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Medieval to Georgian Culture, James Deetz

In this paper, we explore the transition in American colonial architecture from the medieval to Georgian cultural phases, and the associated rise of capitalism in Western society. We will look at several aspects of this transitional period, as manifested in home building, ceramic artifacts, and gravestones. The perspectives and influence of key players including James Deetz and Mark Leone will also be analyzed and compared.

Stull (2000) describes the concept of a medieval American home, using the distinctive example of houses from early colonial times in the state of Massachusetts. James Deetz used the term "medieval" to describe such structures, based upon art history traditions of the time. Stull argues that colonial building styles were in fact part of a much longer period of social change that preceded the British colonization of America's New England region. Stull considered that Deetz's usage of the medieval label should be restricted to the context of the structuralist model of societal change that was promoted not only by Deetz, but also by Mark Leone.

Historical archaeologists are sometimes able to date gravestones by observing the styles used to carve them. Gravestones also provide historical information, in the form of dates and names inscribed upon their surfaces, as well as genealogical records of dates of birth and death and names of spouses or relatives. It was the seminal work of James Deetz and his associate Edwin Dethlefsen which first illustrated the trends in gravestone styles used during the period of 1720 to 1820 in the state of Massachusetts. Early styles of flat gravestones fronted with a winged skull motif (representing death) gave way to a more pleasant cherub design near the turn of the 18th century. The cherub motif also soon lapsed following the year 1800, giving way to an urn-and-willow motif featuring a serene image of a burial urn overarched by the branches of a willow tree. The important pattern that emerged from this analysis by Deetz and counterparts was that of the life cycle of decorative motifs and patterns, which were typically created, became popular for a time, and then declined in usage as society's interest shifted to newer designs. Their work also helped to track the migration and movement of the local populations, as distinctive gravestone patterns could be observed to move in a westward direction over time, as stone masons and artisans migrated in that direction (Orser, 2003).

Orser (2003) describes the significance of ceramic artifacts to interpretations of the Georgian Order by James Deetz and other archaeologists. Deetz believed that dark, earth-toned ceramic vessels of earlier periods came to be viewed as less refined, and were associated with the dark middle-ages or Renaissance periods. In contrast, the rise of the Georgian Order saw the increased popularity of more lightly toned ceramic pieces, commonly termed as creamware, pearlware and whiteware. Such vessels were regarded as being more orderly and reflective of refined society than their darker predecessors.

Berger and Associates (1997) describe the thoughts of historian James Deetz and others related to so-called "Big Idea" historical views of the eighteenth century, which tended to be biased towards the wealthy of the time. The real plight of millions of Americans residing in log cabins, tar-paper structures, and the like until well into the twentieth century was not sufficiently represented in such views. Deetz attached significance to the trend of poor European-Americans transitioning from their former "vernacular" homes into newer structures with "balanced Georgian plans." Berger notes that the homes and belongings of the poor of that era were much less likely to survive above-ground than those of wealthier citizens, who were more likely to possess durables such as ceramics and furniture. Therefore, recovered archaeological artifacts became essential to re-creating a balanced picture of life in prior centuries, which Berger has termed as being a more "democratic perspective on the past." Deetz regarded eighteenth-century changes in the popular mindset and purchasing patterns as being indicators of the profound transformation that was occurring in societal values of the time. Deetz went further, to raise the question of whether the poor of America may have actually "missed out" on the Renaissance, as he regarded the transition into a Georgian-structured home to be a key indicator of the "shift from medieval into modern ways of thinking (Berger and Associates, 1997)."