<h2><SPAN name="farming" name="farming"></SPAN>Farming</h2>
<p>The first settlers brought seeds from England, and planted wheat 2 weeks
after landing at Jamestown.</p>
<p>The early Virginians successfully grew many kinds of crops: grains
(wheat, Indian corn, barley, oats, and rye), vegetables (peas, beans,
turnips, parsley, onions, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots,
parsnips, lettuce, and others), and fruits (apples, peaches, apricots,
quince, figs, grapes, and melons).</p>
<p>The colonists planted Indian corn as early as 1609, and cultivated many
other Indian foods, including pumpkins, beans, and squash. They
cultivated tobacco (an Indian plant) as early as 1612, and during the
remainder of the century it was the most profitable crop grown. For many
years it was the economic salvation of the struggling colony.</p>
<p>Attempts were made by the early colonists to grow other crops which, for
various reasons, did not thrive at Jamestown. Some plants, like bananas,
pineapple, citrus fruits, and pomegranates, could not withstand the cold
Virginia winters. Other plants, including rice, cotton, indigo,
sugarcane, flax, hemp, and olives, did not grow vigorously for one
reason or another, and repeated efforts to cultivate them usually
resulted in failure. Mulberry trees grew well at Jamestown (the leaves
were used to feed silk worms), but attempts to make silk were not
successful commercially.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box095"><SPAN href="images/095.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/095s.jpg" title="Tools used in the cultivation of tobacco over 300 years ago. These tools—hoe, billhook, and cutting knives—were excavated at Jamestown." alt="[Illustration: Tools used in the cultivation of tobacco over 300 years ago. These tools—hoe, billhook, and cutting knives—were excavated at Jamestown.]" width-obs="432" height-obs="291" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Tools used in the cultivation of tobacco over 300 years ago. These tools—hoe, billhook, and cutting knives—were excavated at Jamestown.</div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box096"><SPAN href="images/096.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/096s.jpg" title="Cultivating a small garden in Virginia. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Cultivating a small garden in Virginia. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="524" height-obs="774" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Cultivating a small garden in Virginia. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box097"><SPAN href="images/097.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/097s.jpg" title="A few farm tools used by an early settler for cultivating his newly cleared land." alt="[Illustration: A few farm tools used by an early settler for cultivating his newly cleared land.]" width-obs="435" height-obs="357" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A few farm tools used by an early settler for cultivating his newly cleared land.</div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box098"><SPAN href="images/098.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/098s.jpg" title="Fishing provided food as well as recreation for the colonists. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Fishing provided food as well as recreation for the colonists. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="459" height-obs="383" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Fishing provided food as well as recreation for the colonists. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box099"><SPAN href="images/099.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/099s.jpg" title="A few of the many artifacts relating to fishing unearthed at Jamestown: fishhooks, fish-gigs, and lead net weights." alt="[Illustration: A few of the many artifacts relating to fishing unearthed at Jamestown: fishhooks, fish-gigs, and lead net weights.]" width-obs="432" height-obs="457" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A few of the many artifacts relating to fishing unearthed at Jamestown: fishhooks, fish-gigs, and lead net weights.</div>
</div>
<p>Handtools used by the Jamestown farmers during the 17th-century have
been found in abundance. These include axes, picks, billhooks,
pitchforks, spades, rakes, mattocks, sickles, scythes, broad hoes,
narrow hoes, and shovels.</p>
<p>Only a few parts belonging to heavy farming implements have been
unearthed, including a few ploughshares and small metal fragments from
wagons, carts, and harrows.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="fishing" name="fishing"></SPAN>Fishing</h2>
<p>When the first settlers planted their small colony at Jamestown, the
tidewater rivers and bays and the Atlantic Ocean bordering the Virginia
coast teemed with many kinds of fish and shellfish which were both
edible and palatable. Varieties which the colonists soon learned to eat
included sheepshead, shad, sturgeon, herring, sole, white salmon, bass,
flounder, pike, bream, perch, rock, and drum, as well as oysters,
crabs, and mussels. Seafood was an important source of food for the
colonists, and at times, especially during the early years of the
settlement, it was the main source.</p>
<p>Those in England who planned to go to Virginia were always advised to
provide themselves (among other items) with nets, fishhooks, and lines.</p>
<p>During archeological explorations, fishhooks, lead net weights,
fish-gigs, and small anchors were uncovered. These are reminders of a
day when fish and shellfish were abundant in every tidewater Virginia
creek, river, and bay.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="health" name="health"></SPAN>Health</h2>
<p>Keeping well and healthy, even managing to stay alive in the unfamiliar
Virginia wilderness during the first two decades of the Jamestown
settlement, was no easy matter. In the group of 105 original settlers,
67 died during the first 8 months. During the hard winter of 1609-10
(known as the “starving time”), the population dwindled from 500 to
about 60 as a result of sickness, Indian attacks, and famine.</p>
<p>One of the members of the first colony was a surgeon, William Wilkinson
by name. As the colony grew, other surgeons, physicians, and
apothecaries, emigrated to Virginia. Their lot was not easy, for it
appears that they were seldom idle in an island community having more
than its share of “cruell diseases, Swellings, Flixes, Burning Fevers,
warres and meere famine.”</p>
<p>During archeological explorations, drug jars, ointment pots, bleeding
bowls, mortars and pestles, small bottles and vials, and parts of
surgical instruments were recovered. These, undoubtedly, were used
countless times at Jamestown by unknown “chirurgions,” doctors of
“physickes,” and apothecaries—men who tried to keep the colonists well
with their limited medical equipment and scant supply of drugs.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="amusements_and_pastimes" name="amusements_and_pastimes"></SPAN>Amusements and Pastimes</h2>
<p>The difficult and time-consuming job of conquering the Virginia
wilderness (clearing the land, building homes, planting and harvesting
crops, and warding off Indian attacks) left few hours for leisure and
amusements. There were times, however (especially after the first few
hard years had passed), when a colonist could enjoy himself by smoking
his pipe, playing a game, practicing archery, bowling, playing a musical
instrument, singing a ballad, or taking part in a lively dance.
Excavated artifacts reveal that the settlers enjoyed at least these few
amusements and pastimes.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box100"><SPAN href="images/100.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/100s.jpg" title="A physician bleeding a patient. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: A physician bleeding a patient. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="455" height-obs="298" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A physician bleeding a patient. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box101"><SPAN href="images/101.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/101s.jpg" title="A few items unearthed at Jamestown which were used by doctors and apothecaries. Included are drug jars, ointment pot, bleeding bowl, mortar and pestle fragments, glass vials, and portions of surgical instruments." alt="[Illustration: A few items unearthed at Jamestown which were used by doctors and apothecaries. Included are drug jars, ointment pot, bleeding bowl, mortar and pestle fragments, glass vials, and portions of surgical instruments.]" width-obs="547" height-obs="366" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A few items unearthed at Jamestown which were used by doctors and apothecaries. Included are drug jars, ointment pot, bleeding bowl, mortar and pestle fragments, glass vials, and portions of surgical instruments.</div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box102"><SPAN href="images/102.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/102s.jpg" title="Enjoying a smoke in a tavern, about 1625. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Enjoying a smoke in a tavern, about 1625. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="462" height-obs="329" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Enjoying a smoke in a tavern, about 1625. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box103"><SPAN href="images/103.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/103s.jpg" title="A few of thousands of clay pipe fragments unearthed at Jamestown. The ones shown range in date from 1600 to 1700. During this 100-year period, pipes developed from small bowls to fairly large ones." alt="[Illustration: A few of thousands of clay pipe fragments unearthed at Jamestown. The ones shown range in date from 1600 to 1700. During this 100-year period, pipes developed from small bowls to fairly large ones.]" width-obs="548" height-obs="426" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A few of thousands of clay pipe fragments unearthed at Jamestown. The ones shown range in date from 1600 to 1700. During this 100-year period, pipes developed from small bowls to fairly large ones.</div>
</div>
<h3><SPAN name="smoking" name="smoking"></SPAN>Smoking</h3>
<p>The first colonists were quite familiar with the use of tobacco, and it
is believed that many of them smoked clay pipes. Evidently there was
some demand for tobacco pipes by the early planters as one of the men,
Robert Cotten, who reached Jamestown in January 1608, was a tobacco
pipemaker.</p>
<p>In 1611-12 John Rolfe had experimented with tobacco plants in Virginia
(he used Virginia plants as well as varieties from the West Indies and
South America), and was successful in developing a sweet-scented leaf.
It became popular overnight, and for many years was the staple crop of
the infant colony. There was a prompt demand for the new leaf in
England, and its introduction there was an important factor in
popularizing the use of clay pipes. After 1620 the manufacture of white
clay pipes in England increased by leaps and bounds.</p>
<p>It is estimated that there are over 50,000 clay pipe bowls and stem
fragments in the Jamestown collection—perhaps the largest assemblage of
its kind extant. Pipe bowls and stem fragments were found wherever
excavations were made, indicating that the smoking of clay pipes was an
extremely popular custom at Jamestown.</p>
<p>During the 1607-1700 period, pipe-bowls developed in size from small to
fairly large. In most examples that have been found, the early pipes
have larger stem-holes than pipes made during the latter years of the
century.</p>
<p>Although the majority of pipes found at Jamestown were imported from
England, some were made in Holland. Some of the colonists made their
pipes in Virginia from local clay, either by pipemaking machines or by
handmolding. The English and Dutch pipes were white in color, whereas
the local product was brown. As they were fragile, not a single complete
pipe has been unearthed at Jamestown.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box104"><SPAN href="images/104.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/104s.jpg" title="Harvesting tobacco at Jamestown, about 1650. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Harvesting tobacco at Jamestown, about 1650. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="548" height-obs="283" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Harvesting tobacco at Jamestown, about 1650. <span class="by">(Painting by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box105"><SPAN href="images/105.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/105s.jpg" title="Childrens’ games depicted on Dutch delftware fireplace tiles are very similar to the games children play today. The tiles were made in Holland almost 300 years ago." alt="[Illustration: Childrens’ games depicted on Dutch delftware fireplace tiles are very similar to the games children play today. The tiles were made in Holland almost 300 years ago.]" width-obs="436" height-obs="435" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Childrens’ games depicted on Dutch delftware fireplace tiles are very similar to the games children play today. The tiles were made in Holland almost 300 years ago.</div>
</div>
<h3><SPAN name="games" name="games"></SPAN>Games</h3>
<p>A few ivory fragments that have been excavated appear to be parts of
dice and chessmen. Chess was popular during the 17th century, and many
dice games, including even and odd, hazard, passage, mumchance, and
novem were played.</p>
<p>Other games which undoubtedly were played in many Jamestown homes were
tick-tack, backgammon, Irish, and cards. Card games were popular,
especially primero, trump, piquet, saint, and decoy.</p>
<p>Many 17th-century fireplace tiles in the Jamestown collection are
decorated with charming little pictures depicting children’s games.
Activities portrayed include skating, bowling, spinning tops, fishing,
rolling hoops, using a yo-yo, swinging, wrestling, skipping rope,
shooting, playing skittles, riding a hobby horse, sledding, boxing, and
playing musical instruments. These pictures remind us that games played
by boys and girls today are very similar to those enjoyed by children
three centuries ago.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box106"><div><SPAN href="images/106.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/106s.jpg" title="Archeological explorations revealed that the colonists enjoyed archery. The iron lever shown, known as a “goat’s foot,” was used for setting the string of a light hunting crossbow. It was found 4 miles from Jamestown. Illustration showing the use of a “goat’s foot” from _Weapons, A Pictorial History_ by Edwin Tunis." alt="[Illustration: Archeological explorations revealed that the colonists enjoyed archery. The iron lever shown, known as a “goat’s foot,” was used for setting the string of a light hunting crossbow. It was found 4 miles from Jamestown. Illustration showing the use of a “goat’s foot” from _Weapons, A Pictorial History_ by Edwin Tunis.]" width-obs="502" height-obs="114" /></SPAN></div>
<div><SPAN href="images/107.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/107s.jpg" title="Archeological explorations revealed that the colonists enjoyed archery. The iron lever shown, known as a “goat’s foot,” was used for setting the string of a light hunting crossbow. It was found 4 miles from Jamestown. Illustration showing the use of a “goat’s foot” from _Weapons, A Pictorial History_ by Edwin Tunis." alt="[Illustration: Archeological explorations revealed that the colonists enjoyed archery. The iron lever shown, known as a “goat’s foot,” was used for setting the string of a light hunting crossbow. It was found 4 miles from Jamestown. Illustration showing the use of a “goat’s foot” from _Weapons, A Pictorial History_ by Edwin Tunis.]" width-obs="441" height-obs="422" /></SPAN></div>
<div class="caption">Archeological explorations revealed that the colonists enjoyed archery. The iron lever shown, known as a “goat’s foot,” was used for setting the string of a light hunting crossbow. It was found 4 miles from Jamestown. Illustration showing the use of a “goat’s foot” from <span class="by">Weapons, A Pictorial History</span> by Edwin Tunis.</div>
</div>
<h3><SPAN name="archery_and_hunting" name="archery_and_hunting"></SPAN>Archery and Hunting</h3>
<p>One interesting item relating to archery has been found 4 miles from
Jamestown. Known as a “goat’s foot,” it is an iron lever which was used
for pulling back and setting the string of a light hunting crossbow.</p>
<p>Contemporary records indicate that hunting game birds and animals was a
popular New World diversion. Such sport served a twofold purpose, as it
offered recreation to the settler and helped provide food for his table.
Parts of early fowling pieces and numerous lead birdshot (called goose
or swan shot during the early years of the 17th century) have been
recovered.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="music_and_dancing" name="music_and_dancing"></SPAN>Music and Dancing</h3>
<p>A large assortment of iron and brass Jew’s harps (also known as Jew’s
trumps) have been found. This small instrument is lyre-shaped, and when
placed between the teeth gives tones from a bent metal tongue when
struck by the finger. Modulation of tone is produced by changing the
size and shape of the mouth cavity.</p>
<p>As there is no record of spinets, or virginals, having been used at
Jamestown, we have no way of knowing whether such wire-stringed,
keyboard instruments were used in the homes of the more prosperous
planters, together with other musical instruments of the period.</p>
<p>It is quite certain, however, that the Jamestown settlers knew the songs
and ballads which were sung in Great Britain in those days. They were
also familiar with English, Irish, Welsh, and Scotch dances. A few
contemporary accounts reveal that the Virginia colonists enjoyed merry
tunes and ditties, as well as lively dances. Although living in a
wilderness, there were times when they could enjoy a few leisure-hour
activities and amusements, including singing and dancing.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box108"><SPAN href="images/108.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/108s.jpg" title="Playing a Jew’s harp—enjoying a little music in the Virginia wilderness. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Playing a Jew’s harp—enjoying a little music in the Virginia wilderness. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="284" height-obs="324" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Playing a Jew’s harp—enjoying a little music in the Virginia wilderness. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box109"><SPAN href="images/109.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/109s.jpg" title="An assortment of Jew’s harps unearthed at Jamestown." alt="[Illustration: An assortment of Jew’s harps unearthed at Jamestown.]" width-obs="234" height-obs="408" /></SPAN><div class="caption">An assortment of Jew’s harps unearthed at Jamestown.</div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box110"><SPAN href="images/110.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/110s.jpg" title="A few objects recovered at Jamestown which were once used on 17th-century boats—reminders of a day when travel in Virginia was largely by water." alt="[Illustration: A few objects recovered at Jamestown which were once used on 17th-century boats—reminders of a day when travel in Virginia was largely by water.]" width-obs="527" height-obs="438" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A few objects recovered at Jamestown which were once used on 17th-century boats—reminders of a day when travel in Virginia was largely by water.</div>
</div>
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