowery, Carlene Phoenix, and many others for their interest and insights. Mrs. Lowery, when we first met, you immediately pulled me into a big hug. Thank you for that, and for every hug since. Historians Amy Speckart and Jean Russo had a huge hand in the historical research used in this dissertation. Amy kindly sent me the transcriptions of her research, which included numerous references to the gardens and agriculture at Wye House. Thank you for digging through reels of eighteen century scrawl and paving the way. My parents, Dave and Lynn Pruitt, were skeptical of a career in archaeology, as any caring parent would be. Thank you for being endlessly loving and supportive nonetheless. I appreciated the “we’re proud of you” cards and the boxes of sugary treats, both of which kept me fueled throughout this process. I love you, and I am so lucky to have you in life. This is equally true of Hart Wood. Whether it was well-timed words of love, unfailing optimism, or the funny and factually-incorrect “ABCs of Archaeology,” you were always a source of encouragement and relief. To the Archaeology in Annapolis field school students: you did the dirtiest, hottest, and arguably most fun part of this dissertation. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Dedication............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................iii List of Tables.....................................................................................................................vii List of Figures...................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Context...............................................................................................................1 Research Questions............................................................................................6 Objectives and Significance...............................................................................7 Preview of Organization..................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Wye House Historical Context.........................................................................15 Chesapeake Slavery.........................................................................................18 Wye House History..........................................................................................29 Wye House Slavery..........................................................................................36 Conclusion.......................................................................................................47 Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks...................................................................................49 Spaces of Otherness.........................................................................................51 Disapora...........................................................................................................57 Public Archaeology..........................................................................................66 Conclusion.......................................................................................................70 Chapter 4: Literature Review.............................................................................................72 Landscape as Material Culture.........................................................................73 Archaeologies of Identity and Diaspora..........................................................81 African-American Material Culture.................................................................88 Colonizing Control and Scientific Gardening...............................................111 Conclusion.....................................................................................................126 Chapter 5: Archaeological Evidence...............................................................................128 Methodology..................................................................................................130 Greenhouse....................................................................................................132 Greenhouse Quarter.......................................................................................141 Hothouse........................................................................................................151 Additional Quarters.......................................................................................157 Conclusion.....................................................................................................166 v Chapter 6: Wye House Gardens.......................................................................................168 Methodology..................................................................................................170 The Gardens at Wye House...........................................................................171 Palynology Results........................................................................................182 Cultural Uses of Plants..................................................................................187 Conclusion.....................................................................................................196 Chapter 7: Archaeology in Annapolis in the Community...............................................198 Archaeology in Annapolis.............................................................................199 Wye House Community Engagement...........................................................200 Conclusion.....................................................................................................209 Conclusions and Future Directions..................................................................................210