- New South Associates, Inc.
53 Central Avenue
Wellsboro, PA. 16901
Chris Espenshade
New South Associates, Archaeology, Department Member
- Skelly and Loy, Inc., Archaeology, Department Memberadd
- Archaeology, Caribbean Studies, Ceramic Analysis (Archaeology), Ceramic Technology, Historical Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, and 18 moreColonoware studies, Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, Ceramics (Archaeology), African Diaspora Studies, Pottery (Archaeology), Pottery technology and function, Ceramics, Southeastern Archaeology (Archaeology in North America), Caribbean Archaeology, Battlefield Heritage Management and Metal Detecting, Archaeology and Metal Detecting, Stoneware, Conflict Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, Battlefield Archaeology, Pottery, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), and Landscape Archaeologyedit
Intensive archaeological investigations of the Jácana site yielded results that suggest although the site saw limited occupation in the late period, A.D. 1300-1500, there was evidence of intensive use of the site as a ceremonial... more
Intensive archaeological investigations of the Jácana site yielded results
that suggest although the site saw limited occupation in the late period,
A.D. 1300-1500, there was evidence of intensive use of the site as a
ceremonial destination, as an element of a broader landscape of cultural
importance. The various lines of evidence from the multi-disciplinary study
of Jácana are presented in this paper, as well as a discussion of the site’s
place in the extensive network of sites and landscapes.
that suggest although the site saw limited occupation in the late period,
A.D. 1300-1500, there was evidence of intensive use of the site as a
ceremonial destination, as an element of a broader landscape of cultural
importance. The various lines of evidence from the multi-disciplinary study
of Jácana are presented in this paper, as well as a discussion of the site’s
place in the extensive network of sites and landscapes.
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A review of marked Colonoware recovered in South Carolina shows a very low level of precision. This lack of concern with aesthetics runs contrary to expectations for potters intent on placing important religious symbols, cosmograms, on... more
A review of marked Colonoware recovered in South Carolina shows a very low level of precision. This lack of concern with aesthetics runs contrary to expectations for potters intent on placing important religious symbols, cosmograms, on their pots. This imprecision runs contrary to the high degree of precision evidenced in other Gullah-Geechee folk arts and crafts. It is suggested that many of the known, marked Colonoware vessels were incised or inscribed simply to identify the potter, the eventual owner, or the participant in a vessel-centered ritual.
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Paper presented at the virtual 2021 Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, 27 March 2021
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Site 31CD871 was located in the Carolina Sandhills in an upland setting adjacent to a minor wetland system and had never been plowed. Archaeological investigations generated multiple datasets including lithic and ceramic artifacts,... more
Site 31CD871 was located in the Carolina Sandhills in an upland setting adjacent to a minor wetland system and had never been plowed. Archaeological investigations generated multiple datasets including lithic and ceramic artifacts, features, radiocarbon dates, thermoluminescence dates, ethnobotanical samples, soil chemistry, ceramic petrography, and absorbed residue analysis. These datasets yielded new information about the Woodland period. Based on these data, the site is interpreted as representing a series of short-term visits that were likely focused on exploitation of seasonally available upland resources.
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______________________________________________________________________________ When considering the abandonment behavior observed at many bateys and ceremonial sites in Puerto Rico, two common traits are noteworthy. First, the bateys are... more
______________________________________________________________________________ When considering the abandonment behavior observed at many bateys and ceremonial sites in Puerto Rico, two common traits are noteworthy. First, the bateys are left intact, with rock art of high cultural value left in place. Second, the bateys show evidence of visitation in periods postdating their construction. Building on data from south-central Puerto Rico, the concept of an additive mythic landscape is considered. Important to this discussion is the rejection of the site perspective and the embracement of the landscape view. It is suggested that certain landscapes in Puerto Rico were slowly developed through time as locations for pilgrimages and celebrations of greater than cacique-level importance. Through time, way stations were added to the pilgrimage route. Rather than one batey replacing another, the landscape was elaborated, with the earlier bateys and rock art locations still playing an important role in the interaction of society and the mythic landscape.
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Military archaeologists run the risk of losing sight of the very real, human consequences of war. As a discipline, we too often deal with the landscapes of battle at the abstract level. Military archaeologists are also complicit in the... more
Military archaeologists run the risk of losing sight of the very real, human consequences of war. As a discipline, we too often deal with the landscapes of battle at the abstract level. Military archaeologists are also complicit in the aggrandizing of war and the celebration of battlefields. Our discussions tend to focus on artifact types and patterning, KOCOA analysis, and providing details not captured in the archival record. The term “casualties” is often as close as we get to the people deeply scarred by battle. In 2019, instructors of Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist had the unique opportunity to work closely with military veterans at Saratoga National Historic Park, through American Veterans Archaeological Recovery. The poignancy of working a conflict site with those recovering from damages of war resulted in a welcome humbling of this archaeologist.
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In November 2015, the SAA Board of Directors established a Task Force to (1) define appropriate relationships among professional archaeologists, avocational archaeologists, and artifact collectors; (2) develop a position statement on the... more
In November 2015, the SAA Board of Directors established a Task Force to (1) define appropriate relationships among professional archaeologists, avocational archaeologists, and artifact collectors; (2) develop a position statement on the subject for dissemination by SAA; and (3) suggest concrete actions to promote the statement’s message. After a three-year process of study and exchange of ideas between the Task Force and the Board, in summer 2018, the Board ratified and published on the SAA website the “Society for American Archaeology Statement on Collaboration with Responsible and Responsive Stewards of the Past.” This paper summarizes the process of developing the statement, relates the results of a 249-stakeholder review of an initial statement draft, and shares the finalized statement and associated SAA-recommended actions to further the statement’s principles.
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Paper presented 5 October 2017 to the Allegheny Chapter #1 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Beaver Township, Pennsylvania
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Paper presented at the 2018 Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, Virginia Beach, Virginia, on 18 March 2018.
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In the fall of 2015, Commonwealth Cultural Resource Group, Inc. (Commonwealth) conducted an intensive metal detector survey on several areas of the Bennington Battlefield in Hoosick Falls, New York, as part of a New York State Office of... more
In the fall of 2015, Commonwealth Cultural Resource
Group, Inc. (Commonwealth) conducted an intensive
metal detector survey on several areas of the Bennington
Battlefield in Hoosick Falls, New York, as part of a New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic
Preservation (NYOPRHP) study. The NYOPRHP was
awarded a grant from the American Battlefield Protection
Program of the National Park Service to conduct archival
research, landscape analysis, and archaeological
research to better guide the interpretation and preservation
of the Bennington Battlefield. Metal detection
recovered more than 100 projectiles from the battlefield.
In addition to determining the size, type, and condition
(dropped or fired) of the projectiles, as well as any
discernible spatial patterning evident from this initial
analysis, Commonwealth added a pilot study in the use of
Luminol testing to screen these artifacts for blood residue.
Determining the presence or absence of blood would
potentially add another layer of useful data in interpreting
the events of the battle and allow the NYOPRHP to more
accurately interpret and preserve the battlefield. The pilot
study resulted in the expected pattern of a few positive
results among the fired projectiles, and no positive results
among the dropped projectiles. The potentially blooded
artifacts spatially occurred in only two known areas of
heavy casualties.
Group, Inc. (Commonwealth) conducted an intensive
metal detector survey on several areas of the Bennington
Battlefield in Hoosick Falls, New York, as part of a New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic
Preservation (NYOPRHP) study. The NYOPRHP was
awarded a grant from the American Battlefield Protection
Program of the National Park Service to conduct archival
research, landscape analysis, and archaeological
research to better guide the interpretation and preservation
of the Bennington Battlefield. Metal detection
recovered more than 100 projectiles from the battlefield.
In addition to determining the size, type, and condition
(dropped or fired) of the projectiles, as well as any
discernible spatial patterning evident from this initial
analysis, Commonwealth added a pilot study in the use of
Luminol testing to screen these artifacts for blood residue.
Determining the presence or absence of blood would
potentially add another layer of useful data in interpreting
the events of the battle and allow the NYOPRHP to more
accurately interpret and preserve the battlefield. The pilot
study resulted in the expected pattern of a few positive
results among the fired projectiles, and no positive results
among the dropped projectiles. The potentially blooded
artifacts spatially occurred in only two known areas of
heavy casualties.
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The nineteenth-century potters of southwestern Virginia came from diverse, geographic sources. These individuals brought with them extra-local traditions of pottery decoration and kiln technology. The origins and interactions of... more
The nineteenth-century potters of southwestern Virginia came from diverse, geographic sources. These individuals brought with them extra-local traditions of pottery decoration and kiln technology. The origins and interactions of Washington County potters will be delineated as case studies of how potters moved across the countryside. Individual potter histories will presented as illustrative of the general trend of movement of potters out of Pennsylvania, Delaware, eastern Maryland, and New York into western Virginia and Tennessee.
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Data recovery excavations of the Jácana site (PO-29) in south-central Puerto Rico yielded a rich assemblage of pre-Columbian pottery from the Jácana-2 component, dated A.D. 650-900. The site in this span is interpreted as a hamlet with an... more
Data recovery excavations of the Jácana site (PO-29) in south-central Puerto Rico yielded a rich assemblage of pre-Columbian pottery from the Jácana-2 component, dated A.D. 650-900. The site in this span is interpreted as a hamlet with an incipient midden mound and possibly a small batey. The vessel-based analysis of the assemblage provided detailed technological, formal, and stylistic data.
Por los excavaciones del Fase III en el sitio Jácana (PO-29), en el sur-central de Puerto Rico, hemos obtenido un collecion rico de ceramicas de la epocha pre-Columbian. En este ensayo, se consideran el material del component Jácana-2, del period C.E. 650-000. El sitio en este tiempo tenía diversos residentes, y tambien sirvió como el lugar para reuniónes y ceremonias publicas. El analysis basado en vasijas se derivaban datos technológicos formas, y estilíticos.
Por los excavaciones del Fase III en el sitio Jácana (PO-29), en el sur-central de Puerto Rico, hemos obtenido un collecion rico de ceramicas de la epocha pre-Columbian. En este ensayo, se consideran el material del component Jácana-2, del period C.E. 650-000. El sitio en este tiempo tenía diversos residentes, y tambien sirvió como el lugar para reuniónes y ceremonias publicas. El analysis basado en vasijas se derivaban datos technológicos formas, y estilíticos.
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Recent archaeological and geophysical work conducted around the Confederate Monument at Fort Donelson National Battlefield yielded significant information. An integrated approach was used that included close-interval shovel testing,... more
Recent archaeological and geophysical work conducted around the Confederate Monument at Fort Donelson National Battlefield yielded significant information. An integrated approach was used that included close-interval shovel testing, intensive metal detecting, and ground penetrating radar (GPR). Results indicate a very high density of military artifacts and features in a narrowly confined area that witnessed major action during the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862. Interpretations are offered regarding different phases before and after the battle and subsequent activities associated with monument construction in the 1930s, as well as an evaluation of the effectiveness of systematic, intensive metal detecting and the potential of geophysics on battlefield sites.
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10-minute overview presented in the panel discussion, Building Consensus: Archaeologists and Metal Detectorists Working Toward a Common Goal, at the 48th Annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, Seattle, Washington,... more
10-minute overview presented in the panel discussion, Building Consensus: Archaeologists and Metal Detectorists Working Toward a Common Goal, at the 48th Annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, Seattle, Washington, January 2015.
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Poster presented at the 2022 (virtual) Fields of Conflict Conference, May 8, 2022.
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Presentation at the 2021 conference of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association
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Paper present at the symposium, Colonoware: Materializing Colonial Identities in the Carolina Lowcountry. 24 October 2020. Hosted virtually by Clemson University and the College of Charleston.