Community, Identity, and Public Spaces

Abstract

This chapter examines changes reflected in the landscape and artifact composition of the Calvert House Site associated with its transformation from elite manor house to public inn and first official statehouse of the colony. Thirty-plus years of archaeology on the site have revealed a dynamic landscape that was altered repeatedly to suit the changing needs, circumstances, aspirations, and perceptions of the site’s occupants and patrons. Artifacts recovered also reveal changes in use of the site related to its transformation to public space and provide insight into its significance as a political and community social center during the seventeenth century. Theories of structuration and performance are drawn upon to examine how aspects of the built environment and material culture helped mediate public interactions on the site, facilitating the negotiation and establishment of both political order and community in early Maryland.