Things you need to know about House 15 before you use the Data

The following sections contain important information about the Seville House 15 excavations and artifact collections. They provide guidance on how to approach the the artifact and contextual data, and provide information on unprovenienced artifacts as well artifacts that were missing from the collection. It is essential that researchers review this information carefully before beginning their analysis.

	Field measurements are in meters and centimeters.
	All of the features identified at House 15 were either postholes and postmolds. None of the identified features at House 15 were excavated. As a result, there are no context records or artifacts associated with the postholes/postmolds. The features are also not represented on the site-wide Harris Matrix. Our conversations with Douglas Armstrong, and evidence from field maps, indicate that the postholes were found at subsoil. The location and size of the House 15 features are taken from Armstrong's final measured site map drawn in the field.
	Seville House 15 site maps: DAACS attempted to include all stones drawn in the field on quadrat and sites plans. However, it is clear from the context records that differential mapping of stones by quadrat and by field season occurred. This means that the absence of stones on the digital site map is not necessarily evidence for absence of stones in the quadrats.
	Armstrong's excavation units were labeled using an alphanumeric system with each 1-x-1 meter unit identified using a letter and number, with lettered N/S transects and numbered E/W transects. In most cases, the letters increase to the north and numbers increase to the west (i.e. A1, A2, B1, B2, and so forth). The exceptions at House 15 are transects Y and Z. These transects are on the southern most of the site, so that N/S transect labels proceed as follows: Y, Z, A, B, C, etc. The southeasterly most quadrat at House 15 was Y11.
	In order to generate spatial distribution data that was compatible with the DAACS database, DAACS analysts laid a numeric grid over Armstrong’s original alphanumeric system. DAACS established a datum (0/0 as opposed to A1) that was located to the south and west of the excavated area. Quadrat boundary data in DAACS for House 15 are therefore represented in the number of meters away from the DAACS datum, i.e. E9N1.

House 15 Artifact Collections

The Seville Plantation collections have been curated solely by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust since the completion of Armstrong's excavations in 1993. The collections were initially housed at the JNHT's Naval Hospital Facility in Port Royal. In 2004, Hurrican Ivan severly damaged the Naval Hospital and the Seville collections were moved to Headquarter's House, the JNHT's main offices in Kingston, for assessment and rebagging. The Seville collections are currently stored at Headquarter's House.

DAACS analysts cataloged to DAACS standards all of the artifacts from House 15 except for artifact types that fall into the "All Other Artifacts" category. This means that all beads, buckles, buttons, ceramic vessels, glass vessels, tobacco pipes, and utensils that were present in the collection were physically examiend and cataloged by DAACS staff. Data about objects that fell into the "All Other Artifacts" category, such as brick, nails, mortar, window glass, tools, metal pots, etc. (See All Other Artifacts for complete listing of all artifact forms.) were entered into DAACS from Armstrong's catalog. This means that any artifacts with "DArmstrong" as the Cataloger/Editor will have basic attribute data, such as form and material type, but not the complete set of DAACS attributes.

We also encountered a number of discrepancies between Armstrong's artifact catalogs and the artifacts that we saw and cataloged while working at the JNHT. There were quite a few artifacts listed in Armstrong's catalog that could not be located at the Trust.

When we returned to the DAACS Lab at Monticello, we reconciled the artifacts DAACS cataloged at the JNHT with the artifacts listed in Armstrong's catalogs. When we encountered an artifact in Armstrong's catalog that we did not catalog in Jamaica, we entered that artifact into the DAACS database with the information that Armtstrong had collected in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

When using the Seville House 15 data, please note that any artifact types with "DArmstrong" as the Editor/Cataloger will have basic attribute information such as form and material type but not the complete set of DAACS attribute data. If you receive data that does not contain measurements or decorative data, please use an advanced query (such as AQ5) to see who cataloged the artifact.

The downloadable files below provide basic information for all beads, buckles, buttons, tobacco pipes, and utensils found at House 15. All artifacts with "DArmstrong" as an editor were not cataloged by DAACS analayst.

Right-click and "Save Target As..." to download Bead Data [TXT] for House 15.

Right-click and "Save Target As..." to download Buckle Data [TXT] for House 15.

Right-click and "Save Target As..." to download Button Data [TXT] for House 15.

Right-click and "Save Target As..." to download Tobacco Pipe Data [TXT] for House 15.

Right-click and "Save Target As..." to download Utensil Data [TXT] for House 15.

Acknowledgements

Expansion in geographic coverage has required that DAACS staff work outside of the Chesapeake region and move beyond our laboratory at Monticello. DAACS undertook its first international project during the first five months of 2006 when it moved its lab to Kingston, Jamaica. DAACS staff analyzed the Seville archaeological collections at Headquarter's House, the main offices of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, located in downtown Kingston. The DAACS Jamaica team at the JNHT consisted of Ms. Leslie Cooper, DAACS Archaeological Analyst, Mr. Henry Sharp, DAACS Archaeological Analyst, Ms. Karen Hutchins, Monticello/DAACS Archaeological Analyst, Ms. Karen Smith, Monticello's Curator of Archaeological Collections and Dr. Jillian Galle, DAACS Project Manager.

The DAACS-Jamaica project’s work at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust could not have occurred without the generous help and unstinting support of many individuals. Dr. Douglas Armstrong at Syracuse University immediately agreed to collaborate with the Archive. He has given freely of his data, time, and knowledge of the island. We could not have accomplished our work without him. Sincere appreciation also goes to Mr. Roderick Ebanks, Emeritus Director of Archaeology at the Trust, and the Board of Directors of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust for approving the DAACS permit and supporting this project.

The JNHT’s Department of Archaeology generously provided us with laboratory space as well as the assistance of several staff members. Mrs. Ann-Marie Howard-Brown, director of the Finds Department, was an invaluable coordinator of space and staff. Miss. Green and Ms. Topping helped us catalog and sort artifacts for the duration of the project. Mr. Tyndell and Mr. Murphy were always there to help us sort and move collections. Mr. Dorrick Gray, Deputy Director of Archaeology at the JNHT, and Dr. Philip Allsworth-Jones, the former Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of West Indies, Mona, each gave us invaluable advice and support.

Every staff member at the Trust welcomed our daily presence at Headquarters House with warmth, especially Miss. Brooks, Mrs. Howard-Brown, Mr. Grant, Mr. Gray, Miss. Green, Mr. Murphy, Miss. Paula, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Tyndell, Ms. Topping, Mr. Walters, Mrs. Rosie Whittaker, Jasmine Whittaker, and Mrs. Williams-Simpson. Mr. Tyndell and Miss. Green provided essential guidance in downtown Kingston as well as invaluable culinary advice. We are exceptionally grateful to all Trust staff for providing us with such an enriching and successful experience.

Jillian Galle

The Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery

August 2007