What Lies Beneath: The Archaeology of Colonial Durham

What was everyday life really like here in Durham during its time as an early colonial New England frontier? In this talk, based on her recent book The Shock of Colonialism in New England: Fragments from a Frontier, archaeologist Dr. Meghan C. L. Howey shares discoveries from the Great Bay Archaeological Survey (GBAS). Her work combines archaeology with careful archival research, collaboration with Indigenous knowledge keepers, and community partnerships to uncover powerful, often overlooked social and ecological histories of early colonialism (ca.1600 – 1750). Buried below the surface right here in Durham, we find evidence of diverse English colonial lives, rich relationships with Indigenous peoples, and lasting environmental impacts of early industries. But our chance to recover a more dynamic understanding of early colonialism is at risk -- rising sea levels are washing our area’s archaeological sites away. About the speaker: Meghan C.L. Howey is a Professor in Anthropology and the Earth Systems Research Center and Director of the Center for the Humanities at UNH. She is a community-engaged archaeologist interested in past cultural landscapes and early colonialism. She received her B.A. (2000) from the University of Delaware and her M.A. (2002) and Ph.D. (2006) from the University of Michigan. She has conducted research in North America, Europe, and East Africa. Her first book explored the ceremonial landscapes of ancestral Anishinaabeg peoples in the northern Great Lakes in the period just before colonial encounter (ca. AD 1200-1600). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis, ethnohistoric research, collaboration with Indigenous knowledge keepers, and interdisciplinary work with earth scientists enhance her research. Her most recent project, the Great Bay Archaeological Survey (GBAS), began during her time as the James H. Hayes and Claire Short Hayes Professor of the Humanities and continues today, as she and her team keep exploring overlooked stories of our shared past embedded in coastal New Hampshire.