archaeology of puritan massachusetts: the katherine · pdf file · 2014-12-31made...

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Massachusetts Archaeology Education Consortium

Introduction (5 minutes)

Today we’re going to learn about being an archaeologist. Does anyone know what an archaeologist

is? Archaeologists study the “stuff” that people in the past left behind. We call this stuff “artifacts”

and the places where we find it are called archaeological sites.

Where do archaeologists study? Are there archaeologists in Massachusetts? Archaeologists work

all over Massachusetts every day. Before a big construction project, archaeologists want to make

sure that important historical and ancient sites aren’t destroyed. We are looking for any clues about

what happened in the past. Sometimes we can learn about history by reading texts, but there are lots

of things that happened that were never written down. People have been living in Massachusetts for

over 10,000 years and for most of that history there are no books explaining what happened.

To find more information, archaeologists carefully dig, which we call “excavate” and take a lot of

detailed notes about what we find. We are looking for two things: we look for artifacts that people

of the past left behind. But we are also looking for what we call “features.” Features are patterns

and stains found in the ground during archaeological excavation. Sometimes these patterns are

made of materials such as bricks, stones, or decomposed wood, which are the only remaining traces

of historic buildings. Some features are more subtle, and the patterns are only visible through dif-

ferences in colors or textures of the dirt. Where artifacts come from is really important, and when

artifacts are found in features we can learn even more.

Archaeology of Puritan Massachusetts:

The Katherine Nanny Naylor Story

Program Script

As experienced archaeologists and educators we are committed to working with and supporting

other educators in learning how to utilize archaeology in a manner that reinforces content and

standards already being taught in the classroom. We believe that this activity provides students

with the opportunity to critically explore history in a manner that might otherwise be inaccessible

through the use of only documents and text books. We also understand the constraints that teach-

ers face with both time and resources. This is why we have developed this lesson unit to be con-

tained in a single period and provided the list and location of where all the supplies can be afford-

ably purchased.

Jennifer Poulsen and Lindsay Randall


Today we’re going to look at one example of an archaeological site that was found right here in

Boston. Have any of you heard of something called the Big Dig? The Big Dig was a big construc-

tion project in Boston where a new tunnel was dug for the highway to go under Boston. Before the

construction took place, archaeologists surveyed the area to learn about the important sites that were

there. One of the important archaeological sites that they discovered was the privy of Katherine

Nanny Naylor. Does anyone know what a privy is? A privy is an outhouse! Archaeologists get

really excited about privies for two main reasons. First, privies stay moist so there are a lot of arti-

facts that survive in this special (yucky) dirt that wouldn’t normally survive. Second, privies actual-

ly have a lot of artifacts. Sometimes they were used as trash pits where things were purposefully

thrown away. And sometimes people accidentally dropped things that they didn’t want to lose. But

if you dropped something in an outhouse would you go in there looking for it? No way!

Katherine Nanny Naylor was a real person who lived in Boston and used her privy from 1660 to

1715. There are only a few documents from this time that tell us about Katherine, but archaeology

can help us learn even more about who she was and what life was like for her.

Historical Background (10 minutes)

Today we are going to read a story about Katherine, and then use archaeological clues to evaluate if it

is true.

[Ask a different student to read each paragraph aloud in sequence]

1) “Katherine was born in England in 1630, but when she was six years old, she moved to Boston

with her father. When she grew up, Katherine married Robert Nanny, a rich merchant and together

they had eight children. Robert Nanny died in 1663 and Katherine re-married to another rich mer-

chant named Edward Naylor, and they had two children.

2) Katherine was a good Puritan woman. She dressed modestly and plainly because those were the

rules in Puritan New England. She did not play games or gamble because those were against the law.

Because she was wealthy, she was able to eat good food and she had good health. She passed her

time by sitting quietly by the fire and reading the Bible.

3) In 1671 she was granted a divorce from

her husband Edward even though this was

very unusual for the time. Katherine

claimed that Edward threw dishes, food,

and chairs at her, their family, and their

servants. He was banished to 10 miles out-

side of the city. In February of 1716

Katherine Nanny Naylor died at the age of

85.”


Now we are going to split up into groups and exca-

vate the privy! Remember, when archaeologists

excavate, they dig very slowly and carefully, and

record EVERYTHING they find. Each of your

teams has been carefully excavating and has just

discovered what’s here. I’d like you to use your

field notebook to carefully sketch what you ob-

serve. Please draw any features you see and show

where the artifacts are in your sketch. Please DO

NOT move any artifacts yet. Keep everything

where it is until I tell you we are ready to collect

them.

Now that you have made careful observations about the features and artifacts at this archaeological

site, let’s go back to the story we read about Katherine Nanny Naylor. Are there any parts of the

story that archaeology shows were NOT true? Are there any parts that archaeology shows WERE

true? What is your evidence?

Give students 20 minutes to catalogue and answer the questions in their packets.

True:

Married merchants who traveled to the Caribbean

(shells)

Katherine was wealthy (fine dishes and lace)

Katherine did have children (child’s shoe, one kit has

child’s doll plate)

Broken dishes evidence of her husband throwing

plates?

Katherine ate good food (fresh meat and fruit)

False:

Katherine didn’t dress modestly, she wore fancy but-

tons and lace

Katherine did play games (bowling)

Katherine did have hobbies (bowling, sewing)

Despite being rich, Katherine still had intestinal para-

sites (eww) which meant she did not have good

health

Mock Dig Activity

After 10 minutes they should have the sketch complete.

Now we are ready to analyze your artifacts! Please

place your artifacts carefully on the tray so you can

bring them all back to your lab table.

Once you have all the artifacts in the lab, I’d like you

to work as a group to catalogue what you found. Using

the word bank, try to identify as many of the artifacts

as you can, and write down what you think they are

made of and what they could have been used for. You

can group them into items that are similar to each other

to make it easier.

Once your group has catalogued the artifacts, go to the next page and make observations about the

artifacts that you found. Answer as many of the questions as you can, and work as a group.


Archaeologists excavating Katherine Nanny Naylor’s privy

Diagram of a Privy


Archaeology of Puritan Massachusetts:

The Katherine Nanny Naylor Story

Activity Kit instructions

Assembling kits for this activity does not require any specialty supplies. Supplies listed below can

all be found at JoAnn’s craft store, Walmart, garage sales, or your own household.

More images and background information on the original artifacts and excavation are online at:

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcarchexhibitsonline/crossstreetbacklot.htm

The mats for our kits are 1 meter square pieces of canvas that

have been painted with acrylic paints, however large craft

paper, or cardboard can easily be substituted. The corner of a

brick privy was painted in red tones, with dark brown dirt

painted inside of the feature, and lighter brown dirt painted

outside of the feature.

Thimble

Straight pin(s)

Wooden beads

Glass beads

Leather shoe piece

Lace fragment

Buckle

Fan strut

Fruit seeds and pits (or image printed from

following pages

Animal bones (chicken, cow, pig)

Decorated plate fragments

Plain plate fragments

Decorated ceramic cups and mugs

Decorated glasses

Cut nails

Exotic sea shells

Bowling ball (painted styrofoam ball)

Key

Whipworm parasite (image printed from the

following pages)

Artifacts are arranged within each privy feature (on the darker dirt color). Each kit should include the

following items. Items like dishes and glass should be in broken pieces, and any sharp edges sanded.

Key

Plate fragment Glass beads

Bowling ball Lace fragment

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcarchexhibitsonline/crossstreetbacklot.htm


Images for Activity Kits

Please photo copy as needed


Archaeology

Field and Lab Notebook

A Monthly Insight into the Cur-

Archaeology Vocabulary

Archaeology: The study of the material

things people leave behind, including

artifacts and features

Artifacts: The objects people of the

past have left behind

Feature: Patterns found in the ground

during an archaeological excavation

that could be the remains of buildings

or activities from people in the past

Archaeological Site: The place where

archaeologists find artifacts and fea-

tures

Excavate: The way archaeologists

carefully dig and record what they find

Privy: A type of feature that was origi-

nally used as an outhouse, a bathroom.

Can archaeology show if parts of this

story are true or false?

1) Katherine was born in England in 1630, but when

she was six years old, she moved to Boston with her fa-

ther. When she grew up, Katherine married Robert Nan-

ny, a rich merchant and together they had eight children.

Robert Nanny died in 1663 and Katherine re-married to

another rich merchant named Edward Naylor, and they

had two children

2) Katherine was a good Puritan woman. She dressed

modestly and plainly because those were the rules in Pu-

ritan New England. She did not play games or gamble

because those were against the law. Because she was

wealthy, she was able to eat good food and she had good

health. She passed her time by sitting quietly by the fire

and reading the Bible.

3) In 1671 she was granted a divorce from her husband

Edward even though this was very unusual for the time.

Katherine claimed that Edward threw dishes, food, and

chairs at her, their family, and their servants. He was

banished to 10 miles outside of the city. In February of

1716 Katherine Nanny Naylor died at the age of 85.”

Katherine Nanny Naylor’s Story


Name:_____________________________________

Date:______________________________________

Sketch Plan of Cross Street Back Lot Site, Privy Feature

Sketch the 1x1 meter archaeological unit that your team has just excavated. In-clude patterns in the soil called features as well as the objects people used in the past known as artifacts.


Thimble

Wooden bead

Child’s leather shoe piece

Fan strut

Buckle

Fruit pit

Animal bone

Straight pin

Ceramic plate or cup

Wine bottle piece

Nail

Lace

Key

Glass bead

Bowling ball

Caribbean seashell

Disease (parasite)

Archaeology Word Bank

Name:_____________________________________

Date:______________________________________

Catalogue of Cross Street Back Lot Site, Artifacts

Use this worksheet to catalogue the artifacts your team has found in and around

the privy.

Object Name # of

Objects

Object Material Object Use

Example: Nails 2 Metal, iron Building a house


Name:_____________________________________

Date:______________________________________

Lab Notes: Cross Street Back Lot Site, Privy Feature

Make observations about the artifacts that you have recovered from the privy and answer the questions below.

1) What items describe what Katherine or her family was wearing? Are they plain

or decorative?

2) What items tell us about Katherine’s leisure time? Did she have any hobbies?

3) What artifacts help us understand what Katherine ate? Do you eat any of the same food? Was there anything you found surprising about the food remains?

4) What do the dishes that Katherine ate from tell us?

5) What artifacts help us understand about the house that Katherine lived in?

6) Katherine’s two husbands were both supposedly merchants who travelled the world. Are there any artifacts that support this?

archaeology of puritan massachusetts: the katherine · pdf file · 2014-12-31made...

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