Historical Archeology at Minute Man National Historical Park,Massachusetts,1963–1980: Comments on the use of Retrieved Data

Between 1963 and 1980, seventeen historic archeological sites were excavated in Minute Man National Historical Park (MIMA), located in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, Massachusetts. The sites date to the 17th–19th centuries, and the majority are located on Battle Road, the route taken by British and Colonial forces on the eventful day of April 19, 1775. Except for one tavern and two roads, all sites are farm or homesteads. Since none of the research reports on these sites has been published, researchers interested in comparative data generally are unaware of what is available. Unfortunately, this situation prevails for many North American historic sites excavated prior to the early 1970s—the period when most of the research at the Minute Man Park was done. This article summarizes and evaluates the research done on the Minute Man sites, and identifies areas for which the excavated data have comparative value. An annotated bibliography of the reports on the seventeen sites also is provided. Detailed information on the results presented here is based on and can be found in Baker (1980).