Center for Archaeological Studies

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Designed to showcase the work of archaeologists and their excavations at Mobile and elsewhere in Alabama, this website offers images and exhibits from several digs. Visitors can "virtually visit" archaeological sites in the town of Old Mobile, capital of the French colony of Louisiane [sic] from 1702 to 1711; the Mississippian Indian city of Bottle Creek (1100–1400); and the Indian fishing site of Dauphin Island Shell Mounds (1100–1550).

Additional sites include the French village of Port Dauphin (1702–1725); the Dog River Plantation site, home to a French-Canadian immigrant family, numerous Indians, and slaves (1720s–1848); and sites in downtown Mobile, including a Spanish colonial house (ca. 1800), an early 19th-century riverfront tavern, and antebellum cotton warehouses.

Artifacts features more than 250 images of pottery shards with accompanying descriptions. Great Links presents 30 additional websites that focus on preservation, archaeology, and Alabama history. The site also includes images and information on seven additional French colonial sites in Nova Scotia, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Native American Archaeology, Part Two

Description

Dr. Julie Solometo of James Madison University attempts to reconstruct the lives of Native Americans as they stood on the eve of and during contact with European colonists in North America. She examines particularly the impact of disease and drought on Native Americans and colonists both, and at the collapse of the Powhatan Chiefdom.

To listen to this lecture, select "Part 2" under the April 19th listing.

African American Life in Colonial Monticello: Objects Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/22/2008 - 13:53
Description

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, looks at what artifacts found at Monticello reveal about the personal lives of slaves on the estate.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." Choose one of the Windows Media options.

African American Life in Colonial Monticello: The Dependencies Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/22/2008 - 13:49
Description

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the living quarters of slaves at Monticello, looking particularly at the dependencies in the building, which served the kitchens, and at what life would have been like there.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." Choose one of the Windows Media options.

African-American Life in Colonial Monticello: Columns Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/22/2008 - 13:45
Description

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African-American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the columns at Monticello and the life of the slave, Jupiter, who carved them. She also mentions the railings, carved by a slave artisan.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." From there, scroll to the feature, and choose one of the two Windows Media options.

Interpreting Hoodoo Artifacts: The Archaeological Search

Description

Historian Mark P. Leone looks at the hoodoo artifacts found at the Annapolis home of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and to the coming-together of the lives of the Founding Fathers and their African and African American slaves that the artifacts represent. Leone discusses the significance of the artifacts, as the first discovery of a hoodoo cache in the area, and the later discovery of caches elsewhere dating up to the 1920s.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Mark P. Leone." Choose one of the two Windows Media options.

Interpreting Hoodoo Artifacts: Hoodoo Beliefs

Description

Historian Mark P. Leone looks at the hoodoo artifacts found at the Annapolis home of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and to the coming-together of the lives of the Founding Fathers and their African and African American slaves that the artifacts represent. Leone discusses the system of hoodoo and the use of the artifacts in hoodoo to direct the spirits of the dead.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Mark P. Leone." Choose one of the two Windows Media options.