The Archaeology of Anglo-Native Relations - Historic St. Mary's City

88 Pages·2012·6.04 MB·English

The Archaeology of
Anglo-Native Relations

Julia A. King
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Anglo-Native interaction in 17th-century
Maryland was frequent, often friendly,
sometimes violent, and always centered
around the ongoing struggle for access to
resources, especially land.

Despite a rich body of information about this
interaction, Anglo-Native relations in
Maryland remain understudied, especially
when compared with other colonies in the
Middle Atlantic.
This slide presentation describes some of the
recent findings from projects undertaken by
student archaeologists at St. Mary’s College
of Maryland.

Beginning in 2008, students in the
Department of Anthropology have surveyed
a number of properties in Charles and St.
Mary’s counties, identifying sites occupied
by both Native people and English colonists.
Our research is new and, of necessity,
preliminary, and we anticipate that, as more
documents are reviewed and additional sites
identified and tested, our tentative
conclusions presented herein will change.

Nonetheless, we want to share this
information with all Marylanders and invite
your interest and participation in our
ongoing research.
Acknowledgments

Skylar Bauer, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Kevin Brady
Ed Chaney, MD Archaeological Conservation Lab
Dennis C. Curry, Maryland Historical Trust
Alex J. Flick, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
D. Brad Hatch, University of Tennessee
Maureen Kavanagh, Maryland Historical Trust
Rico Newman, Piscataway-Conoy Tribe
Patricia Samford, MD Archaeological Conservation Lab
Scott M. Strickland, The Smallwood Foundation
Gabrielle Tayac, Piscataway Indian Nation
With grateful appreciation:

The Piscataway Indian Nation
Billy Redwing Tayac, Chief
The Piscataway-Conoy Tribe
Mervin Savoy, Tribal Chairwoman
Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians
Natalie Proctor, Tribal Chairwoman
Special thanks to:

Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Sullivan
Mr. Michael Besche
Mrs. Virginia Besche
Mr. and Mrs. Don Eckel
Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Hogue
Mrs. D. H. Steffens
And the many other landowners who
have allowed us to cross and examine
their properties for traces of the
region’s archaeological history.
Is this an Indian axe?
In 1681, Jackanapes1, a Mattawoman
Indian, reported to Lord Baltimore that the
Piscataway, who were then at Zekiah Fort, had
sent a basket containing an English axe along
with six belts of “peake” (shell beads) to other
Indian groups, supposedly as a call to war
against the Maryland English. It is unclear if
this event really happened, but Charles Calvert,
the third Lord Baltimore, took the report
seriously..
1Jackanapes’ Mattawoman name was
Passanucohanse. “Jackanapes” is an
English word that means ‘monkey,’ and
was probably the ‘English’ name given
to Passanucohanse.
The basket, axe, and peake were to have
originated at the settlement at Zekiah Fort.