Early 17th Century Archaeology in Connecticut

Описание: For this show, Dan Forrest of the Public Archaeology Library (PAL) was joined by CT State Historian Walt Woodward and by Sarah Sportman, also of the PAL.

This is a period in CT history that is normally given short shrift in school, ignoring the rich archaeological history that has only recently become available. A major part of it has to do with the interactions of the various European and indigenous peoples who traded with, competed with, and fought with each other. Our views have also been skewed by the incorrect assumption that (particularly) the English settlers were stronger than the native peoples ... was not at all true during this period, and the English settlers understood this. Fear and distrust ruled, and wars resulted, setting the tone for native and European conflicts in the future.

The Webb-Deane-Stevens House in Wethersfield has yielded up artifacts from the 1636-1646 period, while the Lt. John Hollister House in Glastonbury has yielded artifacts from the 1650s to the early 1700s. Animal skeletal remains, kaolin pipe stems, and other artifacts have shed light on both time periods and the different living patterns in both locales, which are different from each other.

New technologies (e.g., GPR) and refined documentation research techniques have brought all this about within the last 20 years. The role of historians such as Walt Woodward, working in concert with archaeologists, can shed an entirely new light on this under-appreciated period of our history.

To access the CT Explored article mentioned, please visit https://www.ctexplored.org/connecticu...

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