Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT YOURHANEY PLANTATION151Bayberries produce seeds from August through October. These small trees and shrubs are found inthickets and woodlands throughout the sandhills and coastal plain. They are particularly prevalentin pocosins, marshes, and bogs. Bayberry plants were planted as a garden ornamental in both18 th and 19 th -century gardens (Favretti and Favretti 1990; Leighton 1987). The leaves and nutletsfrom these aromatic shrubs were used by both Historic Indians and Euro-American settlers as aseasoning. Europeans used this seasoning in place of bay leaves (Fernald and Kinsey 1958;Peterson 1977). Wax was boiled from the berries by both Native Americans and Europeansettlers and used to make candles and soap (Fernald and Kinsey 1958; Peterson 1977). TheSeminole also smoked the dried leaves as a tobacco substitute. The Creek, Choctaw, Koashati,Houma, and Seminole Indians used the bayberry in medicinal remedies. Decoctions of the leaveswere used as a febrifuge, for headaches and stomachaches, and as an emetic. Eighteenth-centuryEuro-American physicians used this plant in a similar manner and also utilized the wax as a woundplaster (Crellin and Philpott 1989).Seven species (both naturalized and native) of sage are found in the United States (Britton andBrown 1970). These perennial herbs, which fruit from May through July, are common constituentsof dry woods, thickets, and old fields. Sage was a popular spice and medicinal herb that wascommonly grown in 17 th through 19 th -century gardens in the United States (Favretti and Favretti1990). Sage was also planted in the 18 th and 19 th -centuries as a perennial border plant andgarden ornamental. Sage was more commonly grown as an ornamental than culinary herb in 19 th -century gardens (Favretti and Favretti 1990). It’s principal use as a spice was to season meats andstuffings used in fowl (Coon 1963). Sage was used medicinally in 19 th -century America as atreatment for sore throats, to reduce fevers, for intestinal worms, as a topical treatment for skinsores, and to treat coughs (Crellin and Philpott 1989; Krochmal and Krochmal 1973).FruitsTwo varieties of economically important fruits, mulberry and peach, were found in an 18 th -centuryhearth (Feature 124) and an indeterminate 18 th /19 th -century clay extraction pit (Feature 208). Bothof these fruits were once cultivated, but are widely distributed in the wild as well. These plantswere popular sources of fresh fruit and were also commonly preserved in a variety of ways, mostnotably as jellies and jams. The peach pit probably documents a deliberately planted lawn orgarden tree. The mulberry may document a lawn tree, but, given the evidence for fairly substantialhardwood forests growing in the site vicinity throughout the 18 th century, this fruit seed likelyoriginated from a wild edge zone tree.The mulberry is a small deciduous tree that was popular as a medicine, for its edible fruit, and asan ornamental (Crellin and Philpott 1989; Fernald and Kinsey 1958; Krochmal and Krochmal1973; Medve and Medve 1990). Its fruits ripen from June to July and its favored habitat is rich soilhorizons in alluvial woods (Britton and Brown 1970; Radford et al. 1968). Three species ofmulberry are common in the United States: the red mulberry (Morus rubra), which is native to theeastern United States; the white mulberry (Morus alba), which is a native Asian species that wasintroduced by the British in the 17 th century; and the black mulberry (Morus nigra), which is an alsoan introduced species. Mulberries were popular lawn trees in the 19 th century (Angier 1974;Crellin and Philpott 1989; Leighton 1987, Medve and Medve 1990; Radford et al. 1968).Mulberry fruits were eaten fresh, dried, and made into pies, jams, and jellies. The fruits were alsocrushed and made into a beverage.