Defining Attributes

This section discusses various religious objects found archaeologically in Maryland. Religion is a complicated topic for archaeologists, since it can be impossible to know the nature of spiritual meaning that people placed upon certain finds. For example, taken alone, a bird bone in the archaeological record has little meaning other than as a possible food source, but if found with copper pins, buttons, and a crystal, the bone may have been part of a deliberate spiritual offering. Such caches have often been discussed in literature on African-American archaeology. Unfortunately, identification and interpretation of ordinary items that were used in a spiritual way requires a more in-depth and nuanced approach than the Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland webpage is intended to offer. The MAC Lab is exploring other ways to share such data. This section will only discuss artifacts that were deliberately manufactured to have religious meaning, and are easily recognizable as religiously symbolic in their own right.

Background

Maryland’s 17th-century colonial founders, the Calvert family, were Roman Catholics at a time when Catholicism was banned in England. Many Catholics decided to immigrate to Maryland to be part of a colony that was friendly to their beliefs. Jesuits were among the earliest Europeans to sign up for the Maryland venture, and by the 1630s they had established plantations and engaged in missionary work to convert American Indians and other non-Catholics. The Franciscans later launched similar efforts. Not all European settlers in Maryland were Catholic, however, and there was a great deal of struggle between Catholics and Protestants at various times in the 17th century. The Calvert proprietary government was overthrown by Protestant forces in 1689, but by then the Catholic presence in Maryland was already well-established.

Roman Catholic practices can involve a great deal of iconography since a variety of objects such as saint pendants, crosses, and rosaries are considered sacred. Some Protestant groups who broke with Rome over liturgical differences rejected the use of icons, but other non-Catholics, such as Anglicans, had separated from the Catholic Church for more political reasons and they often continued to use sacred objects in daily worship. As with any household item used or worn on a daily basis, it is not uncommon to find religious artifacts on archaeological sites in Maryland dating from the 17th century to the present.

How to Navigate the Religious Artifacts

Religious artifacts can be searched by object type or by viewing all photos. Click on a thumbnail image for a larger version of the photo, a view of the back of the artifact, and details on site context, date range, dimensions, and a brief description of the artifact’s religious significance if known. Click on any site number or name to link to a page summarizing that site’s history and excavation.

	In this section, artifacts are grouped by similarities in type. The names used for type categories use historic terminology if possible. Some objects may appear twice if they fit multiple categories.
	This section has photos of all of the artifacts in thumbnail form. They are grouped according to the archaeological site they come from, and the sites are arranged in chronological order by end of occupation.

Authorship and Acknowledgements

The Religious Artifacts section of the Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland webpage was written by Sara Rivers Cofield, Curator of Federal Collections at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab). Erin Wingfield provided the research and text on Benedictine medals. Conversion to web format was completed by Sharon Raftery, MAC Lab Administrative Assistant. The author thanks MAC Lab staff members Patricia Samford, Ed Chaney, and Rebecca Morehouse, who provided editorial assistance and aided in locating artifacts.