A common characteristic of Virginia slave quarters is the presence of subfloor pits. Commonly explained as root cellars or storage places for personal belongings, these pits may well have served as West African-style shrines. Through the analysis of 103 subfloor pits dating from the 17th century to the Civil War, Samford shows how the slaves used these pits. Her work exposes the material culture of a people with little or no history and illuminates aspects of their lives, and it shows how West African traditions were preserved over long periods of time in a very hostile social environment.
Slave archaeology is one of the new fields of American historical archaeology, and this study shows that it can elucidate our understanding of a major American culture. Samford delivers an exciting piece of research into an exciting new area of archaeology and demonstrates the potential it has to enhance our understanding of a little understood part of the American heritage. – Mark Michel
