The pandemic-related isolation over Christmas break brought one thoroughly enjoyable gift: the opportunity to review Unearthing St. Mary's City: Fifty Years of Archaeology at Maryland's First Capital, edited by Henry Miller and Travis Parno. The chapters contained within this thematic volume pack a methodological and interpretive punch, reminding even seasoned archaeologists that there is always more to learn, embrace, and employ in our disparate research agendas. The narrative flow and chronological structure of the volume transport readers along a road of archaeological and historical discovery, with important stops at the residences of seventeenth-century Euro-colonial planters and administrators; places of worship, burial, and remembrance; the eighteenth-century habitations of enslaved Africans; and the nineteenth- and twentieth-century occupants of the St. Mary's Female Seminary. Unearthing St. Mary's City is sure to enlighten archaeologists, historians, geographers, folklorists, and other scholars with an interest in early modern lifeways in a North American colonial context.
An important strength of the assembled articles is their collaborative approach. Many chapters combine the cumulative knowledge of archaeological stalwarts such as Garry Wheeler Stone, Henry Miller, Tim Riordan, Silas Hurry, Ruth Mitchell, George Miller, Robert Keeler, and Doug Owsley; other chapters marry the insights of these experienced practitioners with the fresh perspectives of early-stage scholars. Joint efforts such as these provide opportunities for careful reflection on previous interpretations and datasets, opening the door for more nuanced approaches to how we as archaeologists “see” the past. Notable examples include Stone and Alexander Morrison's observations on earthfast construction techniques and methods for recognizing, excavating (delightfully termed the “Historic St. Mary's City recipe”), and interpreting variations in structural footprints; Parno and Riordan's insights into the historical and archaeological evidence for early modern games and forms of entertainment in Maryland's capital; and Karin Bruwelheide and colleagues’ analysis and interpretation of the lead coffins found at St. Mary's and those interred within.
Space is also afforded to single author contributions, such as Hurry's chapter “Ceramic Studies at Maryland's First Capital” or Miller's “Nineteenth-Century Ceramics from Tabbs Purchase,” both of which can be considered one part history lesson and one part practical guide. Terry Brock's contribution is likewise worthy of mention for its insightful discussion on the importance of mobility as a mechanism for control of, or survival by, enslaved African Americans. The often-overlooked fact that early modern Europeans engaged in flintknapping for the purposes of ad hoc gunflint production is embedded in Charles Fithian's detailed examination of “Master Pope's Fort.” Produced on an individual level, these crudely made gunflints speak to shortages of provisions, a DIY attitude among Maryland's colonists, and their absolute necessity for military and subsistence activities.
This compilation also presents a series of important “firsts” for historical archaeology in the United States and/or the Chesapeake region (first lead coffins found, earliest use of soil chemistry, first evidence associated with English Civil War, first use of vesselization, etc.); however, this much-repeated theme does get a little tired toward the end of the book. On a related note, it is worth mentioning that the Maryland colony was not the “first in colonial America to make religious freedom its official policy” (p. 3), given that these same principles were outlined in the 1623 Charter of Avalon for the nascent Ferryland colony established by the First Lord Baltimore in what is today Canada's easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In places, interpretations are tenuous, such as when one size of pipestem bore diameter is used to bolster an argument for large-scale public gatherings at Maryland's first statehouse during the 1660s–1670s. Outside of the Chesapeake, dates provided by pipestem bore measurements are approached with a healthy degree of skepticism by archaeologists if they are used at all. Here, it seems that an a priori assumption is made directly connecting a specific bore size with one part of a phased occupation.
Setting aside these minor quibbles, the volume should be required reading for academic institutions with graduate programs in historical archaeology or early American studies. It is a book that simultaneously educates readers on the plethora of archaeological research at St. Mary's City while also eliciting careful reflection and consideration of the lived experiences of its many residents: free and enslaved, tenant and landowner, dominant and marginalized—all of whom exhibited degrees of agency as demonstrated through historical records and archaeological evidence. Having personally witnessed, listened to, and read about the decades-long research by the exceptional team at Historic St. Mary's City, I eagerly await the results of their future endeavors as we approach the quatercentenary in 2034.
