Episode 14: Community Archaeology

# AnthroAlert## Episode 14: Community ArchaeologyOriginally aired 26 August 2017 on bullsradio.orgIn this episode, we engage further into the discussion around heritage and historical archeology.Our guest, Dr. Diane Wallman, will speak about ongoing archaeological research at the Judah P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, in Ellenton, Florida.imageDr. Diane Wallman is an Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She is a historical archaeologist who works on sites associated with Atlantic Slavery. As a zooarchaeologist, her research focuses on issues of human-environment dynamics during the colonial period in the Caribbean, Southeastern United States, and West Africa.imageWe will discuss ongoing archaeological research at the Judah P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park. Gamble Plantation is an important site for Florida and Tampa Bay history and heritage. Major Robert Gamble Jr. was one of several planters who established sugar plantations along the Manatee River in the mid-19th century. Gamble arrived in 1844 with a small group of enslaved individuals and purchased land to the north of the river for sugar cane production. Using slave labor, Gamble erected a tabby mansion that still stands on the parcel today, along with a large tabby cistern and several outbuildings. During the Civil War, Captain Archibald McNeill, a famous Confederate officer, temporarily occupied the premises. Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, escaping Federal troops, took brief refuge on the property in May of 1865. After the war, George Patten bought the property, and his son constructed a Victorian-style house on the property in 1895. The house was relocated in the 1970s where it remains on park property today.Ongoing archaeology research at the site, via archaeological field school, aims to expand on the understanding of the nuanced history at the site, including a diachronic and spatial examination of landscape transformation and material culture. During the field schools, the excavations are open to the public, and we invite community members to participate in the dig. The significance of the project encompasses more than just the history of the mansion, Robert Gamble, and the confederate occupants. Archaeological research focuses on a multidimensional exploration of the varied histories and occupations at the site, including the enslaved peoples who lived and labored on the plantation.## Podcast linkhttps://anthroalert.tumblr.com/post/168715318729/anthroalert-episode-14-community-archaeology## Video linkhttps://youtu.be/h1vnE8jeZ28## Album art photo credit:Oliver Thompsonhttps://flic.kr/p/9zVPYBCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/DSC_0182_pp by Walterhttps://flic.kr/p/oHMPPWCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/## Intro music credit:Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkabahttp://ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/33345CC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.