Race, as an identifier of populations and individuals, has been a central concern of anthropologists since the discipline first developed. With the present research I seek to understand the comparability of two historical conventions on the meaning of racial identity; (1) discursively construed categories, and (2) discrimination and/or affiliation as practiced in community and personal interactions. I use a specific historical context, in the 17 ^th century early plantation period of Sylvester Manor, where interactions between the English/Dutch Sylvesters, enslaved Africans, and indigenous Manhanset occurred, to explore these conventions. The site offers a rare perspective on those interactions through both archaeological and documentary evidence.

Sylvester Manor was established as provisioning plantation in 1652. Archaeological evidence of the early plantation operation was recovered in excavations conducted 1998-2006. The assemblage from the core plantation area included lithics, locally made coarse earthenwares, and shell and copper beads, suggesting the involvement of the indigenous Manhanset in the plantation production sphere. A tightly centralized working and residential landscape of the plantation indicates that there may have been considerable interaction between the Manhanset and the enslaved Africans. The potential introduction and sharing of technological knowledge between the two groups is here examined by analyzing the production and utilization of certain materials (locally produced earthenwares and lithics) in both pre-colonial and plantation period contexts.

Locally produced ceramics were examined through attribute recording, chemical composition, and optical petrography. Although the use of shell as temper was a practice incorporated prior to colonial settlement, the volume and processing of that temper changed dramatically after. The change in practice implied a change in firing technology, which was confirmed in optical petrographic characterization. A comparable and likely related technology taking place at the plantation at that time was mortar production. Debitage analysis, documentation of edge-damage, and assessment of heat-damage on all recovered lithic material also showed the introduction of more varied skill-levels and utilization patterns, as well as the adoption of ballast flint. These results indicate that, despite increasing discursive distinctions between racial categories, enslaved Africans and Native Americans were likely forging mutually beneficial relationships grounded in technological exchange and cooperation.