The Archaeology of New Netherland : A World Built on Trade

Contributors to this volume begin by discussing the global context of Dutch colonization and reviewing typical Dutch material culture of the time as seen in ceramics from Amsterdam households. Next, they focus on communities and activities at colonial sites such as forts, trading stations, drinking houses, and farms. The essays examine the agency and impact of Indigenous people and enslaved Africans, particularly women, in the society of New Netherland, and they trace interactions between Dutch settlers and Europeans from other colonies including New Sweden. The volume also features landmark studies of cooking pots, marbles, tobacco pipes, and other artifacts.

The research in this volume offers an invitation to investigate New Netherland with the same sustained rigor that archaeologists and historians have shown for English colonialism. The many topics outlined here will serve as starting points for further work on early Dutch expansion in America.