Abstract
Archaeologists often attempt to link artifacts recovered from enslaved plantation contexts to African-derived spiritual belief systems. Recent excavations within the slave cabins of Kingsley Plantation have revealed many artifacts that potentially held religious significance for the first-generation enslaved Africans who lived there between 1814 and 1839, the most significant of which was an intact chicken sacrifice buried in a slave cabin floor. The types of spiritual acts that involve animal sacrifice within several historic and modern cultures of West and Central Africa are documented and critically evaluated, and an interpretation is given regarding the example from Kingsley Plantation within its New World context.
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Acknowledgments
The archaeological work at Kingsley Plantation was performed for the National Park Service under permit (Nos. TIMU 2006–01; TIMU 2009–02). During the 2006 UF field school, Erika Roberts and Clete Rooney served as graduate teaching assistants, and helped oversee excavations, including the unit which contained Feature 4. I’d like to personally acknowledge the assistance of Bennie Keel and David Morgan (SEAC-Tallahassee), John Whitehurst, Barbara Goodman (park superintendent), as well as the entire staff of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve National Park, for their continued support of this work.
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Davidson, J.M. “A Cluster of Sacred Symbols”: Interpreting an Act of Animal Sacrifice at Kingsley Plantation, Fort George Island, Florida (1814–39). Int J Histor Archaeol 19, 76–121 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-014-0282-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-014-0282-1