REU Site: The Archaeological Study of Seneca Village, a 19th Century African-American and Irish Immigrant Community in Today's Central Park

REU 遗址：塞内卡村的考古研究，塞内卡村是当今中央公园内的 19 世纪非裔美国人和爱尔兰移民社区

• 批准号: 1062796
• 负责人: Diana Wall
• 金额: $ 11.71万
• 依托单位: CUNY City College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-05-15 至 2012-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1062796&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Archaeological; Study; Seneca

SummaryThis NSF-REU site supports archaeological excavations and artifact analysis at Seneca Village, a 19th century African-American and Irish immigrant community located in today's Central Park in York City. After several years of historic research, followed by soil borings and ground-penetrating radar, undergraduates are being incorporated into the excavation and analysis of eight areas identified by radar as potentially containing archaeological features.Intellectual merit: Seneca Village was a middle class African-American community on New York City's edge and for the first 15-20 years of its existence was composed only of African Americans, making it rather unique for its time. Archaeologists have recently begun to consider the lives of middle-class African-Americans, focusing on the ways in which their consumption of material culture expressed class and racial identities. Furthermore, historian Leslie Alexander (2008a) has noted that groups such as those resident in Seneca Village were conflicted as to their identity as "Americans" and "Africans." She suggests that the Village was established as an autonomous Black community in an antebellum climate where, because of discrimination, equality and assimilation within American culture were not realistic goals. She believes that for its residents, Seneca Village not only provided a respite from discrimination, but also "embodied a series of ideas about African pride and racial consciousness," and "the creation of lasting Black institutions." This REU site explores this issue of "African" and "American" identities among Seneca Villagers by analyzing their material culture and comparing it with that of members of other black middle-class communities as well as with members of the contemporary white middle class in New York City.Students are involved in all phases of field excavation and the subsequent lab analysis of eight targeted deposits identified by the GPR, including house floors, a previously unrecorded church basement, and possible midden and shaft deposits. As well, they participate in the use of the material culture from these contexts to address issues related to research questions that they design themselves. Broader Impacts: Most Americans underestimate the presence and significance of enslaved and free blacks in the North and particularly in New York City in the 19th century. They are also ignorant of the existence of middle-class African Americans. This project challenges these stereotypes by calling attention to the presence of a black, middle-class community in the heart of today's New York City. The village's location in what is now Central Park, an iconic landmark, further underlines the integral role of African Americans in the city's history. As well, the continued presence of two of the churches that were located in Seneca Village (All Angels' and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Branch Militant) link the present and the past closely. Students are recruited from New York City's colleges because of the signifigance of this community, either as members of descendant communities or because of their own histories and connections to place.This REU site is committed to a significant effort to publicize the results of their fieldwork. The educational and outreach portions of the project (which are going on concurrently with the excavations) include: the development of a curriculum for 4th and 7th grade New York City (and other) students, the creation of a documentary for public consumption, and web and "real" exhibits.

这个NSF-REU遗址支持对Seneca村的考古挖掘和文物分析，Seneca村是一个19世纪的非裔美国人和爱尔兰移民社区，位于今天的约克市中央公园。经过几年的历史研究，接着是土壤钻探和探地雷达，本科生正在被纳入到雷达确定的八个可能包含考古特征的地区的挖掘和分析中。智力优势：Seneca村是纽约市边缘的一个中产阶级非裔美国人社区，在它存在的头15-20年里，只有非裔美国人组成，这在当时是相当独特的。考古学家最近开始考虑中产阶级非裔美国人的生活，重点研究他们对物质文化的消费如何表达阶级和种族身份。此外，历史学家Leslie Alexander(2008a)指出，像那些居住在Seneca村的人在身份上存在冲突，他们是“美国人”和“非洲人”。她认为，这个村庄是在南北战争前的环境中作为一个自治的黑人社区建立的，在那里，由于歧视，美国文化中的平等和同化是不现实的目标。她认为，对当地居民来说，塞涅卡村不仅提供了免受歧视的喘息之机，还“体现了一系列关于非洲人自豪感和种族意识的思想”，以及“创造了持久的黑人制度”。这个REU网站通过分析Seneca村民的物质文化，并将其与其他黑人中产阶级社区的成员以及纽约市当代白人中产阶级的成员进行比较，探索了Seneca村民中“非洲人”和“美国人”身份的问题。学生们参与了田野挖掘的所有阶段，并随后对GPR确定的八个目标矿藏进行了实验室分析，包括房屋地板、以前没有记录的教堂地下室，以及可能的中间人和竖井矿藏。此外，他们还参与使用这些背景下的物质文化，以解决与他们自己设计的研究问题有关的问题。更广泛的影响：大多数美国人低估了被奴役和自由的黑人在北方的存在和意义，特别是在19世纪的纽约市。他们也不知道中产阶级非裔美国人的存在。这个项目挑战了这些刻板印象，唤起了人们对今天纽约市中心黑人中产阶级社区的关注。该村位于现在的标志性地标中央公园，进一步突显了非洲裔美国人在该市历史上不可或缺的作用。此外，位于Seneca村的两座教堂(全天使和非洲卫理公会锡安圣公会激进分子)的继续存在将现在和过去紧密地联系在一起。从纽约市的大学招收学生是因为这个社区的重要性，要么是因为他们作为后代社区的成员，要么是因为他们自己的历史和与当地的联系。这个REU网站致力于宣传他们的实地考察结果。该项目的教育和推广部分(与挖掘同时进行)包括：为纽约市(和其他)四年级和七年级的学生编制课程，制作一部供公众消费的纪录片，以及网络和“真实”展品。