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5. Constructing Institution-Specific Site Formation Models
- The University of Alabama Press
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5 Constructing Institution-Specific Site Formation Models April M. Beisaw Archaeological site formation processes often are studied after a site has been excavated and the artifacts analyzed. Models of site formation processes , however, can guide excavation when based on site-specific, or in this case institution-specific, knowledge. These models can be created from a general understanding of the institution type and refined throughout an excavation, or as archival research dictates, to optimize sampling strategies and artifact recovery. This chapter outlines the construction of a site formation model for one-room schoolhouse sites based on previous research. This model was tested and refined during the excavation of two sites, the Blaess (pronounced Bliss) and Town Hall schools of Michigan, the results of which are summarized here. The development and use of similar models for other institution site types should lead to more productive research and enhance archaeology’s contribution to the study of institutional life. The Archaeology of One-Room Schools A review of previous archaeological work on one-room schoolhouse sites would lead most archaeologists to conclude that these sites lack archaeological potential (Gibb and Beisaw 2000a). Low artifact densities are not conducive to shovel test pit surveys, and architectural debris likely will dominate assemblages from more intensive excavation. As a result, archaeological deposits have been ignored, as historic preservation plans focus ex- 50 / April M. Beisaw clusively on extant schoolhouses. These structures, when threatened, often are relocated to public land. Little to no documentation of the schoolyard and outbuildings occurs, and in many cases original auxiliary structures are not preserved. Relocated schools often become one-room-school museums , in which collections of furnishings and artifacts, uninformed by archaeology and site-specific documents, produce a generic message of “school used to be different.” A posted facsimile printing of the state’s or school district’s rules and regulations supports this message. With variability and change unaddressed, even repudiated, these generic re-creations can hinder preservation of newly threatened schoolhouses, now redundant resources. One-room schoolhouse sites have stories to tell about the histories of education and small communities. They often developed before compulsory education laws, expressions of a community’s interest in educating its children. Even after passage of such laws, schools served small communities , focal points of rural life through shared experience (Rotman, this volume ). Theory and method must be developed to realize the archaeological potential of these sites before they, and their contributions to history, are forever lost. Previous Research Few one-room schoolhouse site excavations have been reported outside gray literature. Available reports illustrate the methods used and results obtained, with common themes including (1) architectural debris dominates assemblages; (2) areas around and within the schoolhouse foundation produce the most artifacts; (3) archival work is necessary to understand archaeological evidence of building events; and (4) clear research questions seldom inform excavation of these sites, leading to artifact quanti fication and little analysis. Sam Houston Schoolhouse,Maryville,Tennessee. The Sam Houston Schoolhouse excavation (Dickson 1977) is the earliest reported for a one-room schoolhouse site. This work focused on confirming that the the stateowned historic landmark school had not been moved. The school had been restored in the 1950s, but the extent of the effort was not well documented. Archaeological fieldwork identified remnants of an addition and a possible second structure. Recovered artifacts included a late nineteenth-century medicine bottle, ceramics, glass, nails and other metal artifacts, and a few [3.236.101.52] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 06:19 GMT) Constructing Institution-Specific Site Formation Models / 51 prehistoric lithics and bones of uncertain vintage. Although the report mentions that the schoolhouse once served as a residence, it lacks a history of the school. Freeman School, Beatrice, Nebraska (25GA90). The 1871 Freeman School, now part of the Homestead National Monument, operated continuously until 1968, serving as a church between 1872 and 1879. A log cabin, its original location as yet unidentified, functioned as the schoolhouse during construction. The extant building underwent several changes before restoration in 1974: the floor and joists were replaced in 1900 and 1930; a concrete floor was installed in the 1960s; electricity was installed in the 1920s; and six-over-six windows were replaced with two-over-two sashes at an unknown date. “Restoration” to the pre-1900 state included modern restroom facilities for visitors (Schoen 1986:5). A magnetometer survey was conducted to identify subsurface features in the yard (Weymouth 1983), but...