Sideplate from a firearm
- Title:
- Sideplate from a firearm
- Collection:
- Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections
- Donor:
- Prof. Emeritus Robert Ascher, one of the principal excavators
- Date:
- ca. 1800-1865
- Site:
- Cumberland Island,Camden,Georgia,United States
- Location:
- Cumberland Island,Camden,Georgia,United States
- Country:
- United States
- ID Number:
- Anthr1983_002_0200_02
- Old Catalog Number:
- 983.2.200
- File Name:
- Anthr1983_002_0200_02.jpg
- Culture:
- antebellum
- Work Type:
- firearm components
knives: general cutting tools - Materials/Techniques:
- metal
nonferrous metal
probably brass - Subject:
- slavery
georgia
plantations
georgia
georgia
muzzleloading
parts
knives
improvised - Measurement:
- 64 x 12.5 x approx 2 (millimeters, thickness)
5 (hole) (millimeters, thickness) - Description:
- Flat metal plate (probably brass), with one rounded end with a hole drilled through
slight impression in the metal around the hole from the larger head of an attachment bolt that had been run through. This was originally identified as "a knifeblade handle" and "the handle segment of a knife" (Ascher and Fairbanks, Fig.8
p.11), but is almost certainly part of the sideplate of a firearm (a metal plate on the opposite side of the stock from the gun's lock, used for decoration and to strengthen the attachment of the lock). The hammer marks at the broken end resemble those produced in blacksmithing when thinning a metal blade, and this piece may have been worked in an attempt to produce a knife from a found (or stolen) piece of metal. - Bibliography:
- Robert Ascher and Charles H. Fairbanks, "Excavation of a Slave Cabin: Georgia, U.S.A." Historical Archaeology 5 (1971), pp.3-17.
- Archival Collection:
- Georgia Slave Cabin archaeological collection
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Collection 'Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections' are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are Cornell University Library and the Department of Anthropology. Physical artifacts from the Cornell Anthropology Collections were photographed by Cornell University Library in 2012-13 for inclusion in this image collection. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.
Cornell would like to learn more about items in this collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information. This collection is funded by an Arts and Sciences Grant to Frederic W. Gleach, Curator of the Anthropology Collections. Please contact him for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.