Department of Anthropology

and Historic Deerfield, Inc.

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Frary House/Barnard Tavern (McGowan and Miller 1996:146)

2009 SUMMER FIELD SCHOOL

Archaeological Settlement Analysis in Western Massachusetts

 Background

The Frary House/Barnard Tavern in Deerfield, Massachusetts, is today owned and operated by Historic Deerfield, Inc. as one of their house museums.  The landscape was part of the homelands of Native peoples for thousands of years, and became one of the homelots laid out in 1671 as part of the English settlement of Deerfield, a landscape hotly contested by indigenous Native populations and both French and English Europeans.  The homelot has undergone many transformations over time and we will focus our research on several of these aspects from the late seventeenth century to the present.

Eighteenth century residents were members of the emergent agrarian capitalist class, while a later owner kept a tavern there at the end of that century.  Then, after a long period of decline, the main structure on the homelot served as a summer residence in the 1890s and, again, functioned as an important public social and community space.  In the Colonial Revivalist tradition, the women who owned Frary House also initiated the building’s commemorative function as a museum, a role in public interpretation it still fulfills today.  Our primary archeological questions this summer will focus on previously excavated features as well as areas of the homelot where surface surveys of various kinds have pinpointed anomalies that may indicate subsurface areas of interest. Our goals for this summer are to determine the extent and integrity of the cultural resources at this site.  More generally, we will have learned more about the homelots and villagescapes of Deerfield by the time we are done.

Archaeological Field School

This five-week summer school field program on the archeological theory and method of settlement analysis is offered by the Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst.  In-depth training is offered in historic settlement analysis, including survey strategy, subsurface sampling procedures, artifact analysis, documentary study, architectural interpretation, and computer applications.  These skills have many applications, including cultural resource management, historic preservation, and as a step towards more advanced archaeological education and research.

This summer, the field school will run Tuesdays through Saturdays, July 14 through August 15, 2009.  Our field lab will be open to the public from 10 AM until around 3:30 PM, so please stop by, as we would love to give you a tour.  

Application:

Please download and complete this application and medical questionnaire and return by email, fax or post by April 15.
Cost to attend Field School through Continuing Education is $330 per credit (6 credits total) + fees.

Instructors

Dr Brian Jones-- Project Director, bjones (at) anthro (dot) umass (dot) edu
Quentin Lewis -- Field Director, quentin (at) anthro (dot) umass (dot) edu
Anthony Martin – Field Technician, afmartin (at) acad (dot) umass (dot) edu
Randy Daum  -- Field Technician, randydaum (at) comcast (dot) net
 

Adjuncts: 
E.S. Chilton, 
R. Welburn, 
H.M. Wobst (Univ of Massachusetts Amherst), 
C. Carlson  (Historic Deerfield, Inc.)
K. Sweeney (Amherst College)
W. Perry (Central Connecticut State University)

Helpful Links:
Historic Deerfield, Inc. -- Historic Museum in Deerfield
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association - Oldest Deerfield Historical Society and Museum
The Many stories of 1704 - Website dedicated to showing the complex history of the 1704 raid on Deerfield
UMass Department of Anthropology home - Where we all live!