Continuity and Change

Archeologists excavating near Hannah Reynolds' and Margaret Abbitt's cabin found artifacts buried in the soil. Archeologists aren't sure whether the artifacts belonged to Hannah or Margaret. The artifacts help us to remember that Hannah and Margaret were real people, who had things of their own, even though they were enslaved property to the Coleman family. We can imagine how the women used them everyday, during a time when African Americans experienced the change from slavery to emancipation.

The artifacts tie together African American life at Appomattox before and after the Civil War during a period called Reconstruction. Emancipation made major life and societal changes a reality for Hannah, Margaret, and the 4 million enslaved people across the American South. Artifacts like these attest to their experiences.

Directions
1. Open each link to an artifact in the 3d viewer.
2. Write a description of each artifact. What is its shape? What is the color? What other characteristics can you describe?
3. Answer each of the questions.

A comb, button, and bead found at the archeological site. NPS photo.

Artifact 1: Celluloid comb with finely-spaced teeth (dates to after 1869). See a 3d model.
Artifact 2: Prosser-type pressed ceramic button (dates to 1840-1900). See a 3d model.
Artifact 3: Bead carved from a pig's tooth (19th century). See a 3d model.

• How might Hannah or Margaret have used the artifacts?
• Based on the dates, which artifacts are most likely to have belonged to Hannah or Margaret?

Pipes from the archeological site. NPS image.

Artifact 4: Pamplin pipe bowl (dates to late 18th to late 19th century). See a 3d model.
Artifact 5: Brown-glazed Pamplin pipe bowl (dates to late 19th century). See a 3d model.
Artifact 6: Pamplin pipe bowl (dates to late 18th to late 19th century). See a 3d model.

Pamplin smoking pipes were made in Pamplin, Virginia, which was 10 miles away from Appomattox. Ninety percent of the pipe pieces found at the cabin site were made in Pamplin. Before the Civil War, the pipes were handmade using local red clay. A factory in Pamplin opened in 1879 to produce pipes faster and increase supply to satisfy the increasing demand. Since 1879 is the earliest year that the factory-made pipes could have been produced, the factory-made pipes found at the site could not have belonged to Hannah, because they were made after she died in 1865.

• Describe each of the three pipe bowls. How are they the same? How are they different?
• Imagine each artifact as if it was complete. What is missing?
• How were the artifacts used?

• Who might have used these artifacts? How sure can you be they were used by Margaret, Hannah, or another person?

Put It Together
Find a friend for this activity. Each of you should choose an object that you use everyday. Exchange the objects. Write down a description of your friend's object. Draw a picture. Speculate on where it came from, and how it is used. How do you know to whom it belongs?

Ask your friend: Why is this object meaningful to you?