Date of Award

Summer 8-2013

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Anthropology and Sociology

Committee Chair

Amy L. Young

Committee Chair Department

Anthropology and Sociology

Committee Member 2

Marie Danforth

Committee Member 2 Department

Anthropology and Sociology

Committee Member 3

James Flanagan

Committee Member 4

Edwin Jackson

Committee Member 4 Department

Anthropology and Sociology

Abstract

This thesis documents the results of excavation in 2004 and 2005 of an urban farmstead in Jackson, Mississippi, called The Oaks. This research was conducted in order to find the functions of the various outbuildings at The Oaks. All the artifacts were analyzed at The University of Southern Mississippi and then placed into various models to find any correlations between the buildings at The Oaks and those of other sites like Johnson/Bates in Kentucky.

The kitchen was found to contain various architectural features as well as artifacts that corresponded with the normal findings of an 1800s detached kitchen. The barn was also positively identified by using nail, artifacts, and glass frequencies which were found to compare favorably with those seen at the Johnson/Bates site. The building initially believed to be a privy at The Oaks yielded unusual results by the location of a brick slab as well as metal and glass. The structure also did not fit the model of a privy based on Johnson/Bates. The building most likely is to be that of a coldframe (greenhouse). An unidentified building on the site remained undetermined due to a lack of both architectural and artifact data.

The creation of a model based on findings from this site allows for the observation of an urban landscape and its effects on a farmstead that existed along the periphery. When goods were unavailable from the urban environment, they were acquired by other means. The urban farmstead provided this by blending the urban and agricultural environments through a complex localized production, allowing the creation of these needed goods and services. This model has applications to other similar farmsteads in the Southeast.

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