Identifying Patriotism through Archaeology

Many of our blogs since quarantining have been related to the pandemic; how the staff of the Section of Archaeology works from home, updates on lab projects, a virtual tour of publicly accessible archaeological sites around Pennsylvania, and the effects of epidemics on Native American populations in the past. The pandemic has changed much of our daily routines and forced us to examine our priorities in an effort to avoid crowds and exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, not all of us have chosen to follow the guidance of scientists and doctors who universally advise social distancing and above all - wearing a mask. Protesters have argued that this guidance is an infringement on personal rights - a violation of the Constitution. Some have identified masks as a political tool or a sign of weakness. The upcoming July 4th holiday- Independence Day in the United States is an opportunity for us to examine the archaeological record for evidence of the social unrest and patriotism that gave birth to our nation. The following are several examples from the City of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia was the largest city in North America in the 18th century and home to a diverse community of European skilled laborers and professionals. The city’s location on the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay provided an important port for commerce in the developing Commonwealth and contributed to its role in early Colonial government. Penn’s vision for religious freedom and his Quaker beliefs placed these pacifists in the middle, as protests erupted prior to the French & Indian War. The Quaker government, known as the Provincial Council, chose to avoid conflict, despite pleas from settlers to control the Indian tribes living in the region. Virginia wanted to control lands in the Ohio River Valley for future expansion and wanted Pennsylvania to assist in removing the French from the north west corner of the Commonwealth.

An important political figure of the time was Ben Franklin. Archaeology conducted at his home and printing press yielded artifacts that supported his role as a scientist. He had many interests, including paleontology based on a mastodon tooth recovered in these excavations. This discovery links Franklin’s interest in science to the social and economic events of his time and the general dissatisfaction with the British government ruled by a king located 3000 miles away. The colonies were not dominated by the old traditions of Europe, but rather new concepts of government were emerging including democracy and self-rule. Franklin’s role as the first Postmaster and his printing of the Pennsylvania Gazette were an opportunity to spread ideas of independence and publish his experiments with electricity.

Mastadon tooth.
Credit: Philadelphia Archaeology Forum

Franklin’s role within the Provincial government increased as the tensions between colonists and Native Americans escalated. He saw a need to unite the colonies in their effort to control territories. His political cartoon Join or Die and accompanying editorial “The Disunited State” published in 1754 called for the colonies to join with the British to defeat the French and the Indians. He essentially implored us to come together to defeat our enemies or we will fail.

Join or Die.
Credit: Library of Congress

(The Benjamin Franklin History website was created by the Benjamin Franklin Historical Society as part of of the University of Massachusetts History Club )

Franklin needed to inspire the Quaker pacifists to take action and for the other colonies to take up arms in a united effort. His political cartoon was the first one published and led the way for others to push for funding and support of a militia.

Franklin had limited military experience but, with the assistance of Conrad Weiser, was instrumental in organizing the Pennsylvania Militia and was significant in his multiple roles during the French & Indian War (1756-1763). The costs of fighting a war in the Americas and around the globe during the Seven Years War took a toll on Britain’s economy. This led to multiple taxes imposed on the colonies to raise revenue. The 1765 Stamp Act was initiated to raise monies for British troops and required the purchase of stamps for all official documents. Opposition to the Act was illustrated in newspapers, political cartoons and even teapots. Fragments of teapots have been recovered at several archaeological sites in the Philadelphia area.

Stamp Act Tea Pot
Credit:  Wikimedia

This remarkable punch bowl was recovered during excavations for the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Produced in England and based on research of digitized American and British newspapers by the archaeologists, the story of this bowl was revealed. The bowl was likely produced to commemorate the launch of a new ship or to mark a voyage. The December 1, 1763 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette carried an advertisement for merchants Robert Lewis and Son, located on Front Street in Philadelphia, where they offered an assortment of goods just imported on the “Triphena, Captain Smith, from Liverpool.” It is certainly no coincidence that Captain Smith’s travels on the Triphena over the next few years regularly carried him to Liverpool, the place where the punch bowl was made, as well as Philadelphia, Charleston, and the West Indies.

Punch Bowl
Credit:  Philadelphia Archaeology Forum

The slogan Success to the Triphena on the interior of the bowl demonstrated support of the merchant trade and the dependency on trade. The Triphena also played a role in the protests of the Stamp Act by colonists. In late 1765, Captain Smith carried a notice from the merchants and traders of Philadelphia addressed to the merchants and manufacturers of Great Britain, asking assistance in pressuring Parliament to repeal the offensive act. The Act was repealed in March of 1766 but tensions between England and the colonies continued to grow, eventually leading up to the Revolutionary War.

Franklin’s appointment during the Revolutionary War to the Committee of Safety led to the installation of a series of chevaux-de- frise in the Delaware River to defend Philadelphia. The assistance of France in our efforts to defeat the British was significant in developing and engineering this line of defense to protect Fort Mifflin and Fort Mercer which were positioned south of Philadelphia. The sharp pointed tip of the chevaux-de-frise was not visible at high tide but at low tide was intended to puncture the hull or at minimum, slow the approaching British ships. Unfortunately, British forces were able to navigate through the defense and attack and defeat both forts before occupying Philadelphia in the winter of 1777.

Map of Chevaux-de-frise
Credit:  Library of Congress

Hurricane Sandy in November 2012 stirred up debris from the bottom of the Delaware River and wreaked havoc on communities. The clean-up effort by the Anchor Yacht Club of the river at Bristol, PA yielded a single cheval de fries. Their discovery of a 28’8” long oak post with the iron tip intact is the longest example recovered to date. It’s diameter tapers from 13.6” at the base to 6.2” at the tip.

Cheval-de-Frise installed at Brandywine Battlefield
Credit: PHMC

Franklin’s Committee of Safety had recognized this form of land defense as a potential method for defending Philadelphia from British forces, but they didn’t factor in loyalists who might provide the British with locational information which would allow for navigation around the obstacles. The placement of these massive logs required large wooden cribs (some 40 x 45 foot) and tons of stone to secure the posts. There were attempts to keep their installation secretive, but they couldn’t be installed without observation by loyalists. The wealthy merchants of Philadelphia stood to lose if trade between England and Philadelphia ceased. Historians suggest that between twenty and thirty percent of the citizens were loyalists (Tories) and about the same number were Quaker pacifists who were unwilling to fight. Raids by Loyalist troops on households confiscated goods intended for Washington’s troops. In 1778 the state legislature in Lancaster passed the Act of Attainder to confiscate the properties of all who joined or supported the British. When British troops fled Philadelphia at the end of June 1778, an estimated 60,000 loyalists had fled the country. British supporters still here lost their properties, many fled to Nova Scotia and African Americans who sided with the British were returned to slavery in the Caribbean.

Political divide continued to define Pennsylvania well into the 19th century and artifacts that illustrate that support or divide from England continued to be produced. This glass tumbler was recovered by archaeologists prior to the construction of Independence National Historical Park. The simple political message- LIBERTY, expresses the support of the struggles for independence. It also provides a personal connection to the German baker who lived in the house where this tumbler was recovered. His privy yielded household goods reflective of a simple lifestyle with a few upscale goods, commonly found in colonial house lots.

Tumbler
Credit: Philadelphia Archaeology Forum

These are just a few artifacts that illustrate Pennsylvania’s role in the development of our democracy as we know it. There are still divides amongst us ranging from rural and urban, conservative and liberal, wealthy and poor, white and non-white. Our passion for political causes and issues are at the root of who we are as a Commonwealth. Note that we are not a State, we are a Commonwealth, defined as a community formed for the common good and welfare of all. Wow- the Common Good and Welfare of All. Those are strong, meaningful words- they were in the 18th century and they still are today. As I write this blog and think about the artifacts illustrated here and the passionate causes they represented, I have to wonder what future generations will think of our artifacts that illustrate current viewpoints. Can we come together as a community and be mindful of our need to social distance and wear masks? I think we can if we can think about the determination and conviction of our forefathers in leading us to be an Independent Nation, it seems like a small sacrifice to wear a mask.

We thank you for continuing to follow our blog and hope that you’ve found this post of interest as we continue to telework at home. Keep checking our collections on the PHMC Collections page and following our blog. We thank all of you who support preservation of our past so we can share this material with you and generations to come. Enjoy our freedoms and celebrate July 4th, 2020 wisely – stay safe and healthy!

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

The New Normal in the Section of Archaeology of the State Museum of Pennsylvania

We are beginning Week 15 of telecommuting from home and remain quarantined. Access to our lab and offices has been restricted for safety reasons but plans are in the works for this to change. The following is a reflective description of the past more than three months, of how we are functioning and some predictions for the future. A date for returning to work in the Archaeology lab has not been set, but plans are being made for how we will return to the lab and museum. The overriding philosophy is to continue practicing social distancing and keep interactions with people to a minimum while still fulfilling our responsibilities. The tentative plan is that telecommuting will be encouraged for those employees who are able. To avoid crowds in the building (especially the Keystone building where the Archaeology labs are located), the staff going into the lab may be divided into teams working alternate days. Some staff are anxious to return to working in the lab (their work assignments, such as cataloging artifacts require this), while other staff can work from home with periodic visits to the lab to retrieve necessary materials. In addition, to avoid crowds while entering the building and crowds in the parking garage, we may even alter start and finish times. However, for the foreseeable future, telecommuting may be the norm rather than the exception.

As you have read in several of our previous blogs, the staff of the Section of Archaeology have been busy at home and actually have learned new ways of using our collections for the benefit of the public and researchers. Just before we left the lab on March 13^th (it seems like years ago), we moved commonly used and necessary data to a platform that was accessible from our home computers. This allowed us to continue to process collections so that they were readily available to the interested public and researchers. Andrea Carr has continued working with the Veigh collection, adding or updating 132 sites from this collection to the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey files (PASS). This involves over 136,000 artifacts. Prior to the quarantine, Calli Holmes had finished cataloging the artifacts from the 2019 excavation season at Fort Hunter and while at home, finished creating maps of the features and artifacts from different time periods. As she explained in our blog of June 6, this allows us and others to better analyze how the site was used during different time periods. Currently, she is plotting the distribution of fire-cracked rock reflecting Pre-Contact Native American activities.

As was described in our blog on May 11, the Argus project is one of the top priorities for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). There are two components or goals of this initiative. First, it is a collections management program. It will bring all the collections (history, science, fine arts etc...) into one database so we will know exactly what we have and where it is located. This will greatly facilitate loans, exhibit development, outreach and, obviously, research. For archaeology, loading all nine million artifacts (actually, we don’t know the exact number) into this electronic database will be a huge task requiring years of work. Melanie Mayhew has spent several years converting the various electronic spread sheets and databases into a single data platform. She has made significant progress with those conversions. As of this date, more than four million artifacts from over a thousand separate sites have been converted to a single database platform. This has been a heroic accomplishment. Archaeologists have been using electronic spread sheets for decades, so we are ahead of the game compared to other collections. However, the time-consuming task is just beginning. Processing the old collections that were created prior to the use of electronic databases will take years. These consist of typed or handwritten lists of artifact inventories that need to be manually entered into Excel spread sheets. The lists were previously typed up by our volunteers and many staff (notably Kim Sebestyen), have worked on this project but currently, Dave Burke is the primary person typing thousands of artifacts into Excel spread sheets so they can eventually be moved to the Argus platform. 

A second goal of Argus is to place artifacts online to offer the public a sample of what can seen in our galleries. Janet Johnson, Liz Wagner and Kim Sebestyen have been focusing on developing short descriptions including a photograph of all of the artifacts in our gallery creating a virtual museum gallery. They have finished the Susquehannock case and most of the pipe case and they are starting on the 18^th Century case. The images can be found on our PHMC website under Explore PHMC’s Museum Collection. We have added well over a hundred new artifacts to this page from our gallery and hundreds more will be added in the coming months.

The artifacts in the Susquehannock Exhibit are now on-line. 

As for our normal day to day activities, we are still receiving requests to identify artifacts. People from all over Pennsylvania and beyond send us pictures of items they have found and request help in getting them identified. In many cases they are just rocks that fit perfectly in one’s hand but other times, they are real Native American artifacts and result in significant new data. We welcome these inquiries. We also continue to advise archaeologists around the state on how to best curate in-coming collections.

We have been in contact with our colleagues around the Commonwealth concerning archaeological research. There are small pockets of field work taking place and some of it is very interesting – a stratified Archaic and Woodland site, a stratified Paleoindian through Contact period site and a quarry site. We are anxious to visit these sites in the near future and will report their progress. Several staff members were fortunate to have their articles and a book published and other research projects and publications are in the works.

A few of the publications authored by staff over the past 15 weeks. 

The coronavirus caused the cancellation of several state and regional conferences. Initially, these were postponed until the summer and then to the fall and now some have been moved until the spring of 2021. The consequences of hundreds of people in one room are just too dangerous. There are discussions of doing these conferences online. We have all learned how to Skype or Zoom and we would like to learn Microsoft Teams, but teleconferencing will require something more sophisticated and comprehensive. Archaeologists are a gregarious bunch and seeing old friends is part of the function of these meetings. In addition, it is simply easier to share research issues with colleagues in person, meeting face to face, in a friendlier atmosphere holding a beer in one hand than on a computer screen. However, the discipline needs to develop a convenient mechanism to exchange new research quickly, and I am sure we will figure a way.   

We do not have a date for when the State Museum galleries will be open to visitors, but detailed plans are being developed. Masks will be required along with social distancing throughout the galleries. The number of visitors at any one time will be monitored, and reservations will be encouraged. A variety of programs are being planned for the Nature Lab and Curators Choice as videos, but these have not been finalized. 

For the immediate future, our plans for field work at Fort Hunter, outreach at Kipona, the Workshops in Archaeology, the Eastern States Archaeological Conference, and the Pennsylvania Farm Show are problematic.  These activities are dependent on how the virus continues. Pennsylvania’s response to Covid-19 has been reasonably successful. We closed early, stayed quarantined and practiced social distancing. Predictions vary widely, but one scenario assumes social distancing will continue this summer and the number of cases will decrease slowly until at least October when the virus may return with a vengeance. With this window of opportunity, we may be able to carefully work at Fort Hunter in September, but our other public programs are in jeopardy.  

Finally, our dear friend and colleague, Steve Warfel passed this spring after a long illness. We summarized his career and contributions to Pennsylvania archaeology in our blog of May 24. This week, his wife, Barb, graciously donated his “dig bag” containing field tools that he used for decades in the investigation of numerous Pennsylvania archaeological sites. This will be on display in our excavation area in the gallery. We sincerely appreciate this donation and it will be a constant reminder of his contributions.

Steve Warfel’s dig bag on display in the Excavation Exhibit in our gallery at the State Museum 

In summary, we have done well in the Section of Archaeology in terms of managing our collections, public outreach, and research. The staff will be able to return to the archaeology lab sometime, but many will continue to work from home; it is the new normal. At times, it is awkward and un-natural and makes us feel anxious (a new term has been introduced into our lexicon - re-entry panic syndrome) but I am sure we will adapt and in the long run, be more successful. Teleworking has been discussed for years; there are a variety of advantages to the employer and the employee, especially in this hectic world we live in, but we were afraid and intimidated to make the change. A deadly virus has been the motivating factor. There are many issues that need to be resolved but having an office at home is going to be the new normal, at least until we develop a successful vaccine and probably longer.  

Adaptation and change are difficult, but our research of past cultures demonstrates it is necessary for survival. We hope our followers will continue to practice the CDC Guidelines and stay safe and healthy- it's important for all of us and necessary for survival.  We’ll keep in touch; be sure to check out our collections on-line and be safe. 

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Fort Hunter in Quarantine

In these difficult and strange times, the State Museum of Pennsylvania’s archaeologists have been continuing to do our best to find ways to remain productive from home in order to continue to preserve and share Pennsylvania’s archaeology. One of the important tasks we do each year is to process the artifacts and data collected from our annual Fort Hunter (36Da159) excavations. We have been investigating this multi-component site located just north of Harrisburg in Dauphin County for thirteen years in September and early October as part of our Archaeology Month activities.  Our main research interests have been life on the “frontier” during the mid-1700s and especially the French and Indian War period supply fort at this location.  With the help of our loyal volunteers, we have been working on this task since we returned in the office after our work in the field back in October.

Fieldwork for the 2019 season was completed nearly eight months ago and the final processing of the artifacts for curation in the State Museum of Pennsylvania’s archaeology lab was completed just before the start of our Covid-19 quarantine. We recovered 6,688 artifacts at Fort Hunter this year with 218 dating from the 18^th century. Features 172, 173 and 192 from the N60W45 unit produced a high percentage of the 18^th century artifacts. It is these features that our previous blog identifies as possible remains from the French and Indian War period fort or an even earlier structure (check out: http://twipa.blogspot.com/2019/11/have-we-found-fort-at-fort-hunter.html). These features reflect a hole that was dug into the ground during the 1700s that may represent part of the fortifications or a cellar from a mid-18^th century building. Many of the interesting and possibly fort related artifacts found within these features include several pieces of scratch blue and tin-glazed ceramic fragments, glass emerald cuff-links, lead shot, and glass trade beads.

Artifacts recovered from Feature 173, including a crucible fragment (top left), scratch blue white salt-glazed stoneware, glass cuff buttons, large tin-glazed base fragment, brass buckle fragment (bottom left), lead shot, white trade beads and a flint strike-a-lite.

With the artifacts processed, the statistical artifact information collected and the data collected in the field, different kinds of maps are created to help us understand the overall site and how different excavation areas compare to one another. Knowing the relationship of artifacts and features on the site provides the foundation that archaeologists use to develop explanations for how past humans lived on and used the landscape. In order for archaeologists to do this, we must map the location of all artifact and features both horizontally and vertically. Recording the location of where artifacts, features and structures are located is so important because once removed from the ground there is no way for us to put artifacts and features back in their exact place again.

Artifacts in situ in the field: lead shot (left) and white glass trade beads (right).

In order to preserve this locational information, sites such as Fort Hunter, are excavated based on a grid set from a datum (a known fixed point). This allows archaeologists to go back to a site and re-establish the grid, whether it is from year to year or fifty years from now. With good documentation and a re-established grid, archaeologists can determine what areas had been previously excavated at any archaeological site. The grid also provides the horizontal locational information of artifacts and features that have been removed from that area. At Fort Hunter, our grid is in 5 by 5 foot squares each of which are referred to as a unit. We identify our units using the northing and easting (for example N90E10) of the most southwest corner of a square. This designation allows us to easily reference that unit and track all of the data associated with that area. 

Map used to show units that we have opened over the years.

Creating and updating the various maps we use each year is very important in providing us a more complete understanding of what is happening in our excavations. We create maps that show the outlines of each of the features, which illustrates to us where different features and activities are located in relation to one another. We also create artifact distribution maps, which visually display how many artifacts of a certain type were recovered from each unit. With maps like these we are not only creating additional records of artifact and feature locations, but we are also providing ourselves a graphic indication of what was happening on the landscape at different periods of time. These maps also help guide our decisions on what units are providing significant information for helping us find the Fort Hunter fortifications and therefore aid us in deciding where to excavate. Finally, maps also provide a great illustration for the public on how we interpret an archaeological site. 

Feature map identifying the locations of the features uncovered within each unit.

                                   Prehistoric artifact distribution map.

One of the most useful maps we make each year is the 18th century artifact distribution map.  This map illustrates where we uncovered higher amounts of 18th century artifacts, which could indicate the likelihood of French and Indian War period structures or activities. Since the beginning of quarantine, I have worked on creating and updating all of these maps and we are especially excited to see the high concentrations of 18^th century material coming from unit N60W45 and the adjacent units. Though we remain home for everyone’s safety, we hope we can expand our excavations in this area at Fort Hunter this fall in order to learn more about the activities present in these features and units. 

18th century artifact distribution map. 

We hope you have enjoyed learning about how we use archaeological data to create various types of maps and how we use those maps to better understand an archaeological site and past cultural behavior. Archaeology is a destructive science, which requires documentation of all of the excavation methods and processes that occurred in the investigation. These maps are an essential part of the documentation of the site analysis and insures the preservation of the archaeological record for any given site.

We hope you are all remaining safe and healthy as we continue to telework and remain quarantined.   Our various projects are focused on preserving Pennsylvania’s past for its future. We are continuing to respond to your questions and to answer them via email.  Thank you for continuing to follow our activities through our blog and we hope to see you all in the future. 

For additional information on our 2019 excavations check out:

Sebestyen, Kimberly M. and Kurt W. Carr

2020      2019 Excavations at the Fort Hunter Site (36Da159): Have we Finally Found the Fort? Pennsylvania Archaeologist 90(1):53-62.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .