Abstract
This paper describes the archaeology of one family’s tolerance to the stressors associated with the settlement of a new place. Artifacts associated with the maintenance of clothing suggest that a British family newly arrived at the Swan River colony in the southwest of Australia had the ability to remain composed during a period of reduced resources and psychological strain. The family’s ability to resist stress was probably the result of the social knowledge gained during previous experiences with internal migration in the British Isles during a time of high social dislocation.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Damien Hassan, Peter Di Marco, and Gerard Foley of the State Records Office of Western Australia; Ezgi Perincek and Lyal Woods of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions (Parks and Wildlife); and Julian Donaldson and Karl Haynes of the National Trust of Australia (Western Australia branch) for supporting the research. Alexandra Suvorova of Microscopy Australia at the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis at the University of Western Australia was invaluable for accessing thimbles PT000103 and PT000108, while Masters Thomas Murphy and Jack Straw played small but very important roles. Thank you to Melissa Carling for feedback on the final draft.
We dedicate this paper to students from the College of St Mary’s Notre Dame IN who assisted with the research at the Crisp dwelling and elsewhere at Peel town while studying abroad in Western Australia at the University of Notre Dame Australia. We thank Mary Ducaji, Katelyn Durning, Sharon Ehret, Sarah Frick, Katherine Hernandez, K. Jameson Loubsky, Shannon McCloskey, Dru O’Bryant, Stephanie Parshall, Lauren Richey, Jamie Rust, and Lillias Zusi.
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Tomlinson, L.G., Burke, S. The Archaeology of Resilience: A Case Study from Peel Town, Western Australia, 1829–30. Int J Histor Archaeol 26, 379–400 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00605-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00605-8