1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910778239103321

Autore

Samford Patricia

Titolo

Subfloor pits and the archaeology of slavery in colonial Virginia [[electronic resource] /] / Patricia M. Samford

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Tuscaloosa, : University of Alabama Press, c2007

ISBN

0-8173-8149-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (248 p.)

Disciplina

975.5/00496073

Soggetti

Enslaved persons - Virginia - Social life and customs

Enslaved persons - Homes and haunts - Virginia - History

Root cellars - Virginia - History

Hiding places - Virginia - History

Sacred space - Virginia - History

Material culture - Virginia - History

African Americans - Virginia - Antiquities

Excavations (Archaeology) - Virginia

Virginia History Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

Virginia History 1775-1865

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [203]-224) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Regional Context; 3. Historical and Archaeological Overview of Study Sites; 4. Intersite Comparisons: The Material Lives of the Enslaved; 5. Preliminary Analysis and Proposed Functions of Subfloor Pits; 6. Subfloor Pits as Root Cellars; 7. Subfloor Pits as Personal Storage Areas; 8. Subfoor Pits as Shrines; 9. Subfloor Pits and Slavery in Colonial Virginia; Appendix A; Appendix B; References Cited; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Enslaved Africans and their descendants comprised a significant portion of colonial Virginia populations, with most living on rural slave quarters adjacent to the agricultural fields in which they labored. Archaeological excavations into these home sites have provided unique windows into the daily lifeways and culture of these early inhabitants.    A common characteristic of Virginia slave quarters is the presence of



subfloor pits beneath the houses. The most common explanations of the functions of these pits are as storage places for personal belongings or root vege