Digging New Jersey's Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State

by Richard F. Veit

Overview

When people think of archaeology, they commonly think of unearthing the remains of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Rome, Central or South America. But some fascinating history can be found in your own New Jersey backyard—if you know where to look.

Richard Veit takes readers on a well-organized guided tour through four hundred years of Garden State development as seen through archaeology in Digging New Jerseys Past. This illustrated guidebook takes readers to some of the states most interesting discoveries and tells us what has been learned or is being learned from them. The diverse array of archaeological sites, drawn from all parts of the state, includes a seventeenth-century Dutch trading post, the site of the Battle of Monmouth, the gravemarkers of freed slaves, and a 1920s railroad roundhouse, among others.

Veit begins by explaining what archaeologists do: How do they know where to dig? What sites are likely to yield important information? How do archaeologists excavate a site? How are artifacts cataloged, stored, and interpreted? He then moves through the states history, from the contact of first peoples and explorers, to colonial homesteads, Revolutionary War battlefields, cemeteries, railroads, and factories. Veit concludes with some thoughts about the future of archaeological research in New Jersey and with suggestions on ways that interested individuals can become involved in the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813531137
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	08/07/2002
Edition description:	None ed.
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Richard Veit is an assistant professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University and the director of the university's Center for New Jersey History.

Read an Excerpt

"Archaeology: the word brings to mind thoughts of adventure in exotic lands fraught with danger. Thanks in large part to Steven Spielberg's character, Indiana Jones, archaeologists are often perceived as dashing characters wearing fedoras or pith helmets and armed with whips. I, for one, have never had the opportunity to use a whip in a professional capacity. Adventure and intrigue are only the tip of the archeological iceberg." --from Digging New Jersey's Past

Table of Contents

History underfoot : a short introduction to historical archaeology
"A good land to behold" : in search of New Jersey's first settlers
"An obscure corner of the world" : a diverse colony and its people
"Cockpit of the Revolution" : unearthing the War of Independence
Here lies New Jersey : historical burial grounds, cemeteries, and gravemarkers
Inclined planes, trains, and automobiles : transportation in the Garden State
From potteries to pipelines : what New Jersey makes, the world takes
"Endless novelty" : the transformation of nineteenth-century life
"What to others is meaningless rubbish" : some concluding thoughts