The story of Jamestown continues to unfold as archaeology proceeds at the fort site. One of the discoveries was an abandoned well where early colonists dumped oyster shells, which were studied by Juli Harding, the senior marine scientist at at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. She explains how oysters join the narrative of America's first permanent English settlement.

Note: this podcast is no longer available. To view a transcript of the original podcast, click here.

Settlers came to Jamestown in the 1600s looking for natural resources that would make them rich. They were disappointed in their search for gold, but the New World offered a metal nearly as precious: iron. Shel Browder of Colonial Williamsburg discusses early efforts at smelting, and describes the smelting process.

Learn more about ironworks in Virginia by checking out this article by Christopher Geist.

When slavery was introduced to the colonies in 1600, the reaction was a struggle to become free. Writer Christy Coleman discusses the efforts of slaves to secure freedom and the creation of an Electronic Field Trip on the subject for Colonial Williamsburg.

Interested in learning more about Electronic Field Trips? Click here!

Buck Woodard of Colonial Williamsburg talks about instances of first contact between explorers and colonists and Native Americans, focusing on the diversity of Native American languages and problems of understanding and translation that arose at these meetings.

Wesley Green, an interpretive gardener at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the practices of colonial-era gardening, the trade in seeds, and the class associations with gardens and gardening.

Gaynelle McNichols, supervisor of the Capitol and Gaol in Colonial Williamsburg, describes the function of the Gaol and the punishment of criminals in colonial Wiliamsburg.

Richard Carr, a basketmaker at Colonial Williamsburg, describes the importance of baskets and the skill of basketmaking during the colonial era, and outlines the process of making a basket.

Ivor Noel Hume, author and retired Chief Archeologist for Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the atrocities and indignities English colonists at Jamestown inflicted on the Native Americans in the region, including Pocahontas.

Erik Goldstein, Curator of Mechanical Arts and Numismatics at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses an exhibit at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, "Pounds, Pence, and Pistareens: Coins and Currency in Colonial America," outlining the place of currency in the colonial economy and discussing the choices made in putting together the exhibit.