October just happens to be Virginia Archaeology Month, and what better way to celebrate than to recap this summer’s excavation at George Washington’s Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm. You might remember from our dig preview, that this year’s dig (FF-44) focused on the continued exploration of the 18th-century kitchen site located just northeast of the … Continue reading That’s A Wrap! Ferry Farm’s Dig Season Recap
Native Americans
Behind the Glass at Ferry Farm’s Archaeology Lab
The observer stands behind glass and watches. The one being watched picks up the object with her bare hands turns it carefully to see every angle, then sets it down to record data into her computer. Then she washes her hands, unwraps another object – and eats it! Visitors to George Washington’s Ferry Farm can … Continue reading Behind the Glass at Ferry Farm’s Archaeology Lab
Corncrib: A Building as Corny as it Gets
If you have followed the news of our excavations, you will have kept up to date with our building finds. The past two summers helped uncover evidence of one such structure, which we now believe represents a corncrib. While the name may seem self-explanatory, we have frequently heard the question, “What is a corncrib?” To … Continue reading Corncrib: A Building as Corny as it Gets
Five Cool Ancient Artifacts Found at Ferry Farm [Photos]
Fredericksburg is famous for its colonial and Civil War history – but what about before that history? Decades of archaeological excavations at George Washington’s Ferry Farm have revealed millennia of human development and technology from pre-historic Native American Clovis spearpoints to 18th-century wig curlers and beyond. While our main focus rests on young George Washington's … Continue reading Five Cool Ancient Artifacts Found at Ferry Farm [Photos]
When Games are Serious Business: Chunkey
Sometimes games are just fun but sometimes games can make you or break you. This is the case with chunkey, a Native American game. Invented around 600 AD by indigenous peoples of the Cahokia region (near modern day St. Louis, Missouri), chunkey was a popular game that spread across much of North America. There were … Continue reading When Games are Serious Business: Chunkey
Experimental Archaeology: Making Cordage [Video]
In this video, archaeologist Mara Kaktins demonstrates how Native Americans used plant fibers to make rope. See other experimental archaeology demonstrations during "ArchaeoFest: Exploring Ancient Technology" at George Washington's Ferry Farm on Saturday, October 26. For event details, visit here.
Ferry Farm’s Oldest Artifact
Many visitors to George Washington’s Ferry Farm are surprised to learn that about a quarter of the 750,000 artifacts excavated by Ferry Farm’s archaeologists were created by Native Americans. However, given that indigenous people were living in the land we call Virginia for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans, it makes perfect … Continue reading Ferry Farm’s Oldest Artifact
Video – Experimental Archaeology: Stone Tool Making
Archaeologists at Ferry Farm regularly find evidence of 'expedient' tool making by Native Americans. These quickly-made tools were created for a single, immediate job and, once used, just discarded. In this video, we break off a flake of obsidian and use it to fillet a fish. See the other videos in our Experimental Archaeology series: glue-making, … Continue reading Video – Experimental Archaeology: Stone Tool Making
Video: The Science of History – Experimental Archaeology & Earth Oven Cooking
Archaeologists sometimes recreate technology from the past to understand how people lived. This is called experimental archaeology. In this video, we recreate an earth oven and cook catfish in it. Watch our other experimental archaeology videos: episode one and episode two.
Video: The Science of History – Experimental Archaeology & Stoneboiling
Archaeologists sometimes recreate technology from the past to understand how people lived. This is called experimental archaeology. Native American occupation of Ferry Farm left behind many artifacts including fire-cracked rocks. This video shows how those rock artifacts were made through a cooking technique known as stoneboiling. See the first video in our Science of History … Continue reading Video: The Science of History – Experimental Archaeology & Stoneboiling
Lives & Legacies 