Papers by Kenneth G. Kelly
Archaeology of Domestic Landscapes of the Enslaved in the Caribbean, 2019
There is a considerable literature that explores the significance of low-fired earthenware produc... more There is a considerable literature that explores the significance of low-fired earthenware production as a component of African Diaspora identity creation and maintenance both in the West Indies and in the American Southeast. Yet very little analysis has gone into understanding the role of industrially-produced, low-fired, earthenware ceramics in the Caribbean. We believe that these ceramics may be an overlooked archaeological resource. Although they do not typically reflect the fairly rapid changes in style that make European ceramics useful for chronology building, and whereas they do not usually exhibit stylistic and morphological variations that enable clear identification of their origin, they were produced in great quantity and transported around the West Indies to serve a wide variety of uses. We suggest that industrially-produced, low-fired, earthenwares may provide us with more information than simply their functional purpose. They may also prove useful as a key aspect of m...
Archaeological Perspectives on the French in the New World, 2017
The French West Indian colonial possessions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Saint Domingue were am... more The French West Indian colonial possessions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Saint Domingue were among the most valuable overseas European colonies due to the production of the tropical commodities of coffee, cocoa, and in particular, sugar. The crops were raised on plantations through the labor of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans and their descendants between the mid 17th century and the mid 19th century. In spite of the importance of this heritage to the history of the French colonial enterprise, and more importantly, the history of the descendant populations, commemoration of this chapter of history has only recently begun. This commemoration includes public monuments, official recognition, and archaeological research. Historical archaeology contributes a perspective that sheds light on otherwise undocumented or poorly-documented aspects of the slavery era, such as the organization of villages, the housing within them, and the ways in which enslaved people saw to their ne...
The Historical Archaeology of Shadow and Intimate Economies, 2019
Cette communication nous presente une etude sur l'archeologie, les plantations et l'escla... more Cette communication nous presente une etude sur l'archeologie, les plantations et l'esclavage aux Antilles francaises. Les recherches archeologiques sur l'esclavage et les habitations dans les Caraibes existent depuis les annees 1960/1970. A l'inverse, les Antilles francaises ne s'interrogent que depuis peu sur le sujet avec la creation en 2011, d'un programme archeologique de longue duree sur l'experience de l'esclavage en Martinique et en Guadeloupe. Pourquoi realiser des fouilles archeologiques aux Antilles francaises ? Y-a-t-il des similitudes ou des differences dans les resultats archeologiques entre les iles anglaises et francaises ?
Following a two year hiatus, archaeological research resumed with the 1996 research season at Sav... more Following a two year hiatus, archaeological research resumed with the 1996 research season at Savi, located 7 km north of the town of Ouidah, in coastal Republic of Benin (Figure I). The Hueda Archaeological Project, inaugurated in 199 1, seeks to understand the effects of systematic and continued interaction between European and African trading partners during the late 17th and early 18th century (Kelly 1994, in press). In contrast to archaeological research carried out at Elmina, Ghana (DeCorse 1992), excavations at Savi have been conducted in an African town that played host to a multi-nation European trading presence, and not an African town that grew outside the walls of a European fort. A principal goal of the project was
Archéologie de l’esclavage colonial, 2014
Les enquêtes de l’archéologie historique “d’un peuple sans histoire” dans les Antilles françaises... more Les enquêtes de l’archéologie historique “d’un peuple sans histoire” dans les Antilles françaises ont pris plus de temps à se développer que dans d’autres parties des Caraïbes. Récemment, cela a Guadeloupe donne des aperçus dans l’organisation des villages d’esclaves, la culture à laquelle se consacraient les résidents de ces villages, et quelques unes des stratégies d’adaptation et d’exploitation e t n e s é r p n o i t a c i n u m m o c e t t e C . n o i t a t i b a h ’ l e d e l o é r c e d n o m e l s n a d e é p p o l e v é d e l a t n e m e n n o r i v n e l’archéologie d’ habitation dans les Antilles françaises, et présente des résultats du travail fait sur
<p>The Atlantic slave trade has been the focus of archaeological work in a number of West A... more <p>The Atlantic slave trade has been the focus of archaeological work in a number of West African countries. Much of the work has emphasized the impressive trade castles of the Ghana coast, where extensive European constructions demonstrate the importance of the slave trade in the regions' history. Work has also been conducted on other settings, including in Bénin, where African agency manifested itself differently than on the Gold Coast of modern Ghana; Sierra Leone and Gambia, where European trading establishments were typically smaller; and Guinea, where the 'illegal' slave trade of the nineteenth century blossomed. Many of these sites of enslavement have become important parts of local heritage, as well as a global heritage of African-descended people and the heritage tourism associated with the African Diaspora.</p>
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2009
Historical Archaeology, 2017
In 1963, our laureate, Leland Greer Ferguson, was exposed to the music of the recent Nobel Laurea... more In 1963, our laureate, Leland Greer Ferguson, was exposed to the music of the recent Nobel Laureate in Literature, Bob Dylan, and the "Freewheelin' Leland Ferguson" was launched. Leland, raised near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was on track to pursue a career in engineering. And although engineering would lose Leland to archaeology, his experiences as a young man working summer jobs in construction for the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company were to prove important in developing his "worldview" when he committed himself to archaeology. Likewise, the skill set he had from this engineering background served him well in his new field. First, the entry into archaeology: as an engineer, Leland was adept at surveying and drafting, skills that were best joined in a single person back in the predigital, pre-laser days of the 1960s. Leland began collecting arrowheads in the tobacco fields near his house at about the age of 11 and dreamed of becoming an archaeologist as early as 1960, when, after reading Stanley South's book, Indians in North Carolina (1959), he visited Town Creek Indian Mound with his father. For what were probably very rational reasons, Leland did not pursue archaeology at that time and followed the more sensible path of engineering, with the idea of going into aerospace engineering, perhaps following in the wake of the wingbeats of his father, an aviation enthusiast and middle manager at Piedmont Airlines. Leland ultimately finished his master's of science degree at North Carolina State University with a thesis titled "The Application of the Momentum Integral Method to the Laminar Flow of an Incompressible Fluid in the Entrance Region of a Circular Pipe" (Ferguson 1966). Among other things for which all historical archaeologists can be thankful, Leland became much more concise in his choice of titles for his books-Uncommon Ground and God's Fields. As Leland recounted to me, when he left engineering he felt "complete freedom" and was introduced to Hist Arch
Archaeology and Memory, 2011
This chapter explores the impacts of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the European set... more This chapter explores the impacts of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the European settlements of the New World on two settings along the West African coast. The Atlantic slave trade engaged societies ranging from complexly organised ‘states’ to loosely organised societies based on diverse local leadership. The chapter discusses archaeological investigations of one complex setting, that of the seventeenth- to nineteenth-century Hueda and Dahomey societies of the Bight of Benin, and contrasts those findings with preliminary results from the nineteenth-century sites along the Rio Pongo, Guinea, where the slave trade was conducted by a range of societies of less complex organisation. These investigations demonstrate that the specific responses of local African people to the Atlantic slave trade were highly variable.
Atlantic Studies, 2015
Archaeological research conducted on the Rio Pongo, Guinea, has explored the setting of the ninet... more Archaeological research conducted on the Rio Pongo, Guinea, has explored the setting of the nineteenth century “illegal” slave trade and its consequences for the European, American, and African traders engaged in that commerce. Excavated material, coupled with mapping of archaeological features, is employed to investigate the degree to which the trading entities and the local residents were entangled in the Atlantic World that spanned four continents.
In Situ, 2013
In Situ Revues des patrimoines est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Comm... more In Situ Revues des patrimoines est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution -Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale -Pas de Modification 4.0 International. Kenneth G. Kelly La vie quotidienne des habitations sucrières aux Antilles : l'archéologie à l...
French Colonial Archaeology in the Southeast and Caribbean, 2011
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Papers by Kenneth G. Kelly