Papers by Becca Peixotto
We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Afric... more We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date.
We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Afric... more We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date.
This thesis seeks to illuminate the movement of material goods and people through the socially an... more This thesis seeks to illuminate the movement of material goods and people through the socially and physically complex landscape of the Great Dismal Swamp and in so doing to expose some of the detail obscured by existing maps and popular conceptions of the area. Multiple lines of evidence, including ultraviolet fluorescence of glass artifacts and details gleaned from a variety of maps and remote sensing images of the area, contextualize the presence of historic glass at archaeological sites representing canal adjacent enslaved laborer camps and interior maroon settlements. A landscape archaeology perspective foregrounding people, time-depth and scale guides the analysis of glass distribution amongst five historic sites.
Conference Presentations by Becca Peixotto
Throughout most of the Atlantic world, Maroons play a critical role in local, regional, and even ... more Throughout most of the Atlantic world, Maroons play a critical role in local, regional, and even national histories. In contrast, marronage in colonial America and the early United States is largely absent from the American historical narrative. Thousands of Maroons lived in The Great Dismal Swamp, located in Virginia and North Carolina, from the late 17th century until Emancipation. And, Maroons played a critical role in slowing US expansionism in Florida, once known as a refuge for escaped slaves. Yet, there exists little popular awareness or understanding of Maroon lives in these places. Utilizing these two archaeological case studies, this paper explores where and how Maroon history might be integrated into existing historical and social narratives. In particular, it considers uneven landscapes and ‘sites’ of interaction that can today be used to demonstrate the significance of marronage in the history of the United States.
The Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina was home to disenfranchised Native American... more The Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina was home to disenfranchised Native Americans, enslaved canal company laborers and maroons who lived in the wetlands temporarily and long term ca. 1660-1860. This paper discusses recent and ongoing research to identify mesic islands, likely sites of maroon occupation, in the interior of the Swamp. In the past decade, the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (GDSLS) has intensively investigated a few maroon and enslaved labor sites, leaving vast swaths of inhospitable and challenging swampland archaeologically unexplored. LiDAR, satellite and aerial imagery, historic documents and results of GDSLS excavations all guide current ground-truthing and exploration efforts. Filling in gaps in the map will expand our knowledge of the complex physical and social landscape of the Swamp and support future stewardship of the archaeological resources in the area.
Society for Historical Archaeology Conference
January 8, 2016
The Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina is today 190 square miles of morass managed... more The Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina is today 190 square miles of morass managed as a National Wildlife Refuge. In the 17th to 19th centuries, the Swamp was a place of overlapping landscapes of enslaved labor, marronage, land ownership and capitalist development. Out of these landscapes emerged toponyms, or place names, reflecting variously the ecology, the topography, and the parcelling out of the space. A close reading of historic surveys and deeds reveals cracks in the codified patriarchal system of land ownership in the colonial mid-Atlantic. This paper explores those cracks to locate women as active participants in the world of Swamp owners and capitalists. Of particular interest are rare instances where these women’s relationships to the land are enshrined as widely used toponymic designations on deeds and maps generated by and for a male-dominated class of landowners.
Public Anthropology Conference
October 2015
Archaeological research over the last decade in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Caro... more Archaeological research over the last decade in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina has focused on disenfranchised Native Americans, maroons and enslaved canal company laborers ca. 1680-1860 who lived in these wetlands temporarily and long term. This paper explores how data gathered using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) of glass fragments and other very small artifacts could augment an analysis of this socially and physically complex landscape. Artifacts from canal adjacent and remote interior sites reflect the movement of material goods and people as well as the access maroon communities had to other communities in the Swamp and to the world beyond it. Technologies such as pXRF may be able to shed new light on these artifacts and relationships by providing details unavailable through more traditional forms of analysis.
Society for Historical Archaeology
January 2014
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Papers by Becca Peixotto
Conference Presentations by Becca Peixotto
Society for Historical Archaeology Conference
January 8, 2016
Public Anthropology Conference
October 2015
Society for Historical Archaeology
January 2014
Society for Historical Archaeology Conference
January 8, 2016
Public Anthropology Conference
October 2015
Society for Historical Archaeology
January 2014