In Small Things Not Forgotten

Tiny artifacts recovered at the excavations of 17th century Jamestown in Virginia give clues about life in the earliest years of the colony.
Archaeologists excavating at the site of America's first permanent English colony on Jamestown Island in Virginia will tell you that even the smallest, microscopic artifacts recovered from the soil can tell you much about what life was like during the first years of the fledgling colony. So demonstrates Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologist Danny Schmidt through a newly released video (see below). He shows how recently excavated soil from the colony's first well (constructed some time before 1611) has been water-screened through an 8th-inch mesh screen onto a window mesh to reveal tiny objects that, together, have told a story about the lives and events of the first colonists.

The well, called "John Smith's Well" after the famous colonist, was excavated by a team of archaeologists and students in 2009. The processing and analysis of the finds from the well, however, continue to this day. Located near the center of the original historical James Fort, it was part of a large, rectangular cellar. Excavations revealed that it was barrel-lined within the floor and was used for a time and then abandoned and backfilled with rubbish at some point before 1611. Because of the early date, archaeologists suggest that the well may likely be James Fort’s first well, which was dug in late 1608 or early 1609 according to a document where John Smith relates, "we digged a faire Well of fresh water in the Fort of excellent, sweet water which till then was wanting." The well is located adjacent to a storehouse that is identified as the first structure the colonists built inside the fort.

Notable finds from the well include a slate writing tablet with visible drawings and words, a child’s silver teething whistle with coral, iron tools and parts of weapons, a glass medicinal phial, objects made by the local Native Americans, a whale vertebra, dolphin bones with butcher marks, and shark bones and teeth. Most telling were numerous butchered dog and horse remains, along with rat and turtle bones. These animal remains suggest evidence from the "Starving Time" winter of 1609–1610, a period of forced starvation initiated by the Native American Powhatan Confederacy to remove the settlers from Virginia. Wrote colony president George Percy about that winter, "Then, having fed upon horses and other beasts as long as they lasted, we were glad to make shift with vermin, as dogs, cats and mice."

The artifacts from the well number in the tens of thousands, but when considering the tiniest finds recovered from the water-screening, objects can number in the "millions", as stated by Schmidt in the video. Small Venetian trade beads, shell beads, fish scales, and pieces of crab claw, for example, so small that they could easily be missed without the wet-sieving, say something about trade, relationships, and diet within the Jamestown colony.

"While the smaller objects are not as eye-catching as some of the museum pieces you might see," says Schmidt, "they are still an important part of the story of what life was like here at James Fort during the early years of the colony."

According to Jamestown archaeologists, the analysis of the artifacts from the well will likely continue for many years to come, affording an ongoing opportunity for not only other archaeologists and specialists, but also for the visiting public. Says Schmidt, "the public can join us in picking through this material and sharing in the moment of discovery".

More about Jamestown and the archaeology at the site can be found at the Jamestown Rediscovery website.
http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/december-2011/article/in-small-things-not-forgotten