Historical Archaeology Field School in Falmouth, Jamaica

The Falmouth Field School in Historical Archaeology, Falmouth, Jamaica
University of Virginia Anthropology 382 and the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery
May 23 - June 15, 2007

The Falmouth Field School in Historical Archaeology (ANTH 382) is a
three-week, three-credit program in historical archaeology based in
Falmouth, Jamaica. The field school is offered through the University of
Virginia' s International Studies Office.

Students enrolled in The Falmouth Field School in Historical Archaeology (ANTH 382) will conduct archaeological field work at the Stewart Castle slave village, a mid-to-late 18th-century site that has not previously been tested archaeologically. Objectives for the season include a site-wide shovel test pit survey designed to identify temporal and spatial variation within the village. In addition to the survey, several excavation units will be opened to further explore areas discovered during the survey. Students will learn methods for designing archaeological surveys and technologies to record their results, specifically drawing archaeological plans and stratigraphic sections. Each afternoon students will participate in laboratory activities such as artifact washing and identification.

Several evenings a week are dedicated to lectures and discussions. Course readings and lectures will introduce students to archaeological survey and excavation methods, key concepts in the study of 18th-century material culture, and will provide a background in the social history of slavery in the Caribbean. Discussions will focus on the ways in which archaeological data can prompt and address unanswered historical questions related to the evolution of slave societies throughout the Atlantic World.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in optional field excursions on the two weekends to historic sites across the island, including New Seville, Good Hope Estate, Colbeck Castle, and Spanishtown.

This field school is held in conjunction with The Falmouth Field School in Historic Preservation (ARH 555). Students enrolled in ANTH 382 will spend one day a week learning historic preservation techniques with architectural history students from The Falmouth Field School in Historic Preservation (ARH 555).

The Falmouth Field Schools in Historical Archaeology and Historic Preservation will include lectures and field studies with Matthew Webster, Director of Architectural Restoration at Kenmore Plantation, Edward Chappell, Director of Architectural Research at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and Fraser Neiman, Director of Archaeology at Monticello. Guest lecturers will also include historians and archaeologists affiliated with the University of West Indies, Mona, and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. In Falmouth, the field school is supported by the local efforts of Falmouth Heritage Renewal, a non-profit preservation organization with over a decade of experience in historic preservation in Falmouth.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Students will be housed in a newly renovated two-story stone building in the heart of downtown Falmouth, Jamaica. Built in the early nineteenth-century as a Masonic lodge, the building served for much of its life as a Baptist manse. The building has a large workshop on the first floor and a number of dormitory-style sleeping quarters on the
upper floor. Students should be advised that these accommodations assume multiple students per room in bunk beds with shared bathrooms. Although fans will be provided, these rooms are not air-conditioned. Students will be provided with three meals a day, a breakfast, a packed lunch, and a hot supper. Food will be Jamaican-style and all diets can be accommodated. The building's location allows easy access to local markets and stores where snacks and supplies can be purchased.

Costs:
Cost per student, which includes tuition, room, and board, is $3100 (in-state) and $3,255 (out-of-state) per student. Room and board are included in the total cost of the field school.

Contact Information:
This field school is one component of the larger archaeological research program, the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (www.daacs.org).

Please contact Jillian Galle (jgalle@monticello.org, 434-984-9873) for more information. Please also see www.studyabroad.virginia.edu (Go to "> Find a Program> "> and search under "> Jamaica> " ) or www.daacs.org.

Application Information:
Applications are due March 15, 2007. Students may apply online at www.studyabroad.virginia.edu (Go to "> Find a Program> "> and search
under "> Jamaica> " ).