So it's been far too long since my last post, but I just realized that I never made my undergraduate thesis on Shabbona Grove public. All of the artifacts have been washed and recorded; I'm in the tedious process of data entry. This is an important part of the analysis process as it will allow for a finer understanding of the excavation.
Here is the abstract to my thesis, below is a link to the full thing. (Don't worry, it's only 36 pages.)
Abstract:
Archaeological research conducted in Shabbona Grove, an abandoned village in rural
northern Illinois, shows a concentration of artifacts found during surface collection that
suggests deliberate collecting or curation acts by a child or children in the latter part of the
twentieth century, circa mid-1970s to mid-1980s. The idea that children’s activities may be
seen through traditionally adult material culture is rarely explored in archaeological analyses.
This paper hopes to advocate a more nuanced interpretation of unique assemblages in
archaeological datasets that includes children and their activities. The permanent actions and
influence of children are often removed from discussions on material culture attributed
specifically to them, such as toys and clothes. This paper will use a concentration of artifacts
from the surface collection as a case study in order to demonstrate the methodological
viability to observe children’s actions without child-specific material culture or precise
ethno-historic data, such as is the ubiquitous situation in pre-historic contexts. As seen
historically and archaeologically, the tenuous economic situation at Shabbona Grove, and on
this property particularly, may support the interpretation of the children’s collections as a
type of coping mechanism. While the site revealed a large assemblage of child-specific
material culture through excavation, the context of the artifacts do not reflect on children’s
actions and influence.
Link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2wuex72rgjujzd5/yDXwVatf0a/Croyl%20BA%20FINAL.pdf
Here is the abstract to my thesis, below is a link to the full thing. (Don't worry, it's only 36 pages.)
Abstract:
Archaeological research conducted in Shabbona Grove, an abandoned village in rural
northern Illinois, shows a concentration of artifacts found during surface collection that
suggests deliberate collecting or curation acts by a child or children in the latter part of the
twentieth century, circa mid-1970s to mid-1980s. The idea that children’s activities may be
seen through traditionally adult material culture is rarely explored in archaeological analyses.
This paper hopes to advocate a more nuanced interpretation of unique assemblages in
archaeological datasets that includes children and their activities. The permanent actions and
influence of children are often removed from discussions on material culture attributed
specifically to them, such as toys and clothes. This paper will use a concentration of artifacts
from the surface collection as a case study in order to demonstrate the methodological
viability to observe children’s actions without child-specific material culture or precise
ethno-historic data, such as is the ubiquitous situation in pre-historic contexts. As seen
historically and archaeologically, the tenuous economic situation at Shabbona Grove, and on
this property particularly, may support the interpretation of the children’s collections as a
type of coping mechanism. While the site revealed a large assemblage of child-specific
material culture through excavation, the context of the artifacts do not reflect on children’s
actions and influence.
Link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2wuex72rgjujzd5/yDXwVatf0a/Croyl%20BA%20FINAL.pdf
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