Rice University Research Repository
The Rice Research Repository (R-3) provides access to research produced at Rice University, including theses and dissertations, journal articles, research center publications, datasets, and academic journals. Managed by Fondren Library, R-3 is indexed by Google and Google Scholar, follows best practices for preservation, and provides DOIs to facilitate citation. Woodson Research Center collections, including Rice Images and Documents and the Task Force on Slavery, Segregation, and Racial Injustice, have moved here.
Communities
Recent Submissions
A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Diet and Provisioning Strategies of Captive Laborers at Varner-Hogg Plantation
(Rice University, 2022) Festa, Natalie; Prendergast, Mary; Morgan, Molly; Anthropology
Final Report on the 2022 Rice University Excavations at Varner-Hogg Plantation (41BO133)
(Rice University, 2022) Morgan, Molly; Jalbert, Catherine; Black, Reece; Katongo, Maggie; Blundell, Mac; Ess, Nick; Festa, Natalie; Janson, Bri; Joy, Grace; Landry, Katelyn; Orta, Phoenix; Pickett, Kenzie; Rothko, Isabel; Zaragoza, Jesús Vega; Pearce, Vincent; McBeth, Cheryl; McWeeney, Grace; Anthropology
The Rice University excavations at Varner-Hogg Plantation, a key component of the ANTH 362 Field Techniques class, took place over three weekends in the spring of 2022. Laboratory analysis and public history studies continued at the Rice University Archaeological Learning Laboratory through May. The class of 12 Rice students worked on a team also comprised of Dr. Molly Morgan (Rice archaeologist), Dr. Catherine Jalbert and Reece Black (Texas Historical Commission archaeologists), and Grace McWeeney and Cheryl McBeth (community interns). Following a previous season of work in 2020, our research focus continues to be on the 19th century experiences of captive laborers through the excavation of contexts thought to have been residences of enslaved people, or perhaps in later contexts to the laborers brought to work at the site through the convict leasing
system. Other important aspects of our project include community-based archaeology, museums studies, and public dissemination of research results in cultural heritage contexts.
Mapping Legacy: The Burrell Chapel Cemetery Report
(Rice University, 2024) Falana, Mariam; Guo, Ke; Jun, Sarah; Mekala, Naisha; Center for Civic Leadership
This Houston Action Research Team, supported by the Center for Civic Leadership, examines how the historically underrepresented Black community of Burrell Chapel, located in Brazoria County, has been negatively impacted by the Burrell Chapel Cemetery’s decline. The cemetery has fallen into disrepair and is difficult to access, which has strained the ability of Burrell Chapel
community members to connect with the cemetery and commemorate their loved ones. This HART Team has also explored the significance and implications of Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation, ultimately submitting an application packet for Burrell Chapel Cemetery to receive HTC designation.
Final Report on the 2023 Rice University Excavations at Varner-Hogg Plantation (41BO133)
(Rice University, 2023) Morgan, Molly; Bourgeois, Nicholas; Black,Reece; Katongo,Maggie; Gee, Margo; Munson, Nikole Tamez; Autrey, Justan; MacDonald, Jess; Anthropology
The Rice University Advanced Field Techniques in Archaeology course took place in the spring of 2023, with excavations at Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site in West Columbia, Texas. This project has focused on the area of the site located in what is called the picnic loop, across Varner Creek from the main house at Varner-Hogg Plantation. This is the area of the site where the quarters of the enslaved have been documented. In 2020 and 2022, under permit Texas Antiquities Permit #9237, excavations identified the rubble remains of brick foundations of Structure 3, with domestic material culture supporting the interpretation of the structure as a residential cabin. The 19th century diagnostic artifacts situate the occupation in the middle to late 19th century when slavery and captive leasing took place at Patton Place (what the plantation was called at the time) and throughout the region.
Excavations at the Varner-Hogg Plantation Slave Quarters: 2020 Field Season Results
(Rice University, 2020) Jalbert, Catherine; Morgan, Molly; Hickey, Kristen; Howe-Kerr, Luke; Merchant, Joe; Bartsch, Kyle; Bhatnagar, Anshul|Custer, Katherine; Devine, Lizzie; Gonzalez, Virginia; Hwang, Elaine; Miller, Victoria; Rasich, Biz; Anthropology
In the spring semester of 2020, Rice University students participated in archaeological excavations at the Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, under the project directors Dr. Molly Morgan�(Rice faculty) and Dr. Catherine Jalbert (Texas Historical Commission). The project team conducted research over four weekends in February and the first weekend in March. This fieldwork fulfilled the requirements for
the course ANTH 362: Archaeological Field Techniques. Fieldwork in this project involved students in setting up units of investigation, learning about soils and stratigraphy, hands-on excavation and materials collection methods, and the recording and documentation of all facets of research. Typically, this fieldwork is followed by artifact analysis and interpretation, but in this
year of COVID-19, the Rice University Archaeology Laboratory closed and students finished the course by writing summaries of fieldwork and literature reviews on particular artifact categories and their importance in historical archaeology.