612 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2017
  2. www.histarch.illinois.edu www.histarch.illinois.edu
    1. The archaeology tells us that in spite of their lowly station in life, they were the bearers of a lifestyle, distinctly their own, neither recognized nor understood by their chroniclers.

      This show how african amercians never changed who they were at heart or how they went about living internally , even with all the racism and hatred going on throughout the world at that time.

    2. Since the artifactual and architectural remains of these communities are a better index of the life of African Americans in their own terms, they hold great promise of supplementing American black history in a different and important way.

      Here the author is telling us how both oral history and archaeology are important in obtaing history , but archaeology can open our eyes a bit more and provide actual physical evidence, which is always better and more reliable than oral history

    3. But the negative evidence is strong, so there had to be some accommodation for one within the building.

      This passage throws me off because negative evidence is "evidence for a theory provided by the nonoccurrence or absence of something", and its saying even though the photograph of the Burr house shows a small chimney projecting the roof, there was neither evidenve nor space for a hearth and chimeny of the sort seen in american houses of the period

    4. terminus post quem

      Latin for "limit after which," is used to indicate the date after which an artifact must have been deposited." “TPQ.pdf.” Accessed September 7, 2016. http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/TPQ.pdf.

    5. terminus post quem

      the earliest possible date for something. Origin

      Latin, literally ‘end after which.’

    6. Both sections of the footing showed extensive evidence of fire. Melted window glass, heavy charcoal and ash deposits, and large numbers of nails all attest to the house's having burned in place.

      I think its cool how these archaeologists can determine how and when the building was destroyed all from small compenents such as , charcoal,ash deposits, etc.It really shows how much skill and experience they have aquired from their profession.

    7. This piece of oral history established the cellar as that of James Burr.

      I find it kind of neat how they just come uopn new evidence and artifacts , and all i can sum it up to is pure luck , because if they would have went looking any other time Im almost certain they would have never found it .

    8. Were it not for Howe's having served in the Continental Army, we would know hardly a thing about him.

      This shows how if you wanted to be known of some sort;or just to have record kept of you and you were african american you had to become a soilder and go to war for america to care about you.

    9. Nothing is known of Cato Howe's early life, before his military service.

      This is key information , its showing how there was literally no record kept of colored people before a certain time..

    10. Parting Ways

      Summary: Parting Ways is an article that focuses on archaeological investigation of an African American community in Parting Ways. There are four African Americans that the article focuses on; Cato Howe, Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamany. Unfortunately the only things recorded are their service in war up until their deaths. They were slaves but they gained their freedoms. Their lives do not really have much of a tale or a story because they were not recorded. Deetz wants to try to fit the puzzle pieces together by archaeology just to be able figure out the story of the area.

    11. Parting Ways

      Annotated Bibliography Cato Howe (1756 - 1824) - Find A Grave Memorial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017 TIME Person of the Year 2015 Runner-Up: Black Lives Matter. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017 "Archaeology Wordsmith." Archaeology Wordsmith. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. H. (2009, May 19). What's a shotgun house? Retrieved February 04, 2017 States' Rights & The Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017

    12. Prior to the various emancipation actions, beginning in Massachusetts in 1783 and continuing into the nineteenth century, blacks - 187 - were chattels, property to be disposed of in any way their owners saw fit.

      This quote reminds me of the irony with "Black Lives Matter" In the article it tells of how the black lives matter movement started after George Zimmerman was acquitted of his murder of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. It is interesting to see how our lives are valued more in these times compared to pre-emancipation times. It is interesting to see a change in a opinion in only a century. I feel like there is only one race and that is the human race. We just have different concentrations of melanin. It is pretty unfair to judge someone off their skin color alone. That irritates me a whole lot. I never asked to be this way, I was just reincarnated into the person I am now. Another thing I was told in class was that your environment affects your phenotype. If I was in the arctic area, my skin would probably be a few shades lighter so it is not really my fault that I am black. It is genetics and my environment around me.

    13. Nothing is known of Cato Howe's early life, before his military service.

      Interesting thing about this quote is that it is true. I googled Cato Howe and there is honestly nothing listed before he was 25 years of age and put into the military."Howe enlisted in the spring of 1775 and served for the entire war in the 2nd Massachusetts (Commander, Colonel John Bailey)." Until he was in the military, none of his records are available." Its just fascinating to know that only his time into the military to the end of his life was only recorded. It is pretty weird why they'd only record that. I would think that they would want to record the live of a man who dedicated his time and efforts into the war. Cato Howe (1756 - 1824) - Find A Grave Memorial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017

    14. Nothing is known of Cato Howe's early life, before his military service.

      This quote actually reminds me of my literature class from my senior year of high school. We talked about how in some cases many colored people's early lives were not recorded and that makes it a lot harder to track family history for many people. It is even more troubling to try to connecting their family lineage but they are stuck. For a project, I had to create a huge family tree and I can remember it being very aggravating asking my family members who were my family members pass my great-grandparents. It was so stressful and it took up a huge amount of time. I actually went the whole length of the project because it just took so long to find what I was looking for. I did not even get my 100%, I got a 96%. The treatment of African Americans as nothing but property it utterly disgusting and sad.

    15. HERE LIE THE GRAVES OF FOUR NEGRO SLAVES

      The problem I had with this quote is that the people were freed due to their service in the Revolutionary War. If they were freed, why are they still called negro slaves. They could have called them freed men or at least acknowledge that they are not slaves anymore. I feel as though this is more disrespectful than anything else because the people gained their freedom so they should not be called slaves anymore. To me this kind of relates to the whole black lives matter movement. It isn't fair that we get the minimal recognition for everything we have done for the country. If it were white indentured servants they'd probably be called heroes. The blacks deserve proper recognition. I would want proper recognition after I helped the country get its independence from Great Britain. Especially since I helping the people that stole me from my land and my family. I deserve some type of recognition. TIME Person of the Year 2015 Runner-Up: Black Lives Matter. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017

    16. terminus post quem

      I stumbled on this phrased so I googled what it means. terminus post quem- a latin phrase that means the end after which---the date after which a stratum, feature, or artifact must have been deposited. I am still unsure by what context to use this word in. "Archaeology Wordsmith." Archaeology Wordsmith. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

    17. These jars were made in the West Indies, and served as sugar containers for shipment to various colonial ports.

      If these jars were made in the west indies, how did they get into an African American civilization. It really boggles my mind of how they were able to obtain these jars. I know for certain if I was a slave I would have no way in the world to obtain these jars. The African Americans could not control shipments so the question is were they gifted the jars? It is really bothering me as to how they have them.

    18. shotgun house

      I googled shotgun house because I literally thought it was a house where you keep guns. I took it a bit too literally but I guess it was more metaphorical than anything else."This style of house is very simple: A typical shotgun house is long and narrow and often don't have windows on the sides (though they almost always do along the front or back) because of the houses' extremely close proximity to one another." H. (2009, May 19). What's a shotgun house? Retrieved February 04, 2017

    19. African Americans who were free of those constraints which might have been imposed on them under the institution of slavery.

      Did any of these men experience racism during their time at Parting Ways? It was around the time of slavery and I wonder if they had any troubling moments because even though they served their time in the war, I am sure some people gave them a hard time since they were African American.

    20. The more northerly one consisted of two sugar jars, a stoneware jug, miscellaneous pressed glass objects,

      The fact that they were instilled in slavery during their lives, they till kept African traditions. I find that very interesting. Many times when I think about slavery I think that there could be times where your will is broken and you just follow the culture that is being enforced onto you. I'm pretty sure I would have kept some of item that symbolizes my heritage because I can be somewhat of a rebel at times where I fight in something I believe in. It can be to the point that I get really hard headed. I find it interesting that they kept a piece of their natural culture with them. It is like I am looking at some of my qualities in myself in four other deceased people.

    21. https://historicaldigression.com/2016/06/22/early-african-american-settlement-at-parting-ways-plymouth/ I found a great article discussing the main men in this article (plus a few more) that sheds more light on their lives (i.e. their living standards).

    22. Summary: "Parting Ways" by James F. Deetz is an article about 4 black men and the records kept of them, or the lack thereof following the Revolutionary War. I believe this article is about more than just these men but more of how they served their country yet still had little to no personal records to show for it. This article unveils the perspective that America held towards not only African Americans, but all minorities and speaks of how little their service was cared about through lack of acknowledgment.

    23. Our knowledge of Cato Howe and his fellow blacks of Plymouth comes from two sources: Fragmentary written records give us a partial picture, lacking in important details. A complementary body of information has been gained by excavating the site of the tiny community in which Cato Howe lived until his death, in 1824.

      I wonder how archaeological evidence can last so long? from artifacts from ancient egypt, to artifacts not so ancient like these.

    24. If archaeology is a vital contributor to our understanding of all of America's common folk, and what their life meant to them, it is doubly so in the case of our understanding of the black experience in America. Prior to the various emancipation actions, beginning in Massachusetts in 1783 and continuing into the nineteenth century, blacks - 187 - were chattels, property to be disposed of in any way their owners saw fit. People who held such a status could hardly be expected to have recorded a history of their own in any conventional way, although the strength of oral tradition has preserved more than we might hope. Piecing together black history on a local level is a fascinating and often frustrating process of assembling fragments to form a coherent whole. To gain a true understanding of the story of a people, it is best to detail a picture of their life within a community and then relate that to the larger world.

      It can be seen how frustrating it is to synthesize the histories of individual black people due to the social statuses they were forced to be apart of. because they were seen as easily disposable, maybe it was believed for there to be no point in documenting the lives of Africans the same as the average white man

    25. Battle of Bunker Hill

      The Battle of Bunker Hill was a battle fought during the revolutionary war that transpired in 1775. This time period is upon the era of slavery and normalized dehumanizing of african people. some of them fought as soldiers in the war, including Cato.

    26. Cato Howe is not a name we will find in our history books.

      Because of the lack of proper documentation for minorities like howe, it is hard to understand who he really was besides that fact that he was a former slave. Aside from the information that he was a veteran, we cannot really dig up much about who he was on a more intimate level.

    27. James F. Deetz

      Chronological history of James Deetz: http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/JDeetzmem5.html**

    28. An Archaeology of Early American Life

      "American life" is not the way Cato Howe & the 3 other men had lived. If anything, the lived a underprivileged life compared to other Americans because of their race.

    29. Sibyl Moholy-Nagy

      Sibyl Moholy-Nagy (October 29, 1903 – January 8, 1971) was an architectural and art historian. Originally a German citizen, she accompanied her husband, the Hungarian Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy, in his move to the United States. She is the author of one of the most important and influential[by whom?] studies of his work, Moholy-Nagy: Experiment in Totality, plus several other books on architectural history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibyl_Moholy-Nagy

      "Sibyl Moholy-Nagy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    30. terminus post quem

      Terminus post quem, Latin for "limit after which," is used to indicate the date after which an artifact must have been deposited. https://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/TPQ.pdf

      Quem, Definition: Terminus Post. Definition: Terminus Post Quem (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

    31. The two concentrations differed from each other. The more northerly one consisted of two sugar jars, a stoneware jug, miscellaneous pressed glass objects, - 207 - and a variety of bottles. One of the sugar jars had a hole broken through the base.

      This shows that the both the earthquake from the supplemental reading and the area of Parting Ways had objects that related to their culture that was beneficial to practices and their roots. In this case the the destruction was related to African American ritual that led to their roots, while in the other led to its roots in Italy.

    32. In our world today, other lessons gained from thinking about artifacts might be applicable.

      As the world becomes more technologically advanced and modern, architecture and the material culture shows this. I believe that it is important to preserve the past for our generation and future generations, as the architecture and material culture are drifting further and further away from that of the past. Thinking about artifacts gives us a much more real and relatable understanding of the way people of the past lived than merely reading about facts. In addition to this, it is easier for us to learn lessons based on tangible things. That is why the earthquake described in the article, Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake, was so devastating. Italy has very rich physical history that it well preserved. It is a shame for future generations that so many things were damaged or lost as a result.

    33. terminus post quem

      Terminus post quem is defined as, "the earliest possible date for something." So in this context Deetz is explaining that the earliest possible date for the concentrations in question recovered from Parting Ways was after the deaths of Cato, Prince, Quamany, and Plato.

    34. John Vlach compares these houses in the American South with those of Haiti, and both with West African house types

      After doing some research, I found that it is a controversial topic whether or not shotgun houses originated in Africa or Haiti. Deetz does not make this clear and seems to be making the assumption that building such a style home is evidence of their display of traditional African culture. Deetz even goes on to claim that it is possible that they built homes this way as a sort of protest. This reduces Deetz's credibility in my eyes because I feel as if he is too eager to believe something that supports his ideas. Deetz would appear more credible if he provided more frequent counter arguments, specifically when he makes a strong claim not easily supported by evidence.

    35. In the August heat of 1975, an elderly couple visited the site while digging was in progress. The man was ninety-one years old and remembered walking past the house as a child; this was in the last years of the nineteenth century.

      I think that it is incredible that a ninety-one year old man who was familiar with the area as a child just so happened to visit the site the same time that digging was in progress. A strange coincidence offered us more factual information about the community that otherwise would have been very difficult to prove.

    36. Almost seven thousand artifacts were found atop the paving, and for the most part were concentrated in two discrete areas. The vast majority of these artifacts were fragments of pottery, but there were pieces of shattered glassware as well. All had been intentionally broken on the spot, and as a result most could be partially or fully reconstructed.

      I think that it is incredible that so many fragments were recovered from the Parting Ways community so many years later. As we learned from the article "Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake," nature can destroy and damage historical artifacts in a very short period of time. We are lucky to find the remnants of the past, giving us the opportunity to piece them together to uncover the mysteries of the past.

    37. from In Small Things Forgotten:

      The article, Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake, describes a devastating earthquake destroying "at least 293 cultural heritage assets were damaged in the earthquake zone" and destroying 50 more. Walls dating back to the medieval era crumbled. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2, which elevates it above the level of "disruption" and to the level of "disaster." Many old cathedrals were cracked and in some cases more severely damaged as a result.

    38. The supplemental reading that I read was the Historical Treasures Lost, Damaged in Italian Quake by Alanne Orjoux. This article was an earthquake that damaged a lot of important and beneficial historic cites. One in particular that caught my attention that they named was the cathedral in Urbino. According to this article, it has said to have been at least 293 historic assets that were badly damaged where the earthquake have taken place in Italy. Not only was that cathedral caught in the earthquake but there were also a few more. This earthquake left behind a tragic mess and left many artifactual assets to be badly affected or even completely damaged.

      Towns all over Italy were hit but the Amatrice the Basilica Di San Francesco and the Chiesa di Sant Agostino were the towns that haven been said to have completely caved in. Inside of these collapsing cities and towns held the the cities historic medieval walls that was badly destroyed. The medieval walls cite carried lots of information and was a big site for Italy's cultural values. At this place it has some incredible and remarkable history of that relates back to the 10th century in which the people have cared and showed their love for the historic site. But in the end Italy seems to turn all the bad into something good by having their people visit the areas that were badly damaged as a sign of paying their respects to the certain sites.

    39. HERE LIE THE GRAVES OF FOUR NEGRO SLAVES

      Why are the four men still referred to as negro slaves? Cato, Plato, Prince, and Quamany risked their lives during the war. Not only did the men fight for U.S. independence but for their own independence. Each man fought for the right to be a free man. Once the war ended, all of them became freed. But on their gravestone, none of their achievements are recognized. None of their military service mattered, they were only used for slave labor.

    40. Parting Ways

      Summary: James F. Deetz describes the conclusions made about the Parting Ways community, through assessing records of the people that lived there and archaeological evidence from the site by making connections to known aspects of African American culture. The pieces to the puzzle of the story of the Parting Ways community and the people who inhabited it do not carry much weight by themselves, however when all the pieces come together many things can be inferred. Of the four men that originally inhabited the community, records tell us the most about Cato Howe. It is known that Quamany, Cato, Prince, and Plato were all slaves until they enlisted to fight in the revolutionary war and received their freedom afterwards. The town of Plymouth Massachusetts granted Cato the ninety-four acres of land, known as Parting Ways, where he lived with the other men and their families. Through the excavation and study of the land, evidence was found to support traditional African cultural practices along with the common American cultural practices of the time. For example, the architectural style of the home resembles the shotgun houses that are believed to have originated in Africa with a New England style front door. Although there is not strong enough evidence to consider much of what we have learned from the Parting Ways community as fact, it still offers us an interesting evaluation on early freed slaves. There are very few factual records of these people and the way in which they lived, therefore I believe that the evidence pieced together by Deetz is useful to us today.

    41. Parting Ways

      In “Homeownership Drop Is Bad News, but Not for the Reason You Think” by Dean Baker states the decline in homeownership is a positive thing. The need to own a house is not considered a priority for citizens anymore. Recently, citizens started to save their money instead of investing in a home purchase. But this is not true for all race. African Americans have the lowest rate of homeownership. The weak economy impacts African Americans the most. In “Parting Ways’, the four men had no source of income when leaving the military, but they did gain their freedom. Cato Howe is giving a small settlement where the men start their own community. None of the men receive their military pensions, so the men start to leave off the land. Cato’s estate listed him as a farmer. This evidence tells us the settlement of “Parting Ways’ is self-sufficient. Similar to African American communities, people in their neighborhood looks out for one another. If someone in the neighborhood needs help, another neighbor will offer to help. This is similar to the settlement of “Parting Ways.” Throughout history, the community aspect of neighborhoods is still a big part for African American communities. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/08/02/homeownership-at-50-year-low-so-what/homeownership-drop-is-bad-news-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think

    42. The ninety-four acres of land on which these four men lived were provisionally granted to Cato Howe in 1792, although there is no record of an outright grant of title to him.

      They didn't really own the land, it was granted to them by the town. I wonder if this was directly linked to a racial issue or if it only was the fact that they didn't own anything. They cleared and worked the land but the town granted them the land. After they passed away the town tried selling the land and failed, they also continue to own the land to this day.

    43. But Cato was different from most of his contemporaries both in the military and at home in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Cato Howe was black.

      This text stands out because it not put emphasis on the sentence "Cato Howe is Black." it draws focus to an issue on race and racial identity. This will then be further expanded upon through the use of racial cultures intertwining with the dominant Anglo-American culture and African culture mixing.

    44. Nothing is known of Cato Howe's early life, before his military service.

      This text pulls a lot of significance from the fact that people of darker skin tones were not even worth leaving a written account of until the played a role in America's independence from Great Britain.

    45. "Such person" was Cato Howe, and joined by three others -- Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamany -- they established a tiny community on the property.

      This community is the core of the entire article and its substance. It makes me wonder what would have happened if these 4 men didn't come together or they didn't choose to settle land or own property. If they never owned the property, they never would be able to show such a blend of two different cultures coming together from their home structure to their pottery remains we would only then have their military service to work from a cultural standpoint of what their society was.

    46. Real Estate: None. Personal Property: 1 cow, 1 pig, 5 chairs, 1 table, 2 kettles, 3 knives and forks, 3 plates, 2 bowls, ax, hoe. Total Value: 27 dollars.

      I actually looked up how much 27 dollars was worth in 2017. It's a little over 530 dollars, That is probably the poorest I can imagine some people to be living with, only that value worth of assets to continue your life off of.

    47. At the time of its occupation by at least four black families, it was called New Guinea, a fairly common term used over much of Anglo-America for separate black settlements.

      Why were the settlements called New Guinea? I went to image search on Google and typed in the New Guinea to see the inhabitants. The first picture to pop up portrayed the people as tribal. The three men in the picture have tribal paint on their faces and a more rugged look to them. Europeans often thought these people were savages by their appearance and actions. I think the Europeans were making a comparison between the New Guinea tribes and the new settlers. In their eyes, African Americans were still savages to them.

    48. Both sections of the footing showed extensive evidence of fire. Melted window glass, heavy charcoal and ash deposits, and large numbers of nails all attest to the house's having burned in place.

      This article relates directly to the CNN Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake article as it shows, that natural disasters be it either fire or earthquake destroy human culture and heritage over time. It erases some of the answers we would have had, had they remained there, it also portrays their significance as a chain between the modern day and a look into the past.

    49. although the strength of oral tradition has preserved more than we might hope. Piecing together black history on a local level is a fascinating and often frustrating process of assembling fragments to form a coherent whole. To gain a true understanding of the story of a people, it is best to detail a picture of their life within a community and then relate that to the larger world.

      Historical Treasures Lost, Damaged in Italian Quake CNN article conveys the story of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Italian towns and communities destroying many historical and cultural sites. It then continues to address the sadness and feeling of loss the communities experienced following the earthquake from the clean up to funds being raised for aid relief and restoration. Then they finally ask the people to come together for a day of solidarity for their community to mourn for their losses and to rebuild.

      This article addresses similar subjects of natural disasters destroying man made historical and cultural structures and buildings as well as addresses the importance and significance these building portrayed to the people and community. These building signify past generations and eras of time that leave a natural connection and chain to the past that newer generations will be able physically experience and relate to.

      James F Deetz exposes the racial, cultural, and economic differences experienced by freed African American slaves following the revolutionary war. He engages us in gathering every bit of detail and document he can gather about Cato Howe, Plato Turner, Prince Goodwin, Quamany and their families. he explains how they all had to survive on 96 acres on infertile land and had to survive off government pensions and aid. It was on this land where they spent the remainder of their days within the tiny community. Although their lives was modest the only documents we can obtain about them was their military and death records and a few references the city of Plymouth makes when addressing their land.

      Through the process of excavations and research we are able to determine so much more using the well preserved remains were dug up from the property. We learn of James Burr the Grandson of Plato Turner and last inhabitant of the land. Further investigations show how this small community interjected aspects of African culture and combined them with the more dominant Anglo-American culture of the time. These discoveries don't only give us a better understanding of their lives and community but also their cultural adaptations to a different society.

      “Parting Ways Cemetery.” Parting Ways Cemetery. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.

      "Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    50. Mud-wall-and-post construction is reminiscent of West African building methods, although it did occur in the Anglo-American tradition at an earlier time.

      This could be an exact example of a blending or convergence of cultures as human societies used similar techniques to survive and thrive. They both relied on crude but reliable means to further their civilizations.

    51. The shotgun house is acknowledged as a true African American architectural form. Not only does the Burr house plan conform to the ground plans of shotgun houses, the dimensions are remarkably similar. Beyond this, there are differences.

      This shotgun house is a clear reminder of the African culture they were able to preserve and allow us to see their significance in a Anglo American dominated society

    52. What degree of African cultural survival can be detected and described when dealing with the material remains of African Americans at an earlier time in the country's history?

      This Question addresses the entire paper and how the importance the material aspects and written documents allow us to peer back into the past and see the social and cultural aspects of a previous age. This relays on us to identify these links between past and present and what significance they portrayed.

    53. Parting Ways

      Parting Way is an article written by James Deetz about the settlement of Parting Way. Parting Way is a little settlement given to a former slave named Cato Howe. He settled the land with three other former slaves named Plato, Prince, and Quamany. During the Revolutionary War, all four men served as soldiers during the war. At the end of the war, the slaves were granted their freedom and became free men. The four men have little written history about them. Researchers were able to learn more about the men through discovered military records. To discover the rest of the information, researchers conducted excavations at the settlement. Artifacts discovered at the excavations helped them understand the lifestyles of these four men. For example, the root cellar discovered tells them the men were farmers. Pieces of pottery told them the men came from an African or West Indies background. James Deetz demonstrates the importance of archaeology in the world. Archaeologist discover the history of a location by studying the architecture, artifacts, and written records. Parting Ways. (1996). Retrieved February 03, 2017, from http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/parting.html

    54. In an article on the shotgun house, John Vlach compares these houses in the American South with those of Haiti, and both with West African house types.(1) The shotgun house is acknowledged as a true African American architectural form.

      A shotgun house is described as "a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than about 12 feet wide, with rooms arranged one behind the other and doors at each end of the house." The origins of the name "shotgun house" and the building style itself are debatable. A popular opinion comes from John Vlach himself. According to Vlach, "origin of the building style and the name itself may trace back to Haiti and Africa during the 18th century and earlier." However, others argue that the shotgun houses originated in creole sections of New Orleans later on. The shotgun house was the most popular style in the American South "from the end of the American Civil War (1861–65) through the 1920s." This is interesting, as they gained popularity many years after the people of Parting Ways perished. I believe this supports the idea that shotgun homes originated in Africa at an early date. The simplicity leading to ease of building a shotgun house coupled with high temperatures and a lack of home cooling technologies in the southern states likely led to the popularity of this style of home.

    55. Plymouth, Massachusetts.

      https://www.mhschool.com/ss/ca/esp/images/img_g5u3_quiz_map_colonies.jpg Plymouth Massachusetts is located beside cape cod bay. This region is known for its culture and history. It is also referred to as "America's Hometown" because it is home to the pilgrims who traveled on the Mayflower and colonized the area in 1620.

    56. This negative evidence, combined with the fact that the objects were broken in place, all points to both an intentional construction of the paved area and the placing and breaking of ceramic and glass objects on it in two discrete areas.

      Negative evidence is defined as "evidence for a theory provided by the nonoccurrence or absence of something." In this context, there was a failure to find architectural materials or any other remains suggesting the possibility of the paving being the remains of a building or some sort of trash disposal. Therefore it is possible for us to make the assumption that the paved area was intentionally created to serve a different purpose. As a result of the concentrated broken ceramic and glass objects, the author comes to the conclusion that their findings were related to understood grave decoration practices originating in the American South. It is very fascinating how archaeologists put together the small, individually worthless, pieces to create a plausible story as they have in this situation.

    57. The occupants of the site constructed their houses differently, disposed of their trash differently, arranged their community differently.

      I never really understood an object's ability to tell a story before reading this passage. After Deetz examined the homes of these men, he was able to spot differences in the way they lived their lives. This has inspired me to stop and examine my own surrounding more often.

    58. Our knowledge of Cato Howe and his fellow blacks of Plymouth comes from two sources: Fragmentary written records give us a partial picture, lacking in important details. A complementary body of information has been gained by excavating the site of the tiny community in which Cato Howe lived until his death, in 1824.

      The excavations at Parting Ways showed the reader the importance of oral history and artifacts. Cato, Plato, Prince, and Quamany had little written history about them. Cato’s estate record gave them a little more insight into their lives. Excavators searched the settlement to found artifacts to help them better understand their lives. Researchers discovered fragmented pieces of pottery at the scene. The found artifact helped the researchers understand the background of the four men. They learned the men came from Africa or the West Indies. Also, researchers discovered that Burr’s house burned down creating the depressions in the ground. They came to the conclusion by looking at the charcoal and ash deposits. Plus, two informants came forward with information about his house. The first person confirmed their suspicion that indeed Burr’s house burned down in 1908. But the second person remembered the house being moved to Plymouth. Conflicting views happen when oral history is repeated. People tend to remember events differently. Oral history gives researches a variety of information and straight from the source information. Through the oral records, they confirmed their theory that Burr’s house burned down.

    59. Nothing is known of Cato Howe's early life, before his military service.

      The lack of historical documentation for this community is partially due to the time era in which they lived. During this time, Americans could record their lives through methods such as journaling while the slave population weren't even allowed to learn how to write. Also, since slaves were considered property, they most often didn't have birth certificates or other documentation of that nature. In more modern times, however, history is more often documented and more easily preserved. This is another reason why the earthquake survivors in Italy will be able to repair their culture effortlessly.

    60. although the strength of oral tradition has preserved more than we might hope.

      Oral tradition is also a part of traditional African culture, further emphasizing the importance of African culture in early African American history. (Orators pass down information/stories from generation to generation.) Another culture that has successfully used oral history as a viable method of historical preservation are the Native American civilizations. Furthermore, the oral tradition also assess the artifact’s influence on the individual and their everyday life. It also allows the historian to access a more subjective, personal perspective from the time period, instead of an objective view residing in most educational textbooks.

    61. People who held such a status could hardly be expected to have recorded a history of their own in any conventional way

      To me, this is an unfortunate example of how lesser known, but equally important, cultures can get lost in the mainstream of history. By this I mean that in educational classes we are taught about the same material over and over again that is deemed important. These events are important for the students to learn about, but it is also crucial that they are exposed to cultures outside of their "bubble". In order to make history seem more relatable and individualized we have to incorporate more stories like that of the Parting Ways community. However, unfortunately these historical sites are likely to be damaged or lost. But, by using the methods found in this document we can analyze and preserve lesser known cultures.

    62. complementary body of information

      Written records are essential to the history of mankind, and as previously stated can also be useful in filling in the holes left by personal verbal accounts. After reading this quote I brainstormed some written resources that could be useful to the historian analyzing a lost or damaged historical site. Here is the list I created: schematics, photographs with descriptions, observations, educational articles, and other public documents.

      Additionally, some questions that written records could address or help to address include the following: Who used these structures? Was the structure made to simply fulfill a basic human need of shelter or did it have a deeper purpose? Was the structure for private use or public use? How was the structure incorporated into the greater cultural environment?

    63. Our knowledge of Cato Howe and his fellow blacks of Plymouth comes from two sources: Fragmentary written records give us a partial picture, lacking in important details. A complementary body of information has been gained by excavating the site of the tiny community in which Cato Howe lived until his death, in 1824. The site of this community is known today as Parting Ways, named for a fork in the road leading from Plymouth to Plympton in one direction and Carver in the other.

      Similar to how Cato's house held an immense amount of information and history about Cato, so did the numerous sites in Italy that were destroyed by the earthquake that struck the country last August.

    64. Each constituent element of the archaeological record from Parting Ways, taken alone, is not totally convincing, although powerfully suggestive.

      As James Deetz stated in "Parting Ways", each piece of information found provided plenty of information about the history of these pieces. However, with hundreds of cultural and historical sites destroyed from the earthquake in Italy, the history and story line of many of these sites were also destroyed. The architecture and artifacts of these particular sites provide us with an astonishing amount of information, such as the time period they originated from, what these sites were primarily used for, the culture behind them, along with the culture of the people and the different types of people that resided in those areas.

    65. The open cellar hole had all of the appearances of having had a house standing over it in the not too distant past.

      One of the more obvious ways of preserving damaged structures is to use ruins to reconstruct and document the original condition of the building or artifact. Furthermore, the structural ruins can provided additional information, such as the materials used to build the structure, how they were assembled, and the relative time period. This method is essential to our knowledge of historical sites, because every structure will eventually deteriorate no matter whether it is due to a natural disaster or just the passage of time.

    66. Such a seeming conflict is not at all uncommon when dealing with informants, and the discrepancy is mentioned to illustrate - 197 - that complete agreement among all sources is rare indeed.

      This is a great example of the author establishing ethos, or his credibility. More specifically, Deetz is depicting to the reader that he cares about finding accurate sources to convey the correct information.

      Also when using oral history as a method to preserve lost or damaged historical sites it is important to keep this thought in mind. Further, the difference in the stories (due in part to personal perspectives) creates the need for more objective evidence to sort out what is accurate and what is less than accurate. One method of fulfilling this need would be written records. For example, a historian hears two stories: one that the house burned down in a fire and one that recalled the house being demolished by the owner. Which one should the historian believe? Using public records the historian can decipher which story is closer to the truth.

    67. After two seasons of excavation, a whole new set of facts about Parting Ways had been obtained, facts that in many ways place a somewhat different perspective on the simple lives of Cato Howe, Plato Turner, Prince Goodwin, and Quamany.

      Were these the only people who lived here? Was it really all that small? Why wasn't their enough information about these men that are important to history based off of their achievments? Is something being hidden?

    68. Test excavations in the shallow depression nearby produced a sample of pottery all dating to the main period of occupation of the site, from circa 1790 through circa 1840.

      With much focus on the external structures, it is also important to consider the artifacts located within the sites. One such artifact that is common at most historical locations is pottery. More specifically pottery can be extremely helpful for determining the time period as well as revealing other historical information. For example, what material was the ceramic made out of? Was there anything painted on the surface or symbols carved out of the piece? What do they represent or mean? Other than pottery the historical artifacts could be paintings, books, ceremonial pieces, and garments.

    69. In addition to the article focused on the historical devastation after the earthquake in Italy, I also felt that the Time's article showed the importance of historical preservation, because it helps us to understand our current situation and how we got to this point. Namely, how the historical lives of African Americans contributed to the social inequality present in modern American society.

      The article begins with a discussion of how activists are participating in the political area in order to create change. For example, Black Lives Matter members arranged a meeting with the 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as well as questioned her at an Atlanta campaign stop concerning legislation to further their cause. As the article proceeds, the reader finds that the protesters actions had a significant impact on Secretary Clinton when she add stances such as promoting the use of body cameras on police officers, "[denouncing] mass incarceration", and "[refusing] donations from private-prison lobbyists". Further, the activists work continued to sweep the nation using various methods to address not only police brutality, but also other social issues "from gender inequality to the minimum wage to housing and education policy".

      From there, the article then discusses the "accidental" roots of the movement. More specifically, Alicia Garza tweeted “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Her friend, Patrisse Cullors, later created the hashtag that would transcend the nation. Since the creation, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum through both physical demonstrations and social media resulting in "nearly 30 official chapters, including an outpost in Canada". One of the most active sites of the movement is college campuses. For example, football players at the University of Missouri boycotted the team after the system president "[failed] to address allegations of racism on campus". He was removed shortly there after.

      Although the effects of the Black Lives Movement is contested amongst various groups, there is no question that the movement has made a significant impact on American culture. In order to move forward we must first recognize where we are and how we got there. As I previously mentioned to do this we have to understand where we went wrong and how we can improve. This relates to "Parting Ways', because methods used in the reading can restore and preserve lost information about the condition of African Americans in the past. Additionally, the movement promotes the idea that black lives matter both in the past, present, and future. "Parting Ways" is an example of how historians can preserve the history of all people, no matter their race.

      Altman, Alex. "Black Lives Matter."Time, 2016. Retrieved from http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-runner-up-black-lives-matter/. Accessed 3 February 2017.

    70. If we were to rely only on the documentary sources for our knowledge of the life of the four men who lived at Parting Ways, we would have little on which to proceed.

      The majority of the information and facts that people acquire are found within certain pieces of architecture and artifacts. Deciphering which time period, the region of the world, and the culture that these items are from, provide an extensive amount of knowledge. This knowledge can then be carried on and used to hypothesize a background story.

    71. The misleading factor in this case is that the materials with which they were forced to work were the same, for the most part, as those available to the dominant culture which surrounded them

      What materials were actually being used? Why were there not enough to prove these facts? Who were the people that found out these results?

    72. An Archaeology of Early American Life

      The supplemental reading about the earthquake in Italy relates to James Deetz's "Parting Ways" in many different aspects. The main way these two articles relate is that both articles are about historical sites. "Parting Ways" I more so about how architecture can be used to tell a multitude of different stories, and the supplemental reading article titled "Historical Treasures Lost, Damaged in Italian Quake" is mainly about the many historic sites that were destroyed during the earthquake which occurred in Italy last August.

      Over 293 historical and cultural sites were damaged, including an ancient Roman Catholic cathedral, the San Giuliano cathedral, and the historic medieval walls of Norcia, on top of the fifty other sites that were completely destroyed. The people of Italy were reportedly left devastated and feeling empty, as though part of their heritage has been demolished along with these sites.

      "Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    73. What degree of African cultural survival can be detected and described when dealing with the material remains of African Americans at an earlier time in the country's history?

      This is a good question to pose since their was little to no facts or information about about Cato, Prince,Plato, and Quamany. This could help them pose more information about African Americans background and earlier history. I believe you would need a high degree of cultural survival and African American history.

    74. terminus post quem

      "terminus post quem"-" For example, if an archeological site contains coins dated 1588, 1595, and others dated 1590 - 1625, the terminus post quem would be the coin dated 1625, i.e., the latest date obtained from the evidence" https://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/TPQ.pdf

    75. The site had never been disturbed by cultivation or other earth removal since it was lived on. As a result, both the focus and the visibility of the features were excellent.

      This is a great thing , especially to learn more of how Howe, Quamany, and Plato had lived throughout their life. Its an excellent historical site to preserve . It would be hard to explain the life of those that lived their because of the lack of information on their lives but would be beneficial to express the lack of care and support for African Americans, compared to everyone else.

    76. Three years later, he died, and his estate was probated.

      pro·bate ˈprōˌbāt/ noun 1. the official proving of a will. "the will was in probate" verb NORTH AMERICAN 1. establish the validity of (a will).

    77. HERE LIE THE GRAVES OF FOUR NEGRO SLAVES

      Why is it there a sign of this if the four of them were so called supposed to be free men? Why at the end does it state that they were freed, but yet still have the title of "HERE LIE THE GRAVES OF FOUR NEGRO SLAVES"?

    78. We might guess that not only was the pottery given to the people of Parting Ways by the townspeople of Plymouth, but it was given by the wealthier ones

      This answers my question earlier of if Cato, Plato, Prince, and Quamany were the only ones to live in Parting Ways.

    79. If we were to rely only on the documentary sources for our knowledge of the life of the four men who lived at Parting Ways, we would have little on which to proceed.

      I believe this fact is something that happened very often for African american, slaves and even those that earned their freedom.

    80. In our world today, other lessons gained from thinking about artifacts might be applicable.

      The historical preservation method used in “Parting Ways” could also be applied to the artifact loss in Italy. On August 24, 2016, “a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy” taking the lives of at least 247 people (Sanchez). Along with the loss of life, the earthquake devastated “at least 293 cultural heritage assets” located within the earthquake zone, a huge loss for the Italian people and the history of mankind (Orjoux). As one might expect, the most significant damage was done to central Italy’s historic structures: Catterale di Urbino, Monastero Santa Chiara, San Guilano cathedral, Basilica Di San Franceso, Chiesa di Agostino, Benedictine of Monks of Norcia, and Amatrice’s “historic medieval walls (Orjoux).

      Due to the amount of devastation that occurred, Italy has lost significant, tangible pieces of its history, but using alternative methods, like those explained in “Parting Ways”, historians can use generalizations found in surviving artifacts to apply to the analysis of the ruins. By doing so central Italy’s individual history may be preserved instead of forgotten and incorporated into the mainstream.

      Orjoux, Alanne. “Historical Treasures Lost, Damaged in Italian Quake.” CNN, 25 August 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/europe/italy-earthquake-historic-sites-damaged/. Accessed 26 January 2017.

      Sanchez, Ray. “At Least 247 Killed in Earthquake in Central Italy.” CNN, 25 August 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/23/europe/italy-earthquake/. Accessed 26 January 2017.

    81. Chests $2.12 1/2

      In Cato’s estate inventory, the use of American and British money is used. Colonial America experienced a money shortage, because England permitted the colonies to exporting raw materials to England. This situation created a money shortage in Colonial America. The colonial government printed their own money and allowed colonists to use different foreign currencies along with it. Colonists often used the British currency of pounds, shillings, and pence for transactions. Colonial America shortage of money and lack of banks, explains the mixture of currency used in Cato’s inventory. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-colonial/1646

    82. I remember driving from my middle school which is in Boston , 30-45 minutes from Plymouth, and going to see people reenact how people use to live. However , they had never mentioned or brought up the fact that slaves had lived in that area as well or Cato Howe's life or history. Even of his patriotism in the military.

    83. After two seasons of excavation, a whole new set of facts about Parting Ways had been obtained, facts that in many ways place a somewhat different perspective on the simple lives of Cato Howe, Plato Turner, Prince Goodwin, and Quamany.

      Here is where I began to notice that "Parting Ways" was not just about Cato Howe's existence at this site but also the lives of Plato Turner, Prince Goodwin, and Quamany. Here is where I also saw that Deetz (the author) was beginning to make a connection of their community.

    84. pension

      To my prior knowledge, this is some form of payment from the government that you can receive during retirement from past employment experience.

    85. Cato Howe was black

      After reading this , the author creates the idea that because of this fact things are going to be dealt with and create difficulties through Cato Howe's life and anyone associated with him.

    86. Parting Ways

      The definition of parting ways is when two people separate from each other. Cato Howe is an example. He separated himself from his former life to his new life. Cato shredded his former slave identity for a new identity. He gained a new identity through his hard work and military. He earned the right to be a free man. After Cato’s emancipation, his hard work did not end. He did not receive immediate military benefits after his service. He worked hard to accumulate wealth and establish a name for himself. Cato’s life ended for the better. He earned an estate valuing twenty-seven dollars. The decision to separate himself earned him a new successful life.

    87. Battle of Bunker Hill

      According to my prior knowledge, this was the battle that was one of the very first battles that lead up to the Revolutionary War. In this war the British defeated the Americans, which lead Americans to become a lot more confident and patriotic to override the British army.

    88. To gain a true understanding of the story of a people, it is best to detail a picture of their life within a community and then relate that to the larger world.

      This shows that the author is trying to begin making the connection of showing how it was like being African American and contributing to the the United States Army, while African Americans were still not given equal opportunities as other Americans. Basically, the author is enforcing a better understanding of what Cato Howe's life was like being an African American and serving the United States Army.

    89. Parting Ways

      This is where the title of this article came from. In other words, the title "Parting Ways" comes from Howe's site of community of which he lived until his death.

    90. terminus post quem

      The term "terminus post quem," Latin for "limit after which," can be defined as the earliest date that something could have been in existence. Through out the excavation process Deetz attempts to pinpoint the "terminus post quem" for many objects found on the site in order to draft a timeline or a storyline for the Parting Ways residents.

      Definition source: https://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/TPQ.pdf

    91. James F. Deetz

      [http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/JDeetzmem3.html ]

      This is a link to a summary of James Deetz's work and a list of his other publications. This helped me to understand the motivation behind his work as well as the importance of it. He was mostly concerned with how cultures changed over time and how physical artifacts translated into beliefs or principles.

    92. Parting Ways

      Summary: Like a puzzle, Deetz's "Parting Ways" conveys how the author attempts to synthesize fragments of archaeological and oral history to form a coherent portrayal of the identities of four former slaves. Through archaeological research, Deetz sifts through evidence to unveil general information about these men. Although the evidence he compiles is enough to give us basic knowledge about the men, it is extremely difficult to thresh out more personal information due to the lack of documentation because of their socioeconomic statuses.

    93. Parting Ways
       In the article "Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake" Alanne Orjoux reveals the destruction inflicted upon central Italy by a massive earthquake. She includes photographs and personal accounts in order to further illustrate the devastation felt by the citizens and wreckage created from historical and cultural sites. For a country that pride's itself on its astounding architecture, a natural disaster such as this is catastrophic to the culture. 
       Similar to the destruction caused by the earthquake, the culture of the African Americans featured in "Parting  Ways" was also destroyed when they were ripped away from their homes and families to become enslaved. After their emancipation, they attempted to reconstruct what they had lost on the land that was given to them. However, their habits and ethnology had since become muddled with some newly adapted "American ways."
      

      "Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    94. Had they not also been in the Army, we would know less still.

      Deetz reveals that he already has very little information on the men of Parting Ways. Then he goes on to say that if they weren't in the Army, he would know even less. It is very shocking to see how much of their history is created simply from inferences and guesses. This leads me to question how much of the history we learn in school was documented in a similar fashion and the validity of such history.

    95. When excavations were completed on the Burr cellar and in the depressed area nearby, a clear and intriguing set of architectural features had been revealed

      Since the community affected by the earthquake in Italy most likely has older members to pass on accounts and first hand stories regarding the culture and history of the area, I would say that they are at an advantage compared to the men of the Parting Ways community. Since it was common for slaves to be separated from their families with no method of contact, their culture was much harder to keep in tact.

    96. Since the artifactual and architectural remains of these communities are a better index of the life of African Americans in their own terms, they hold great promise of supplementing American black history in a different and important way.

      Through out this entire reading I couldn't help but to question the morality of these excavations. I am skeptical on whether or not disturbing someone else's property simply for a guess as to how they might have lived or a slight peek into their culture yields enough information or payoff.

    97. Broken on the cellar floor were two large earthenware jars unlike any before encountered on a New England historical site.

      Although I questioned the validity of the history that comes from these excavations, Deetz's prior research appears to be extremely thorough. By looking a pieces of a jar, he could not only describe its origin, but he also knew its uses and could therefore explain its presence in the house.

    98. The two concentrations differed from each other. The more northerly one consisted of two sugar jars, a stoneware jug, miscellaneous pressed glass objects, - 207 - and a variety of bottles. One of the sugar jars had a hole broken through the base.

      What exactly were these people looking for? Pieces of shared cultural? Relevance to Anglo-Saxon or African American history? These artifacts, although important, don't seem to reveal much about Parting Ways as a whole.

    99. A discovery made in 1978 not only calls into question the identity of the occupants of the graves, but adds yet one more dimension to the nature of the cultural heritage of the - 206 - Parting Ways residents, in this case a somewhat enigmatic but dramatic one.

      This grave stone is not one to honor these four men who fought for the country. But, despite the boring headstone, slaves didn't usually get any sort of recognition after death. Because they were property and their lives weren't seen as lesser, this headstone might have been very honoring for it's time. It tells of their duties and their land.

    100. Parting Ways is a very special site, in that it was occupied by at least three families of African Americans who were free of those constraints which might have been imposed on them under the institution of slavery.

      Parting Ways seems to serve as a trophy for these 4 men. Although slavery was still very much intact, they were able to make a life for themselves. After the war they were granted the land, were married, and farmed. They more than likely lived a life in poverty, but were able to escape freedom over all.

    101. Although the town clerk's map explicitly designates discrete portions of the ninety-four acres as having been cleared by each of the four men, they still placed their houses close to one another.

      This is something you continuously see throughout history, even though there is plenty of space for the 4 men to live very spaced out, they still choose to place their houses near each other. This might have been for social purposes. Maybe the men were all close personally.

    102. The enlarged house is the one seen in the photograph.

      All though it seemed as though he added a lot to the house, this picture doesn't seem much larger the the drawing previously shown in the story. But because the house was no longer standing, how were they able to tell building infrastructures from two separate times?

    103. If we were to rely only on the documentary sources for our knowledge of the life of the four men who lived at Parting Ways, we would have little on which to proceed.

      At the point in this document I am wondering why this piece of property and these 4 men were so intriguing to the team investigating them. In the beginning of the story Howe and the other 3 men that resided on this property seemed like ordinary men who didn't have much of a history behind their lives.

    104. The ninety-four acres of land on which these four men lived were provisionally granted to Cato Howe in 1792, although there is no record of an outright grant of title to him

      94 acres is quite a bit of land to be granted. These 4 men were given this large piece of land by the government but there was no actual record of it, this seems strange to me. How can such a piece of land go unrecognized? Was it because they were colored men?

    105. but since he was but one of a large army, he shares his anonymity with all the other foot soldiers who have served their country's cause in countless battles from Lexington to Danang. Like them, he returned home after his release from the Army and lived out his life in a modest way

      This statement is very raw. It is very important for Americans to fail to realize just how many soldiers are protecting us. It's not just the fallen or the major names we need to recognize, but every man involved in the Army. Although Howe might have entered the Army to escape his previous life as a slave, it was still a courageous act from him, as well as every other man involved in the battle.

    106. Total Value: 27 dollars.

      Although the dollar had a completely different value in the 1800's, this amount of money shocks me. A cow is worth over $1,000 nowadays and you can't even find a chair for under $20, let alone 5. It is very interesting to see just how different life was just through the value of the dollar.

    107. For my supplemental reading, I chose Historical treasures lost, damaged in Italian quake" on CNN.com. This article speaks of the damages done by the measured 6.2 earthquake in Italy that left many historical buildings damaged. Among those were hundreds of years old cathedrals, basilicas, and churches. This devastating earthquake damaged "293 cultural heritage assets" and 50 of them were completely destroyed.

    108. What degree of African cultural survival can be detected and described when dealing with the material remains of African Americans at an earlier time in the country's history? It would be the height of ethnocentric arrogance to assume that people recently a part of a very different culture would, upon coming to America, immediately adopt an Anglo-American set of values, of ways of doing things, and of organizing their existence.

      The fact remains that cultures don't disappear and are only sometimes completely absorbed by other ones, even in our modern day times we as a society impose certain aspects of regular American life onto everyone. It's not fair to just assume that people will fall in line with the standards our culture holds itself to. Perhaps it's because African Americans have been imposed upon by our society longer than any other culture, that when terrible things happen like a weakened economy it is they "who are again being hardest hit". We drag them down with us only for them feel our losses the worst, and we expect them to be okay because they've already been struggling for so long. ("Homeownership Drop is Bad News, but Not for the Reason You Think", last paragraph)

    109. Again we see a strong parallel with Language

      The comparison between language and the jars is very helpful to the reader, because they are concrete examples of how people can incorporate their cultural identity into the common culture of their surroundings. This, in turn, helps the reader to understand the overall message of the piece. More specifically, that lesser-known cultures are not always as clear cut as they seem, but using the historical methods prevalent in the text, we can get a more accurate historical picture.

    110. This second cellar was filled with refuse and stone

      The second cellar find contained refuse and stone. Refuse is another term for garbage or waste. I think the waste in the cellar used to be stored food. It’s a common practice after harvesting season to place vegetables in there. Cellars keep food at a lower temperature and the humidity inside low. It prevents the food from freezing in the winter. During the summer months, it keeps food cool preventing it from spoilage.

    111. Cato was a common slave name

      I researched the meaning of the name Cato. When translated from Latin to English, the meaning of Cato came up as intelligent. In 1830, the South viewed slavery as a necessary evil. Cotton became an important cash crop for the South, so thus slavery became necessary. Slave owners defended their actions too by saying slaves were happy and content with their condition. Did slavery owners select this name for their slaves to strengthen their view on slavery? http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/lesson_30_notes.htm

    112. James F. Deetz

      James Deetz was a famous archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for building the field of historic archaeology. His career began at the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. In 1979 Deetz became the director of the museum. The museum became the foundation for Deetz’s innovative explorations of early American life. Deetz became famous for his original interpretations of Pilgrim life in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Through his imaginative reconstructions of Puritan life, he contrasted the image of Puritan life. He studied their social life based on their tableware and other small things. He revolutionized the image of Puritans from dark, sober, and religious settlers to lusty Elizabethans who wore bright clothing and got into trouble.

    113. In that year, on March 12, the town of Plymouth "voted and granted a strip of land about twenty rods wide and about a mile and a half long on the easterly side of the sheep pasture, to such persons as will clear the same in the term of three years." "Such person" was Cato Howe, and joined by three others -- Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamany -- they established a tiny community on the property.

      It's rather interesting how so long ago, when you could argue that racism was probably at its highest, a town of people voted to give a whole plot of land to a group of former slaves for them to basically do whatever they want with it. This stands in stark contrast to the lack of homeownership explained in the article. Even though I'm sure not many former slaves actually owned homes, this story shows that when they did it was rather easy for them to make their homes and keep them up with little to no outside interference or people trying to take advantage of them or their money.

    114.  "Homeownership Drop is Bad News, but Not for the Reason You Think", an article written by Dean Baker and posted on The New York Times website, offers some easily overlooked but influential insight into the modern issues with homeownership.  As it states, less and less people are owning homes nowadays with more choosing to either rent or, in the case of younger generations, staying with their parents. Homeownership is the lowest it's been in 50 years and the market is not really doing its best to promote growth. Anyone trying to actually buy a home must deal with the few people who are making money in the industry causing skyrocketing prices and barely sustainable financial turnovers for their home sales to make money towards their new home. Worst of all is the fact that a vast majority of people who purchase homes end up stuck financially when they have to move or get out of a house that's in a bad situation. 
       Where the article (in accordance with its title) turns is when it presents you with the facts that are hardest to swallow. The fact is the number one reason that people aren't owning less homes is because they have less money. Whether it's been this way or we are just simply now realizing it, in recent years people with low incomes are finding it near impossible to own their own homes. Now, speaking as a white man, making the connection between people with low incomes and the African American community is not one I try to highlight without the utmost sensitivity but that's precisely what the punch of the article contains. Unfortunately the African American community is suffering more than most in the aftermath of the housing crisis where the rate in homeownership has dropped the most, leaving most within the community unable to even make the choice between renting and owning.     
      
    115. Such parts were of little value to Anglo-Americans, although they could be cooked to yield nourishment.

      This is still done today all throughout the Caribbean. Being of jamaican heritage, I have never had cow foot simply because it is not my cup of tea but my grandmother says it is good for my bones or healthy in some way. This makes me wonder if any of Cato or the others ancestors were from the Caribbean as the triangular trade did run through there for a good while.

    116. But the two share not lexicon but grammar, which in both instances is West African.

      How?! I find that hard to believe due to the fact that both of those countries were colonized by different countries with completely different languages. I have heard both of these languages while i was up in New York. They do not sound similar or look similar when written down.

    117. This piece of oral history established the cellar as that of James Burr.

      The fact that they stumbled into this piece of history is cool. The person could have kept quiet and leave these researchers in the dark about who was on the property at the time. They could have passed away a day too soon. If it was not for this informant, a good chunk of this article is gone with the wind. One can never be too lucky.

    118. Plato Turner was James Burr's grandfather.

      How come he was still a slave? His grandfather gained freedom so his lineage after him should gain those same rights from birth. He was not born a slave after all. How did he become a slave again?

    119. He apparently returned to the Thomas household, since he stayed on as a servant to the judge's widow

      It is possible that he was one of the few slaves that were treated relatively alright in comparison to what we know was the norm back in the day. I can understand if that was his reason for deserting. However, serving in the military is a daunting task and maybe it proved to be too much and risking his life for freedom was not worth the trade off of what he had going for him as a slave.

    120. The information summarized above is all we know.

      I find it interesting that the city did the excavation for this small site. I guess they were left asking more questions about how Cato,Quamany, Prince, and Plato lived there lives. Curiosity is always a good motivator to digging up history. Maybe there is more left to be found at the site.

    121. Real Estate: None.

      Buying real estate was never easy being a minority. I would think that today everybody has the same success at buying a house. However according to the NY Times, minorities are still hit the hardest during a weak economy. Can equal opportunity housing ever be reached? What else can we possibly change?

    122. Parting Ways

      Summary: Parting ways is a piece of literature that speaks about how four African american men setup their community following gained freedom from serving in the revolutionary war. There is very little written history about the four individuals due to their lack of social status at the time. In order to make up for this lack of written history, Deetz combines what little oral history he had with archaeology to form a respectable understanding of how these men lived there lives after gaining their independence. Deetz then compares his findings to today's architecture to show how these men had an impact on african american history. (Deetz, 1996, p. 187)

    123. While the state saw to it that these people were free, it did little or nothing to provide for their new needs, and subsistence, employment, and housing were difficult to come by.

      This quotes reminds me little of the action of states' rights. The states often find loop holes so they do not have to do something all the way. An example would be during the time that colored people were allowed to vote they decided to make them take literacy tests in order to stop them from voting. Also I learned in the article "States’ Rights & The Civil War" one of the causes of the Civil War was states' right clashing with the political power of the federal government. It is really interesting to see how this is similar to states rights as not giving these people their needs even though they are seen as free. It is sort of like an early echo of the civil rights era. States' Rights & The Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017

    1. does it represent a contin nation of older ideas or the introduction of new ones? Is it unique, or are there others like it in the community?

      Becoming familiar with the world of buildings, you have to have guidance. Looking back and seeing if there were other similar buildings like it can provide what the community was like. For instance, MARTA has "six transit-oriented developments near MARTA train stations". Shamma, Tasnim. "MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project." WABE 90.1 FM. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

    2. if you have systematically built up a reliable body of data, and if you have applied proper theories of analysis, t

      Deciding what a building is all about cannot include your own intrinsic truth which means you can not solely base your thoughts on what may be the reason for the building. Building up sources and data will make it more accurate and concise. It will also make more sense to others and become more believable.

    3. but we still have not studied the materiality of the building— its fabric, plan, and stylistic features— for what that may say about human behavior.

      I think the material of an older object should not be an objective of human behavior. Just because this piece of fabric or material was used, it may have been the only material available to them at that moment so it was used. Around the MARTA a Arts projects was in the process of being built but got delayed because of lack of funds. Shamma, Tasnim. "MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project." WABE 90.1 FM. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

    4. Written documents such as books, journals, and court records are used when and where they are available to augment the architectural record.

      Since there are records of old spaces, I wonder what the architectural record would be for the grounds of the MARTA?

    5. Building separate, detached houses that are spaced far apart in the countryside or separated by just a few feet in urban neighborhoods (fig. 1) would be another way this spirit of indi­viduation is advanced through architectur

      The idea of building houses far apart brings me to concluding that the reason for this is to provide more space for the people. Eric Konberg envisioned building a traffic circle in order to "to ease expected congestion in the area." Since there is new apartments and the MARTA station, they figured something else needs to be put into place to provide more space as well. to ease expected congestion in the area.

    6. 1 We need to remember that the everyday objects we see all around us are indicators of our cultural values. The material world we construct around us is the world that the study of material culture reveals.

      Here the text is reminding us of how the objects around us will most likely have a meaning behind it. In the supplemental text, it is mentioned how Eric Konberg has been working with others to redevelop the neighborhood. New apartment complexes now accompanies around the MARTA station which will bring in more riders of course.

    7. people need things— objects, artifacts, however they are referred to— to live in the world, and we make those things, not randomly or by chance, but systematically and intentionally through our culture.

      In my supplemental text, there is similar concepts of logic in architecture. The MARTA's general manager Keith Parker feels that as gas prices increase, more people will turn to "transit ridership". You can compare the two ideas because it both shows the reason why certain objects are made are because "people need things" to live in this world. Shamma, Tasnim. "MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project." WABE 90.1 FM. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

    8. Invitation to Vernacular Architecture was written as a guide to the study of older ordinary buildings and landscapes.The authors, Thomas Carter and Elizabeth Cromley digs deeper into the history by providing analysis of the architecture of buildings using information collected over the course of many years. This study, known as vernacular architecture, is apart of material culture studies. Material culture studies is basically the study of physical environments in which the researchers find the purpose of that specific building according to "culturally dictated plans". This text indicates that artifacts, specifically older buildings, were built for a reason. Culture is tied into these ordinary buildings as well as human behavior which makes it worth while interpreting the meaning behind such objects.<br> Lanier, Gabrielle M. "Invitation to Vernacular Architecture: A Guide to the Study of Ordinary Buildings and Landscapes." Historical Archaeology 41.2 (2007): 165-66. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

    9. and processed finish. Decoration and color are also important cultural indicators. One group’s taste might lean toward the embellished baroque style, for instance, while the aesthetic philoso­phy of another could be driven by asceticism and restraint. A building’s appearance is never left to chance, but rather is based on a system of culturally determined ideas of what is considered suitable or beautiful to behold (fig

      In this sense architecture is easily comparable to the cultural history that art and painting styles have created a story for us. Both change in traceable trends which reflect the culture and people creating them. Art history may focus on an even more abstract concept than vernacular architecture does by analyzing the highs and lows of an era based upon what their art depicted.

    10. rt of what attracts us to old buildings is their insistence on communicating, in some outmoded dialect we do not entirely understand, the energy and purpose, the achievements and hopes, the disap­pointments and hardships of those who made and used them.”1" I

      Buildings and structures have an incredible longevity about them, that in an academic perspective, allows researchers to avoid possible biases and second hand records left by authors or records of the path. Buildings are the most honest of story tellers.

    11. the Rule of Least and Best; they achieve a necessary efficiency in their work by gathering the least amount of best information needed to solve their problem."

      Quality over quantity is more important when drawing from and citing sources.The best solution to a problem is often the simplest one in similar philosophical terms

    12. ernacular architecture research is not going to replac e other kinds of humanistic inquiry. In the right situations, however, it can con­tribute greatly in addressing many kinds of questions concerning human behavior. Car

      This is applicable in a sense to science as a whole. No one different subject holds more significant weight over another in the end because they all must interact to expand their own personal fields. Intellect breeds and thrives from similar intellect

    13. ou might ask if the house type was new to the city-"— that is, does it represent a contin nation of older ideas or the introduction of new ones? Is

      Building types indicate trends within society. Changing ideals are reflected within what we build; minimalism for example is a rising trend both artistically and architecturally currently.

    14. here are no intrin­sic truths but only your own story of what happened. Ho

      Due to vernacular architectures lack of being a "library" science, it is largely based on an observer utilizing their deduction skills to piece together a much larger picture of how a building fit in and told it's own story. The only truth is the one you establish about it

    15. rom these sources we can begin to say something about the history of the house and its occupants.But what do we learn from the house itself? What does it tell us? “V

      Vernacular Architecture focuses on a much more abstract and larger question than the typical elements that seem to make it up. The studied buildings are meant to speak for themselves rather than be given relevance based upon other events, people, or things attributed to them.

    16. e study of material culture is grounded in the physical and material presence of objects -in

      What is the difference in physical and material presences? Physical existence is an obvious concept, but material existence may refer in this case to the value and relevance we assign to objects we surround ourselves with.

    17. IntroductionThis

      In the article, MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project, written by Tasnim Shamma, plans regarding new housing near MARTA stations are discussed. Many believe that if more housing, with no available parking, is built closer to MARTA stations, more people will have to ride MARTA. Due to a decrease in MARTA riders, MARTA is losing money and they found this new housing method as a way to regain their numbers. Introduction introduces the idea that culture is shown through the architecture of buildings. Furthermore, the appearance of buildings rather than location is more important, in this reading. These articles almost match in purpose; however, they have different reasonings. Shamma, Tasnim. "MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project." WABE 90.1 FM. N.p., 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    18. Sometimes, in studying contemporary buildings, you may find the people who made or used the buildings speaking about bow they were used or what they meant. In some cases you may even watch and observe how people behave in various archi­tectural environments.

      I have family all over the United States and some live on farms, some ranches, others in apartments in rural communities, and some live in houses in the city. However, no matter where I visit my family and despite my family being so similar, the homes and spaces are used in different manners based upon the architecture and the different environments. We could do the same thing at each home but some how the way we move in the different environments would vary drastically.

    19. And depend­ing too on how you feel about such things, the house may seem an attractive or an unattractive creation, a pleasant or a distasteful place in which to live.

      While I haven't heard to much about the new development from my peers perspectives. I feel as if someone, if they haven't already, will critique the new development simply based off of their preferences. This in-fact reminds me that just like most things in life the value and appreciation of architecture is also objective and based off of personal preferences.

    20. Learning to read architecture— an ability that centers on a kind of visual and spa­tially oriented analysis— is not easy

      This can be partly true, but I do know that in art history artworks can usually be categorized by their style. This style can be used to determine the era in which the artwork came from. I can probably understand that it would be difficult to categorize an architecture based on its design with many buildings and spaces referencing designs from past eras, but if a structure does reference designs and aspects from historic architecture wouldn't that be helpful to understanding how the space effects its community.

    21. but systematically and intentionally through our culture. Culture is unseen and immaterial, consistin

      The article about the new MARTA development backs up this readings claim about these things we experience being intentional.If you read between the lines of the article about the new development, you quickly see that the development didn't just happen over night, rather it had been in the making for years and in discussion.

    22. At this point, studying buildings is starting to sound like a lot of trouble

      I find this sentence very funny. Mostly because they say "studying buildings is starting to sound like a lot of trouble'. It is very funny because this sewer problem dekalb is having has a lot to do with actually constructing the buildings. So when they say studying buildings is a lot of trouble then they have another thing coming when they see how much trouble it is when you actually have to build one and make sure the sewer system has enough capacity for your building. I just find it a bit ironic.

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    23. Learning to read architecture— an ability that centers on a kind of visual and spa­tially oriented analysis— is not easy. So it comes as no surprise that researchers fall back on the customary written sources when confronting buildings as evidence. They find bits and pieces of information— some mention of an important event that took place here or the names of important people who once occupied the building— that lend significance to the object rather than confronting the physical evidence.

      Just like what they are saying in this paragraph to reading architecture , you have to be specially oriented. The way i connect this piece of writing to my supplemental analysis is through this picture. The developers looks at what the community of dekalb county they were looking at and see where people spent the most money. They saw they would need apartments for the growing population but also shopping centers because you need somewhere to buy groceries and clothing. What they did not think about though were the underground problems. Where they could build this complex. Where it was needed. By the sewer system, this would not be the place unless someone made room for them.

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    24. As an academic exercise, the study of material culture is grounded in the physical and material presence of objects -in the case of vernacular architecture, buildings— and relies on the analysis of particular sets of forms and the patterns they make to tell us about human behavior both past and present.

      Dekalb county is not known for night life unless you are in the west side of dekalb which takes up midtown. Other than that Dekalb count is mostly residential. It is basically the suburbs. The fact that this area is mostly residential shows you the particular set of culture that is going on there in terms of inhabitants. Maybe the fact that the culture is set mostly as residential means there there is going to be more residential communities built. Which leads to the sewer problem that needs to be fixed.

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    25. Unlike other mammals, humans cannot simply live in nature; rather, we must devise ways of finding and making shelter, clothing and feeding ourselves, and producing the tools needed for survival.

      The reading describes the things needed for human survival as food,shelter,and the need to be clothed.I found it interesting that the development mentioned in the article "Marta Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project," meets all of those needs by providing local shops, restaurants, and apartments. (You can see the blueprint and the proximity of them in the picture within the link listed below.)

      (http://news.wabe.org/post/marta-breaks-ground-first-transit-development-project)

    26. The preference For detached houses in America is visible in these rows o f houses from St. Louis, Missouri. While in densely devel­oped cities the older British practice o f build­ing continuous rows or terraces of houses was often followed, in less densely developed urban areas and suburbs American builders left gaps between the indi vidual houses, clearly articulating the bound aries of each house­hold's space. Photo by Thomas Carter

      This leads back to my supplemental article about the sewer problems that are threatening Dekalb county. This paragraph could possibly explain why Dekalb is having this problem. Just like the way the British were following the continuous rows of houses as a city plan Dekalb county probably Just kept following their same plan. Maybe they never actually believed that the county would grow so much like it has up till now.

    27. material culture

      In a way this material culture could be the aging sewer system. It has been here for so long its also a part of the culture. Just like the houses in that community somehow they all end up being a part of that culture there.

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    28. things, not randomly or by chance, but systematically and intentionally through our culture.

      Here again my supplemental text comes in with the not planning randomly. In my supplemental text it speaks a lot about how now they are starting to develop more and more in the community. There is no way to plan systematically in the environment because as humans we are changing and adapting every single day just like dekalb county is.

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    29. “that segment of [the human] physical environment which is purposely shaped . . . according to culturally dictated plans.”

      This specific sentence reminds me of an article I read that talked about to Dekalb sewer problems. Dekalb county is a county in downtown Atlanta, GA. The article basically speaks about how since that area is growing rapidly and new projects are coming up. Unfortunately, the aging sewer system isn't enough to handle the huge projects they have coming. They have projects ranging from residential and commercial buildings to restaurants. They currently have 5 locations that are lacking sewer capacity. Dekalb is a dense county already and they are just gonna get big and bigger with the influx of people moving to Georgia both on business and households. Unfortunately for many of these places they have to hold on development. Even with the federal judge getting involved it does not speed up the process. Currently, development is being held up in these 5 classes throughout the county. Not only will this halt on development hurt the construction companies but also the economic growth and job creations in the area. Every developer says that the lines should have been updated a long time ago but unfortunately they have not. Some developers have also decided that they might just install septic tanks to get their project back on track. If this plan is approved then it would help the developer and the county sewer system as well with not overcrowding. This sentence reminds me of this article because you have to dictate your environment for future plans. This was something that the people of DeKalb county should have done. Better safe than sorry.

      http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/AtlantaJournalConstitution/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=AJC%2F2016%2F08%2F26&entity=Ar00100&sk=77188872

      "Sewer Problems Threaten DeKalb's Growth." From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2016-08-26. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    30. *I.l:lI N V I TAT ION TOVernacular Architecture

      'Invitation to Vernacular Architecture' uses a variety of ideas and concepts to explain the full complexity of what exactly is is that this type of architect studies. Carter and Cromley introduce ideas, making them essential, of the study into more than just the physical building, but the stories, culture, time periods, and location as all things that can effect what a building is and why we see it today

      Carter, T., & Cromely, E. C. (2005). Invitation to vernacular architecture: a guide to the study of ordinary buildings and landscapes. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee.

    31. But even in times of historical record­keeping, most people do not write about themselves and most do little that makes others want to write about them. But every­one makes, or buys, and uses things,

      Puts an emphasis on the importance of building in general, rather on the idea of what the buildings meaning may hold. While the meaning of vernacular architecture is to analyze the buildings in different ways to get the most detailed description possible, its important to remember that at one time, buildings were the only way people knew how to leave their mark.

    32. And of course if we are looking for “traces of people doing things,” then it is easy to see that one of the main things people did in the past was to build and/or use buildings, and with such objects we do not have to rely on what people said about them.

      One way the people that study these buildings are able to draw conclusions is simply through using the progression of the buildings themselves. This quote makes it clear that, in some situations, contact with people from the past or even curiosity about the thoughts that engaged their architectural ideas are unneeded because through the building they can see all they need to know

    33. In the way we create and use architectural space, we say things we would never say in our journals or diaries.

      One could probably draw parallels between an architectural space and one's perception of the world, that architecture represents our unspoken history of our societies and our understanding of nature even if we don't actually discuss these aspects directly.

    34. Rather than foregoing the status that brick afforded, they put their m oney where it would do the I most good, on the front, w here their good taste and apparent affluence could be seen by all.

      Wouldn't this text be considered as a loose opinion of the structure. To say that brick would be better of in the front would be more of a preference to a certain design than rather researching how the design attributes to the house for that historic moment. However if the preference of the majority of houses during that era acquired this style, then maybe its not mere opinion.

    35. IO

      The article, “MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project”, was a very interesting and informative article about MARTA’s first of six “transit-oriented developments”. The article focuses in on its most recent development, near Marta’s Edgewood-Candler Park station, discussing aspects of the projects such as: expectations, funding, development, purpose, and even its intentions.

      The article starts of by first mentioning that the project’s developer is Columbia Ventures LLC, a local private developer, who is covering the developments bill of 40 million, at zero cost to Marta. The development is set to include a 224-unit apartment complex, a performing arts studio, restaurants, a green space, and even a traffic circle (to combat the local traffic issue). One of the things I found most interesting was that while despite the fact that the apartments are set to bring in the most revenue, the city and the development has set aside and allocated 20% of its units to serve as low-income housing for civilians. While also mentioning that the locations of these developments were in fact intentional and are located where they are in hopes of increasing transit ridership.

      While the development near Chandler park station seems to be off to a smooth start, the article briefly alludes to issues and frustrations that have come about surrounding their other developments such as: funding, negotiations, timing, and even waiting to see what other big developments do that may affect their own.

      Shamma, Tasnim. "MARTA Breaks Ground On First Transit-Development Project." WABE 90.1 FM. WABE, 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

    36. is often said that the past can only' be known through its remains, the trick for historians being, then, to find the best kinds ol remains to study

      Does this include individuals who lived during the time in which the architecture was built, and if so can it be considered as credential to one's research or subjective? The most that I have learned about city structures in Macon and Atlanta are from My Father and he was born in the 50's.

    37. At some point you have to decide what it is all about. There are no intrin­sic truths but only your own story of what happened.

      This sentence is a very good description of a historian, which is somewhat disappointing. We are constantly rebuilding history, but at the cost of making conclusions and have several plot holes.

    38. . Smaller houses tend not to endure, so the material record may be skewed in favor of the elites, just as the written record is.

      This can be true about Middle Georgia neighborhoods. One can find many blighted households and buildings found through Macon alone, with little research or history put into them.

    39. Buildings and assemblages of buildings make excellent sources of informa­tion about everyday people and everyday life because they exist in great numbers and are complex enough to shed light on many aspects of human behavior, from attitudes toward the use of space to aesthetic tradi­tions and technological know-ho

      A person's home would be the best indication of both their financial status, and the style that they could afford. With these two things, coupled with an analysis of the area in which they presided in, this could provide more accurate views of the economic divides between various classes.

    40. To understand how people bring beauty to their lives, one must study the buildings themselves rather than literature about the

      I would think that a proper understanding of both the surrounding literature and physical creations that individuals bring to their lives would benefit what was valued and how these values were physically implemented.

    41. . Teachers are forced to remain at the front. Education emanates from front to back, and the room ensures compliance to this forma

      Classrooms of this design are still used, and it is agreed by many that this type of classroom is traditional and outdated. So in the case of classrooms, are architectural analyses truly reflective of the time's culture, or do they fail to take into account the transition of cultural values?

    42. e. As both the products of culture and its agents, buildings reflect our cultural values. Once created, they not only become symbolic representations of those values but also serve in their own way to enforce those values actively, making sure that they are adhered to and followed. In this sense, as anthropologists point out, the material world is reflexive: architecture, in the words of the social theorist Mark Gottdiener, “possesses the dual characteristics of being both a product of social relations and a producer of social relatio

      I feel that buildings represent the era in which they are created, but do not completely enforce the social relations that created them. As time passes, these buildings are transformed and surpassed by each successor's needs and current values respectively.

    43. t the evidence will be tainted by the interpretations ol oth

      I don't think that evidence would be "tainted" per say, but rather these other interpretations by a group with diversified lives and characters would widen the view on how architecture would impact previous lives.

    44. Buildings and assemblages of buildings make excellent sources of informa­tion about everyday people and everyday l

      I agree that buildings and areas would be extremely informative in detailing the everyday lives of people. While I had first thought that everyday people would be working most of the day, to simply come back home to rest, I then realized that all the buildings within the proximity of home, such as restaurants and clubs, would better explain what a person would do in their free time.

    45. es, no matter how 1 reliable their authors may be, the reader is always left with essentially secondhand orinclirect accounts of what happened— the written document stands between us and the actual behavior being written abo

      I had questioned the accuracy and legitimacy of the analysis of buildings, as I had thought that although you may be able to find what a person owned or how his/her life was generally structured at that time, I doubted that the ownership of such things would be able to indicate a clear and cut answer of how they really lived their life.

    46. . Among Americans, for example, people for whom private space is a highly valued commodit

      I think that privacy is valued so highly in the U.S as a result of the "American Dream". The Dream is to be able to achieve prosperity in whatever fashion is chosen. Success in the United States is not only determined by the wealth you have, but also the relationships, connections, and reputations one holds with others in that there must be a balance between the two. Due to the pressures and stresses this places upon an individual, I believe this is why privacy is so valued.

  3. Jan 2017
    1. [ethnographic research implies, then, immediate ccmtac t with the behavic >r being studied.11

      Ethnographic research is being defined as as a type of research that can't be tainted or influenced from any outside source, since it is being directly observed

    2. We would not suggest that the study of buildings is some kind of academic panacea. Vernacular architecture research is not going to replac e other kinds of humanistic inquiry. In the right situations, however, it can con­tribute greatly in addressing many kinds of questions concerning human behavior.

      The author explains that the idea of vernacular architecture is not to replace other kinds of studies or even really to compete with them. The purpose of this study is to, like it is said in the quote, contribute greatly in addressing questions on human behavior. By stating this, I feel like the author gave depth to the idea of his study in making it out to be something only intended to help rather than used to compete.

    3. If you are interested in studying build­ings, particularly those of the more ordinary variety that have not been studied before, the place to begin is with the buildings themselves.

      Often time people think the best way to learn about something is to dive into research about that subject. This can be done through online data, reading books, talking to specialists, etc. This article explains that for vernacular architecture, the best way to know what you need to know is to go to the building itself and see what you can see. Investigate there.

    4. Still, no matter how much extrinsic data there is, the evidence obtained by studying the physical object lies at the heart of the research

      draws in from points in my last annotation, explaining the importance of the research more so than just the extrinsic data. The research, as stated before, can be explained partially as the experiences the building has undergone or the stories that make it mean something to someone.

    5. It should he stressed, however, that the field of material culture studies remains artifact-driven, and the investigation and interpretation of buildings and land­scapes play leading roles in the research process.

      Artifact - driven studies become very objective, giving meaning to the building itself, but lacking the ideas of importance on the history of the building and it's meaning to the culture it was initially originated on. This quotes doesn't fail to mention that interpretation of the building is still essential, but more so in the research process.

    6. Building separate, detached houses that are spaced far apart in the countryside or separated by just a few feet in urban neighborhoods (fig. 1) would be another way this spirit of indi­viduation is advanced through architecture.

      Uses the definition of culture as "consisting of ideas, values, and beliefs stemming from a particular social group", this statement takes culture and personalizes it to a certain individuals trait: valuing private space. By personalizing this concept and making it easier to understand, the author then applies that idea of culture and personal space to architecture, demonstrating how every decision made through architecture is influenced by our own customs, beliefs, and visions.

    7. The study of vernacular architecture is part of a larger scholarly undertaking known as material culture studies." Material culture m aybe defined, following Deetz, as “that segment of [the human] physical environment which is purposely shaped . . . according to culturally dictated plans.”'

      Material culture is based off of purely physical and objective aspects of a certain built environment, but these physical aspects are reflective of the culture that influenced or even physically constructed the environment observed. The culture has a lasting affect on not only the way the building was constructed, but the meaning put behind it for that certain group

    8. I N V I TAT ION TOVernacular Architecture

      The article "Unpredictable, High Risk, High Cost: Planning for the worst is the worst" by Ben Brown discusses planning for the worst disasters is a waste of time and money. Brown mentions Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina and Rita struck in 2005. The government spent $120 billion dollars to help rebuild the city, homes and schools. He mentions that in this recent disaster, we spent more money rebuilding Louisiana, when in World War Two, we spent less than 120 billion dollars to help rebuild countries in Eastern Europe with the Marshall Plan. The governor of Louisiana said that their super prepared for any new disaster. When in reality, that's not true. It is impossible to be 100% prepared for natural disasters. Spending excess amounts of money to "prepare" for natural disasters isn't going to help. Brown says the most efficient way to avoid things life this is to "move out of the threat". Living next to a fire-prone forest or near a beach that is known for strong winds and high tides, we can eliminate the amount of money that has to go into this type of planning.

    9. reading it as a historical text

      Think about how we read old documents and archives.

    10. apply the known to the unknown,

      if you think about it, we apply this to a variety of aspects in our daily lives.

    11. As teachers, we wanted an introductory text for students that would both open their eyes to the world of ordi­nary buildings and outline a basic method for studying them.

      I find it interesting how ini the begging we understand that Vernacular Architecture is the was writing is supposed to be set up. It's interesting how he uses words like buildings and model. Both words are something that could be used in a conversation or text about actual architecture involving buildings. ATLSPRs17

    12. n the ways that all kinds of buildings are constructed, in the ways they are styled and decorated, and in the ways they are used and reused (and reused), later observers are able to see the end results of people making actual decisions about how their world will be ordered (

      I found this interesting because in the article by Robert Steuteville that discusses fatal car accidents, he states how the roads are "built with “forgiving design,” encourage drivers to step on the gas in highly populated urban areas, and pure physics increases stopping distances and impact forces geometrically” (Steuteville 2016). If you look at the roadway systems of other countries like Paris against the U.S. the difference in culture is clear. Only considering the roadways, Paris has very narrow and small streets and the same can be said for the cars driven. But in the U.S., the expressways can have as many as 8 lanes for a single side. Like the article states, the more space the faster and more careless driver can be. In Paris is it difficult to speed because the roads are so narrow and do not leave much room for mistakes. I find this to be a great example to show how the architecture can explain a culture and the history of a region so just image how much more insight one can gain from looking at buildings. https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2016/08/26/morbid-and-mortal-toll-sprawl

    1. Crowell, Charlene. America must equalize access to homeownership and its wealth opportunities. Crusador, 2016.

      In this article, Crowell explains the importance of homeownership and its pivotal role in American families. Crowell's article uses analytical data to display the differences between various ethnic groups in regards to homeownerships. Crowell points out some of the issues that few groups in particular face when trying obtain loans to establish home ownership.

      Crowell is aware of the disproportionate effects that foreclosures have had on Hispanic and Black households notably and gives insight on why and how it transpires. Crowell's article is very descriptive of the issues plaguing these two groups and its hindrance on future generations. The article includes detailed research and has also forewarned on how the current issues via considerable loans and homeownership can have negative effects in the future.

      Essentially, both readings have a direct link to property and disposition towards certain ethnic groups. The primary reading looks into African influences in American architecture while the supplemental reading examines the difficulties among Hispanic and Black families receiving homeownership through cost-effective loans to further build wealth for future generations. The connection between the two readings is very apparent which is home/property and race.

      The primary reading discloses hidden facts that were used to make major contributions to housing in the early 18th century through perhaps modern times. The supplemental reading delves into the detriments that two ethnic groups specifically, Blacks and Hispanics, are facing in modern times which is a deficiency in access and censorship to reasonable loans for housing and homes. The underlying connection between these two readings analyze previous African American benefactions towards American architecture and how home ownership for African Americans/Blacks and other minorities proves to be a difficult task.

    2. America must equalize access to homeownership and its wealth opportunities

      The title implies that home ownership in America is not proportionate and does not allow for generational wealth, but this only affects minorities negatively.

    3. Few conventional mortgages, the most affordable and sustainable loans, were made to African-American and Latino consumers

      This makes it difficult for minorities to build wealth through home ownership to pass down to future generations.

    4. “If the trends found here continue, few families will become homeowners, with implications for overall national wealth and for the health of the real estate market,” concluded the report.

      This will further widen the gap between the middle class and the wealthy/rich and increase the poverty rate for minorities.

    5. Discriminatory government policies of the past prevented many Blacks and Latinos from building wealth via homeownership.

      The statement gives reference to this issue occurring in the past due to prejudice reasons yet it is still an issue for the same ethnic groups, prejudice may still play a part in some cases however I think that there are more factors that go into this in modern times such as status and ancestry.

  4. www.histarch.illinois.edu www.histarch.illinois.edu
    1. Our knowledge of Cato Howe and his fellow blacks of Plymouth comes from two sources: Fragmentary written records give us a partial picture, lacking in important details.

      The insufficient amount of information on Cato Howe and other blacks of Plymouth shows the lack of care and acknowledgement they received. Even after gaining their freedom.

    2. Piecing together black history on a local level is a fascinating and often frustrating process of assembling fragments to form a coherent whole. To gain a true understanding of the story of a people, it is best to detail a picture of their life within a community and then relate that to the larger world

      It is amazing just how much there is still to learn. The simple idea that I, myself, have lived in Massachusetts for 15 years of my 19 years of life and have never once heard of Cato Howe's history or any of the slaves is absurd. I can just imagine how much there is to uncover.

    3. The shotgun house is acknowledged as a true African American architectural form.

      This portion of the article explains how one can determine the culture or ethnicity of the people who resided in a particular house just by examining the architecture of the dwelling. Each culture had a certain way of building their dwellings, such as how a shotgun style house is known as an African American architectural form.

    4. Piecing together black history on a local level is a fascinating and often frustrating process of assembling fragments to form a coherent whole.

      This resonates with current times as well and African American history continues to be uncovered and leaves some to wonder what else hasn't been disclosed.

    5. terminus post quem

      "terminus post quem" is a Latin phrase; the latest date is taken into account over an earlier date (Definition: Terminus Post Quem 1).

      Definition: Terminus Post Quem. 1st ed. Smithsonian, 2017. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.

    6. Parting Ways

      Summary: "Parting Ways" by James Deetz is, in short, an article about four African-American male slaves who were freed after fighting the Revolutionary war. Not much is known at first about these four men, Cato Howe, Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamany, but after analyzing the architecture of their community, we are able to learn more about them and their lives. This article demonstrates how archaeology can play a role in discovering important information about those who have passed.

    7. HERE LIE THE GRAVES OF FOUR NEGRO SLAVES

      I've never seen a modern day gravestone that classifies individuals as slaves or giving indication to race and then to further detail their contributions; why bother mentioning the contributions when status and race seems to be more important.

    8. Parting Ways

      The title "Parting Ways" seems opposite only to the African culture/architectural background Howe, Turner, Goodwin, and Quatamy were able to preserve.

    9. A discovery made in 1978 not only calls into question the identity of the occupants of the graves

      This is an example of the nature of history. In other words, like other subjects history is constantly changing and evolving when new information comes to light. This shows the reader that history is messy. In order to create a more cohesive whole from the pieces, educated guessing and generalization may be required. Overall, history is constantly evolving and will continue to evolve as more evidence is found and better methods are instituted.

    10. Battle of Bunker Hill

      American Revolutionary War (1775) - British Victory

      Understanding the historical context of which cultures are located within is the first step of the research process. Without doing the necessary research it would be nearly impossible to get an accurate picture of historical lives. For example, imagine someone looking back on our lives in the future. What if they disregarded the importance of technology in our lives? This would lead to a great misunderstanding. As you can see, understanding the background knowledge is essential to understanding the lives of historical individuals.

    11. although the strength of oral tradition has preserved more than we might hope. Piecing together black history on a local level is a fascinating and often frustrating process of assembling fragments to form a coherent whole. To gain a true understanding of the story of a people, it is best to detail a picture of their life within a community and then relate that to the larger world.

      James F Deetz exposes the racial and economic differences experienced by freed African American slaves following the revolutionary war. He engages us in gathering every bit of detail and document he can gather about Cato Howe and 3 other men and their families ,post-war, how they all had to survive on 96 acres on infertile land and had to survive off government pensions. It was on this land where he spent the remainder of his days with the tiny community he formed. He lived out a modest life only having a total of 27 dollars to his name, never having more than the minimum things he required to continue living. Although his life was modest the only documents we can obtain about him was his military and death records and a few references the city of Plymouth makes when addressing the land other than that, it was as if he never existed. Through the process of archaeology we are able to determine so much more using the well preserved remains were dug up from his property to not only get a better understanding of his life and community but also the modest living standards he lived off till the end of his days.

    12. "Parting Ways" by James F. Deetz provided knowledge in regards to the lack of resources available on the history of slaves and minority groups. In class, we discussed in small groups how the absence of documentation and detail(s) not only shed light on the attitude towards minorities, but it additionally paralleled it. "Fragmentary written records give us a partial picture, lacking in important details.", is what Deetz can supply through research and history of Cato Howe and "his fellow blacks of Plymouth". Slaves were commonly given alternate names under their owners care and as "Cato" was a "common slave name", it rendered research fairly useless as no one person could determine if it was the Cato Howe they were looking for. This text has a very to the point, no-frills, dry style to it, yet it keeps me (and my small group) reading. The compelling part of this story for me is that these men (Cato, Quamany, Prince, and Plato), regardless of color, did so much for their country and lived their lives modestly. Yet, because of the color of their skin, they were unable to receive pensions the first time and even for Prince, unable to receive freedom.

    1. Deetz, James. Digital image. The Plymouth Colony Archive. N.p., 2007. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

      Each new floor plan shows small transitions and expansions from the original; without the original would the expansion look the same?