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

这个NSF-REU网站支持Seneca村的考古发掘和人工制品分析，Seneca村是一个世纪的非洲裔美国人和爱尔兰移民社区，位于约克市今天的中央公园。经过几年的历史研究，以及土壤钻探和探地雷达探测，本科生们被纳入了对八个地区的挖掘和分析工作，这些地区被雷达探测为可能含有考古特征。塞尼卡村是纽约市边缘的一个中产阶级非洲裔美国人社区，在其存在的前15-20年里，只有非洲裔美国人，使其在当时显得相当独特。考古学家最近开始考虑中产阶级非洲裔美国人的生活，重点是他们的物质文化消费表达阶级和种族身份的方式。此外，历史学家莱斯利亚历山大（2008年a）指出，团体，如那些居住在塞涅卡村的冲突，因为他们的身份是“美国人”和“非洲人”。“她认为，该村是在南北战争前的气候中建立的一个自治的黑人社区，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，对于当地居民来说，塞涅卡村不仅为他们提供了一个免受歧视的喘息机会，而且“体现了一系列关于非洲自豪感和种族意识的想法”，以及“建立持久的黑人制度”。这个REU网站通过分析他们的物质文化，并将其与其他黑人中产阶级社区成员以及纽约市当代白色中产阶级成员进行比较，探讨了Seneca村民的“非洲”和“美国”身份认同问题。学生们参与了野外挖掘的所有阶段，并随后对GPR确定的八个目标矿床进行了实验室分析，包括房屋地板，一个以前没有记录的教堂地下室，以及可能的垃圾堆和竖井沉积物。此外，他们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黑人在北方的存在和意义，特别是在世纪的纽约市。他们也不知道中产阶级非洲裔美国人的存在。该项目通过呼吁人们关注当今纽约市中心的黑人中产阶级社区，挑战这些陈规定型观念。这个村庄位于现在的中央公园，这是一个标志性的地标，进一步强调了非裔美国人在城市历史中不可或缺的作用。同样，位于塞内卡村的两个教堂（全天使和非洲卫理公会锡安分支民兵）的继续存在将现在和过去紧密联系在一起。学生从纽约市的大学招募，因为这个社区的重要性，无论是作为后裔社区的成员，还是因为他们自己的历史和连接的地方。这个REU网站致力于一个显着的努力，宣传他们的实地考察的结果。该项目的教育和推广部分（与挖掘工作同时进行）包括：为纽约市（和其他）四年级和七年级学生制定课程，制作一部供公众消费的纪录片，以及网络和“真实的”展览。

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.