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A Trans-Atlantic merchant’s house in Charleston: Archaeological exploration of refinement and subsistence in an urban setting

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Abstract

A century after its founding in 1670, Charleston, South Carolina, was the wealthiest city per capita in the British colonies. The city’s richest merchants and planters proclaimed their achieved status through material possessions as well as actions. Archaeological research in Charleston has explored the homes of several elite community members, most recently that of Nathaniel Russell (ca.1808). Data from Russell’s house, supplemented with those from 20 other urban sites, are used to explore the issues of refinement, landscape development, and ethnic relations in an urban setting.

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Zierden, M. A Trans-Atlantic merchant’s house in Charleston: Archaeological exploration of refinement and subsistence in an urban setting. Hist Arch 33, 73–87 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373624

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