Allison Bain

A seventeenth-century beetle fauna from colonial Boston

A rich, diverse assemblage of preserved Coleopteran (beetle) remains was analyzed from the Feature 4 Cross Street Back Lot site in Boston, Massachusetts. This fauna represents the first large analysis of a Colonial site using the technique of archaeoentomology, resulting in the examination of over 2,000 individuals from 22 samples. The remains indicate that a rich composting environment existed in this feature which was composed of human and animal wastes, infested grain products, table wastes, and perhaps floor sweepings. From a biogeographic perspective, this study suggests that many European pest species were already established in New England by the 17th century, substantially altering our knowledge of their introductions.

Contributions of ectoparasite studies in archaeology with two examples from the North Atlantic region

Human and animal ectoparasites are often recovered from archaeological contexts being examined for preserved insect remains. Records of human lice, fleas and bedbugs are used to reconstruct past sanitary conditions and practices, as well as their geographic distribution and that of the pathogens for which they may be vectors. Ectoparasites of domesticated and wild animals may be considered proxy indicators for the presence of those animals whilst also inferring activities such as wool processing. This paper summarizes the contribution of ectoparasite studies in archaeology and presents two original case studies from Iceland and Greenland.

Environmental archaeology and landscape transformation at the Seventeenth-Century Ferryland Site, Newfoundland

From the 16th century onwards, English, Bretons, Basques, and Portuguese exploited the rich cod stocks of Newfoundland’s Grand Banks. Several permanent settlements in eastern Newfoundland were begun in the early 17th century, including the settlement at Ferryland (1621-1696). Planter families at Ferryland fished and welcomed seasonal fishing fleets, participating in a trade network that included the West Indies, New England, the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, and Great Britain. The colonization process brought about changes to the local environment due to both the intentional and unintentional importation of European plants and animals. The presence of a substantial percentage of nonnative plants and insects suggests that ballast dumping as well as the establishment of small cottage gardens contributed to the introduction of several species to Newfoundland. Data from archaeobotanical, archaeoentomological, and faunal analyses can be used to examine processes of biological transfer, landscape change, and development of local household economies of Ferryland residents.

A sediment-based reconstruction of Caribbean effective precipitation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda:

Contemporary climate dynamics of the circum-Caribbean region are characterised by significant precipitation variability on interannual and interdecadal timescales controlled primarily by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). However, our understanding of pre-industrial climate variability in the region is hampered by the sparse geographic distribution of palaeoclimate archives. Here, we present a high-resolution reconstruction of effective precipitation for Barbuda since the mid-16th century, based on biostratigraphic and stable isotope analyses of fossil ostracods and gastropods recovered from lake sediment cores from Freshwater Pond, the only freshwater lake on the island. We interpret episodic fluctuations in shell accumulation in the sediment record to represent changes in the balance between precipitation and evaporation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA; ~1400–1850 CE) and Industrial (1850–present) periods. Comparisons between indices of reconstructed ENSO and AMO variability, the abundance of the freshwater gastropod Pyrgophorus parvulus and the δ18O records from ostracod calcite suggest that the relative influence of ENSO and AMO on long-term rainfall patterns in Barbuda has changed over the last 400 years. Our findings are in agreement with other high-resolution palaeoclimate studies that suggest that long-term changes in effective precipitation during the LIA were much more variable, temporally and spatially, than previously suggested.

Early Thule Winter Houses: An Archaeoentomological Analysis

This paper presents the results of archaeoentomological analyses of soil samples from early Thule (ca. AD 1200–1400) winter-house remains at Cape Grinnell and Qaqaitsut, Northwest Greenland. Excavated over the summers of 2008 and 2009 by the Inglefield Land Archaeological Project (ILAP), four houses yielded 467 ectoparasites, mostly human lice, unevenly distributed across the identified areas of the structures. A recurring pattern of distribution was found in three of the houses and is interpreted as the result of delousing practices. Using historical explorer accounts, Inughuit oral tradition, and archaeoentomological evidence we investigate the potential for studying hygiene practices on Inuit sites.

From Icon of Empire to National Emblem: New Evidence for the Fallow Deer of Barbuda

ABSTRACT Barbuda and Antigua’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species native to the eastern Mediterranean that has been transported around the world by people during the last 8000 years. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining documentary, osteological and genetic evidence, this paper will consider the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human–Dama relationships from the 1500s AD to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s economy and cultural heritage that requires careful management.

Urbanization and Landscape Change in Early-Eighteenth-Century Boston: The Environmental Archaeology of Town Dock

The creation of the urban built landscape is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples of anthropogenic environmental change. This paper explores the creation of the urban landscape in downtown Boston during the early 18th century. Archaeological excavations next to Faneuil Hall, Boston’s iconic market building, recovered evidence for land-making processes and the filling of Town Dock. The macrobotanicals, pollen, faunal remains, and insects in the landfill reveal, at very different scales, the changing nature of the urban environment from the area immediately around the site to the broader region. A study of these data in the context of the filling of Town Dock thus provides a detailed view of human actions in the creation and structuring of the urban landscape.

Landscape Transformation During Ceramic Age and Colonial Occupations of Barbuda, West Indies

ABSTRACT This research documented the history of landscape transformation on the island of Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean through cross-disciplinary research approaches. Excavations confirmed a human presence for the seasonal exploitation of conch meat and other molluscs during the Archaic Age (c.3000–500 BC), but more substantial impacts to terrestrial ecosystems likely began during the Ceramic Age (c.500 BC–AD 1500). Our combined sedimentary and charcoal records revealed that human-induced environmental transformations began with Ceramic Age peoples as they cleared vegetation for settlements and gardens with intentional burning. Sedimentary charcoal indicated a dramatic decline in fire during post-Ceramic Age abandonment, continuing through the Colonial Period, as the dominant human activities shifted to herding, farming, and selective wood harvesting. Historical sources showed that during the Colonial Period (post-1492), the island was intermittently settled until the mid-seventeenth century, while the Codrington family of Antigua held the lease to the island from 1681 to 1870. They used the island for farming and stock-rearing, exporting meat and draught animals along with lime, timber, and subsistence crops. Macrocharcoal recovered from Colonial Period archaeological sites reflect the use of a variety of local species and wood imported to the island or harvested from shipwrecks.