Author: Douglas V. Armstrong

Douglas V. Armstrong, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University where he holds a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith professorship and Maxwell professor of teaching excellence. He has been engaged in archaeological and historical research in the Caribbean since the late 1970s and has been involved in New York State Archaeology since joining the Syracuse University faculty in 1986. He has been involved in archaeological and historical research at the Harriet Tubman Home and related topics linked to social movements, abolition and women’s rights for more than two decades. In the Caribbean, he is currently working on archaeological projects in Dominica and Barbados. His Caribbean research has focused on cultural transformations and ethnogenesis related to the African Diaspora with a focus on household and community archaeology under conditions of enslavement as well as movements to freedom.

Using Archaeology to Rediscover Harriet Tubman’s Life in Freedom

Archaeological and historic records related to Harriet Tubman’s life in freedom indicate that she was a resilient woman with deep spiritual beliefs and a willingness to open her home and to offer her resources to others. Despite obstacles, with the help of the AME Zion Church, and an array of supporters, Tubman created a special place where aging and homeless African Americans could find shelter and freedom from want.

The archaeological record recovered at the Harriet Tubman Home serves to remind us to move with deliberate action and to pursue freedom and dignity on behalf of others.