Under the guidance of Dr. Laurie Wilkie, Annelise Morris will conduct a research project utilizing archaeological excavations, documentary and oral historical research to examine the lived experiences of free African-Americans on the Illinois frontier. Located in Lawrence County in Southeastern Illinois, this study area encompasses three rural homesteads, occupied from approximately 1827 to the present. This long occupation period offers an opportunity to study the changing economic and social realities for African-Americans from the early pioneer period, through the Civil War and Jim Crow into the 20th century. Ms. Morris will use these multiple lines of evidence to examine how lived social and economic experiences changed for African-Americans through this time period, and how this reflects changing formations of race and social identity in U.S. society.
The importance of examining social identities such as race and their relationship to social inequality, throughout anthropological history, been reflected by and through studies of our own societies. Excavations will focus on recovery of materials from household activity areas, such as yard spaces, root cellars, and household interiors. The project will examine ceramic, glass, and metal materials focusing on the stylistic and economic choices being made at these sites. Additionally Ms. Morris will examine zooarchaeological remains, which are expected to reflect the changing livestock economy (from sale to sustenance), food-sharing, and dietary practices. Ms. Morris will also analyze paleoethnobotanical remains (evidence of plants and their consumption at the site) to speak further to dietary practices, and to the home medical and herbal remedies utilized by populations such as this which did not have easy access to outside medical care. This project will these archaeological materials recovered from these 19th and early 20th century farmstead sites, and compare these results with similar sites occupied by non African-American settlers. By examining difference in consumption, stylistic, dietary and other choices, Ms. Morris will explore how the realities of living in a society structured in dominance shaped rural African-American society. This study hypothesizes that by maintaining a rural, self-sufficient farming livelihood, free African-Americans were able to cope with racism through this self-sufficiency. By examining this issue in a 19th century setting, this study is not only a commentary of the formation of our own modern society, but the results can be used to think through this anthropological problem through time.
This project is based heavily in community outreach and participation. Ms. Morris is a member of the descendant community, and as such has sought to evaluate and strengthen archaeological relationships with stakeholders, making the area's history and this scientific exploration relevant and accessible to the local community, focusing on incorporation of community interest and knowledge. All work at the site has been and will continue to be open and accessible to public, for visiting, exploring and volunteering. Through this, the project will bring opportunities for community volunteers, students, and teachers to experience scientific and historical research to a rural area where such opportunities are few, and will enrich interpretations of the archaeological past by creating a dialogue with those people for whom this past is still very salient.
With the assistance of the NSF DDRIG, the HALC project was able to conduct the second of two seasons of fieldwork on a 19th-20th Century farmstead in Southeastern Illinois. This area was home to some of Illinois’ earliest Black pioneers, and this 4-week community archaeology project investigated the daily lives of these early settlers, focusing on what archaeology can reveal about how marginalized communities persisted in spite of the difficulties imposed by racism and social inequality. During our field season, we excavated 17 1m X 1m excavation units, surveyed and mapped the site, and collected oral histories and ethnographies. With the educational mission of this project supported by the NSF DDRIG, we were able to train five undergraduate students in excavation, ethnographic research, archaeological survey and mapping, and historic artifact identification. One of these students continued with the project during the school year, curating and identifying the zooarchaeological collection. During lab work, the project took on undergraduate research apprentices to train in artifact curation and identification, as well as historic metal preservation. The historic metal preservation for this project was particularly successful; the chemical cleaning techniques utilized revealed far more detail in the project’s numerous metal artifacts. The project learned that metal objects were likely being produced at the site, and that the residents had a small blacksmith business operating in addition to their farmstead. The metal production uncovered by this project was one of the tactics used by the Black community to persist on their farmsteads despite racial inequalities. Since the excavation was open to the public, community volunteers had the opportunity to participate in archaeological excavation and artifact screening. The descendant community was particularly instrumental in the success of this project, sharing their oral histories and memories; asking archaeological questions and providing insight to the form and function of 19th century artifacts. This also provided the opportunity for the unique ethnography that comes from excavation. As we uncovered the material residues of everyday life, the trinkets and tools of the past reminded descendants of memories and histories about the community in the early 20th century. This project found that kind of access to the past provides tangible information unique to the archaeological ethnographic process. This also gave the public the opportunity to have the firsthand experience of archaeological excavation and the scientific investigation of the past. Additionally, the site had many visitors who were not part of the descendant community, which created a unique opportunity to share with the public the community’s long African-American history, a history the non-descendant community was largely unfamiliar with. As part of the public outreach of this project, the Co-PI visited local elementary schools with artifacts from the site, speaking with students about archaeological science, local history, and Black history in the U.S. This community’s schools are small and rural, so any firsthand exposure to scientific and historical research is valuable. This project not only uncovered information about the lives of African-American settlers on the frontier, but its outreach efforts shared these histories and materials with a wide public audience. Images accompanying this report show the site map, artifacts recovered and preserved and community outreach at the site.
