Bone Needlecase- Burlington County, NJ (Video)
Adam Heinrich (ASNJ), Archaeology at the Restore Lippincott Homestead, Burlington, County, NJ
New Jersey archaeologists excavated a multi-generational site in Burlington County. The land was purchased by an English Quaker named Restore Lippincott in 1690. When Restore died in 1741, he left a detailed record of his “property” including the names of African and Native American slaves. Archaeological evidence suggests that these individuals lived with the family in designated quarters.
Several artifacts were found in the slave quarters including copper spoon, tobacco pipe fragments, and this needlecase made of bone. Needlecases were small, handy containers that women used to keep their needles from rusting. Cases were a common object in colonial American, however, its decorative elements may reflect the African Diaspora.
Archaeologist Adam Heinrich suggests that the diagonal lines on the needlecase look similar to motifs found on Chesapeake tobacco pipes. Both tobacco pipes and bone products (like needlecases) were primarily produced by African-Americans. Objects from these regions often have repeating line patterns representing the number "4"- a lucky number among West African groups.
