Oakley Cabin: An Archaeological Case Study of an African American Cabin in Montgomery County, Maryland 1820 - 1900

This paper seeks to understand the collective identity of the inhabitants of a 19th century African American domestic archaeological site, particularly how those inhabitants’ consumer choices reflected their identity pre- and post-Emancipation. The researcher uses ceramics and glass from four excavation units to focus on the consumer choices of the African American people who lived in the Oakley Cabin from 1820 – 1900. This paper explores how the geographical and local, regional and national historical context shaped the lives of the Oakley Cabin inhabitants and influenced their consumption and consumer choices. Living in a racialized society, Oakley Cabin residents made choices that reflected a negotiation within that society. Even the most mundane material culture choices could have been used as agents to resist the dominant culture. The interpretation of the artifacts illustrate the Oakley Cabin residents’ on-going creativity, agency and aspiration to create a space for themselves within a changing society.