Saturday, September 21, 2013

The Settlement of Jamestown (Part II)


Our afternoon was spent at a place called Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum started in the 1950s.  We first came to a large, lovely building filled with intriguing displays of the history of the area.  Our children were not in the mood to stand and study or read and learn, so we took only a quick glance at the exhibits, making a hopeful mental plan to come back to enjoy them later.  (We didn't have time.  Guess we have to go back!)

Each section of this place has a tour guide.  (There are three sections: the Indian Village, the Colonial Settlement and the Shipyard.)  When we told our collective group of kids that we were meeting up with a tour guide, there was a universal sigh of disappointment.  But when our guide, a quiet-spoken but fairly big guy, dressed in the clothes of the Powhatan tribe (i.e. not much clothing, plenty of face paint, and a feather arrow through his ear), the kids were suddenly attentive and interested!  :)



Our guide took us to the Indian village and shared plenty of interesting anecdotes and information.  Then he allowed everyone time to play with everything!  We could lay down on the furs, handle the clay pots, grind our own corn, dig out canoes...lots of fun!

digging a canoe using clam shells


pounding corn


Seriously!?  They let us handle all the clay pots? 
(It was cool to learn how the shape of each pot was based on what was to be
cooked or stored in it; different styles for different kinds of fire, etc.)
Arthur and Sam playing one of the games.





I was especially interested in the information we were given about the Powhatan homes.  A fire would constantly burn in the middle of the wigwam.  The doors were intentionally short (around four feet) so the smoke would stay in the house.  Food, hanging from the ceiling, would stay preserved, the reeds of the walls would stay dry, and people would enter to shake off some of the humidity.  Even in summer, to have some dry heat would really help cool bodies down.  The smoke helped provide a break from the mosquitoes, too.  Most of the Indian's cooking and other activities were done outdoors.

(Interestingly, I had been taught to use the term "Native American" or "First Nations" as a politically correct way to refer to the tribes of people living in the area before European settlers, and to the native peoples I meet today.  But in the reading we've done, and here in Jamestown, and at the big museum in DC (The Museum of the American Indian), I've learned that the term "Indian" is preferred by the native peoples of this region.  Is that the case out west and/or in Canada still?) 

The inside of the home!  Typically the floor would be covered with
furs as well - about six-eight inches deep!  It wasn't very practical
for this museum to do that, though, with thousands of visitors coming through.


When we were done exploring the Powhatan Village, we moved on to the Colonial Settlement where another tour guide met us. 
The Colonial Village, set up to show how Jamestown might have looked. 

Our colonial tour guide.  I learned so much from him about the church of 1607
and also the preserving of food!  There were other guides around the fort,
showing armour and weapons and the homes, etc.

well protected
There was still plenty of excitement in our group to continue onto the third area: the ships.  The museum had created replicas of each of the first three ships to arrive in Jamestown.  Sadly, one of them was off doing an educational program up the river - they try to sail all the ships regularly.  In fact, one of the ships retraced the England-Jamestown trek a few years ago!

Again, there were tour guides on each ship, cheerfully playing the parts, encouraging the kids (and us!) to learn, allowing us to touch and climb and try.  Amazing.
The Susan Constant, as it probably looked in 1607.

This would have been one crowded ship!
 
I find the complex system of ropes to be so photogenic!

The view from the ships!  James River, looking toward the Chesapeake.

Most of our troop of kids, standing aboard the Susan Constant!


Chatting with a guide aboard the Discovery, the smallest of the ships.
By this point, we were sunned and tired of being on our feet!  We were the last to leave the park.  (Well, the only other visitors at the museum that day were seniors, who probably like to eat supper at four.)  :)  We drove to the colonial village of Williamsburg, where we thoroughly enjoyed supper in a 1750s tavern!  Live fiddling music, waitresses in colonial clothing, racks of lamb, clam soup, hearty ale, candlelight.... what a great end to the day!  (But Jamestown and Williamsburg sure could have kept us occupied for another several days!)

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