Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

156Dock was used to make poultices and to treat ringworm (Krochmal and Krochmal 1973). Medicalinterest in dock diminished rapidly in the 20 th century (Crellin and Philpott 1989).Non-Economic Herbaceous WeedsTwo seeds from two probable non-economic herbaceous weeds (spurge, composite family) werefound in the Yauhannah Bluff floated features (Table 13). Spurge, which was found in a singlefeature (Feature 284), is a weedy species with no recorded economic value. It is an adventiveweed that favors disturbed habitats and that grows abundantly around human habitations and inagricultural fields (Cox 1985; Radford et al. 1968). These plants are interpreted as probableyardweeds with no economic value. Although these plants probably served no economic functionand therefore are not directly related to human activities, their occurrence is an indicator ofdisturbance in the site vicinity.The spurges, Euphorbia sp., are a large family of annual and perennial herbaceous herbs andshrubs. Spurge fruits are available for harvest in the spring and summer months (Cox 1985;Radford et al 1968). This genus is distributed throughout the United States; Cox (1985) records sixspecies as natives of the northeastern United States. Radford et al. (1968) discuss 20 species thatare found in the southern states. Several varieties of spurge are documented by Favretti andFavretti (1990) and Leighton (1987) as late 18 th and 19 th -century ornamental flowers (Euphorbialathyrus, E. marginata, E. corollata, E. variegata). Three of these ornamentals have escapedcultivation (Euphorbia lathyrus, E. marginata, E. corollata, E. variegata), and two, Euphorbialathyrus and Euphorbia corollata, are widely naturalized weeds in the eastern United States.Spurges are a widely distributed naturally occurring weed that is commonly associated withdisturbed habitats such as yards, roadsides, and farm fields (Cox 1985; Radford et al 1968).Some species of Euphorbia were utilized as medicinal home remedies in the 19 th century. Twovarieties of spurge, Euphorbia corollata (flowering spurge) and Euphorbia maculata (spottedspurge), are recorded as medicinal herbs that were utilized in the first half of the 19 th century as alaxative and emetic (Crellin and Philpott 1989; Krochmal and Krochmal 1973). Spurge wasprescribed in the same fashion as milkweed (Asclepias sp.). Parke-Davis marketed a preparationof spurge as a laxative in 1900. According to Crellin and Philpott (1989), spurge was lesspopular than other laxatives, and was primarily resorted to as a last resort after other laxatives hadproven ineffective.WOOD CHARCOAL ANALYSISWood byproducts recovered by Phase III flotation of Early Woodland Period through Early 20 thCentury feature deposits consisted of 139.27 grams of greater than 2.0 mm wood charcoalfragments and 10.98 grams of resin (Tables 14-15). The identified wood charcoal assemblageprovided important insights into fuel use, building materials, and indication of past forestcomposition. Identifications were attempted on 419 pieces of wood charcoal, with the identifiedfragments placed into 12 categories. These categories consisted of indeterminate hardwood,indeterminate monocot, pine, and eight specifically identified hardwood taxa (Tables 17-18). Thewood charcoal assemblage was well preserved; 93 percent of the identified wood fragments werespecifically identifiable. Thirty of the fragments were either too small or distorted to identify beyondthe more general category of indeterminate hardwood.