African Identity and Archaeology at Kingsley Plantation

— African Identity in the Archival Record —

The birthplace of African-American archaeology can be traced to Kingsley Plantation, where archaeologists in 1968 first began to search for artifacts that reflected African identity. Many of the slaves that lived here during Zephaniah Kingsley's era (1814-1839) were African-born or the children of Africans. A list of Kingsley slaves prior to his arrival on Fort George Island provides examples of their nationalities or language groups: Ibo, Calaban, Rio Pong, Soosoo, and Zanzibar.

Kingsley allowed his Africans to keep their tribal names instead of forcing Anglicized names upon them. African names included Quamila, Beechy, M'Badnie, Tita, Aibo, Cabo, M'Sooma, Motorro, Tamafia, and Anobia. Children born at Kingsley's plantations were also given African names, such as the boy named Badju and another boy named Mtoto, the Swahili word for "child."

Zephaniah and Anna Kingsley are most remembered at Kingsley Plantation, but much of the history of the site was made by the hundreds of enslaved Africans forced to work the fields. These individuals lived and died with scarce written accounts of their being. Beyond a rare list of names, these man, women, and children are virtually absent from historic records. This erasure from history is true for enslaved men and women throughout the Americas. Without written records, this lost history can only be brought back to life through archaeology.

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African Identity
Slave Cabins
Slave Cabins
Slave Cabins
Slave Cabins
Slave Cabins
Slave Cabins
Slaves Cabins
Kingsley Plantation
Kingsley Plantation

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