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| Title | Houstonian, 1994 |
| Contributor (LCNAF) |
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| Date | 1994 |
| Description | This edition of the Houstonian, published by the students of the university in 1994, is the official yearbook of the University of Houston. |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
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| Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Location | LD2281.H745 H6 v. 60 1994 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1158762~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Houstonian Yearbook Collection |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
| Use and Reproduction | In Copyright |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Title | Academics |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | yearb_1994_091.jpg |
| Transcript | Students Dig Up the Past Archeology students recover Civil War artifacts found on a Houston area plantation More than 100 years ago, black tenants at a Houston area plantation could have been forced off the land they worked, leaving behind all they owned. During the past eight years, groups of UH archeology students have been recovering these artifacts at the Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria County. "We have found what I call a forced abandonment where the tenants left the plantation in a hurry," said Dr. Ken Brown, project director and UH archeology professor. "The tenants could have been forced off because of ownership or residue from the Civil War," said Tony Davison, a UH archeology student participating in the project. The dig began as a one-year project of the UH Archeology Department, but it grew as the groups began to find more artifacts and discovered the possible forced departure of the tenants, Brown said. Since the dig began, the groups have found over 100,000 artifacts. Many of the items are now on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute. Artifacts recovered include coins dating back before the Civil War, buttons, bone fragments, glass pieces and a bayonet, Davison said. "We found a cluster of silver coins which could have been wrapped in a piece of cloth," Davison said. "A complete curers kit which served the tenants was found and is now in the Smithsonian," Brown said. A curers kit was a folk doctor's medicine The most important thing is to learn about the community and domestic life of black tenants in the late 1800s -Dr. Brown. kit, and the tenants believed the spells these doctors performed could cure them of ailments. One of the largest former slave plantations in Texas, the Levi Jordan Plantation was built between 1848 and 1851. The main two-story house is still standing, but the brick slave quarters have been torn down or covered up by debris over the years, Davison said. For five weeks during the summer, approximately 25 UH archeology students participated in field school at the plantation. "We had to maintain records of each unit including drawings and field notes," Davison said. After the artifacts were collected, they were brought back to the UH archeology lab for examining and cataloging. An agreement has been reached with the current plantation owners, descendents of Levi Jordan, to keep the artifacts for four to eight years after the project ends for continued studying, Brown said. "At that time, the artifacts will be returned to the plantation, sent to the Smithsonian or sent to a local museum," Brown said. The possibility of converting the main house into a museum for the artifacts is also being explored, Brown said. "The most important thing I want us to get out of the archeology dig is to learn about community and domestic life of mostly black tenants in the late 1800s," said Brown. Tammy Gamble Archeology 63) 121 |