Artifact studies have been an important component in African-American archaeology since its inception. Some artifacts have been commonly associated with slave sites and these include a type of low-fired earthenware known as colonoware, locally-made clay tobacco pipes, many with designs, cowrie shells, and blue beads.
Archaeological investigations from Carter’s Grove, Rich Neck, Palace Lands, and the Polly Valentine sites have augmented Colonial Williamsburg’s collection of artifacts. These assemblages are useful to projects including furnishings, costumes, and others relating to interpretive settings and exhibitions. The information generated from studies of these collections will continue to supply much needed data to clarify and further inform about African Americans in colonial Virginia.
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| Cowrie shells, a colonoware pipkin, and locally-made tobacco pipe and iron pot fragments. These artifacts have been associated with the lifeways of enslaved African Americans in Virginia. |
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The study of typical African-American artifact assemblages has been an on-going topic of investigation, though there is considerable argument about what constitutes a “typical” assemblage. Several Chesapeake achaeologists have long been engaged in the study of colonoware, which frequently appears on African-American sites. Others, including Colonial Williamsburg staff archaeologist Anna Agbe-Davies, are currently engaged in the study of locally-made tobacco pipes.
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| The remains of pewter spoons, clay tobacco pipes, and a shell, all with holes drilled into them for some purpose. Such artifacts are relatively common on African-American sites. |
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