The Times of Their Lives Life, Love, and Death in the Plymouth Colony

by Deetz, James; Deetz, Patricia Scott

• ISBN13: 9780716738305
• ISBN10: 0716738309
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-15
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman

Summary

Who were the Pilgrims? Far from the somberly clad, stern, and righteous figures children learn about in school, many of the early settlers of Plymouth actually dressed in bright colors, drank heavily, and often got into trouble. A surprising new look at America's founding fathers and mothers, The Times of Their Lives presents a realistic, factual account of the Plymouth colony based on contemporary archaeology, cultural research, and living history. Taking little known trial transcripts, personal accounts, wills and probate records, as well as physical artifacts such as shards and spoons unearthed from old foundations, James and Patricia Deetz reveal what life in seventeenth century Plymouth was really like. In the process they blow the dust off the dull, wooden figures of tradition and show the people of Plymouth as vibrant individuals who lived out complex and colorful lives in a world profoundly different than our own. Beginning with an eyewitness account of the first Thanksgiving, The Times of Their Lives offers an often startling portrait of Plymouth Colony that includes aspects of the legal system, folk beliefs, family life, women's roles and gender issues, eating habits, alcohol use, sexual misconduct, domestic violence, suspicious deaths, and violent crimes. The result is an impeccably researched and highly imaginative work that shakes up our view of one of the most cherished myths of American history.

Author Biography

James Deetz, Ph.D., is the Harrison Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Virginia. Perhaps the foremost expert on the archaeology of Plymouth Colony, he is considered one of the "founding fathers" of Historical Archaeology. For eleven years Deetz worked as the Assistant Director of the museum at Plymouth Plantation, where he introduced an innovative interpretive program. He is the author of In Small Things Forgotten and Flowerdew Hundred.

Patricia Scott Deetz is a cultural historian with an M. A. in history from Rhodes University, South Africa. She has worked with her husband as a researcher in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Virginia for the past seven years.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	vi
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
Partakers of Our Plenty: The Pilgrim Myth	1	(30)
I Will Harry Them Out of the Land!---The Early Years, 1606-1627	31	(50)
There be Witches Too Many: Glimpses of the Social World	81	(50)
In an Uncivil Manner: Sex-Related Crimes, Violence & Death	131	(40)
A Few Things Needful: Houses and Furnishings	171	(40)
Still Standing in the Ground: The Archaeology of Early Plymouth	211	(62)
The Time of Their Lives: Plimoth Plantation	273	(20)
Sources and Notes	293	(61)
Index	354