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The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony

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_The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony (W. H. Freeman) by James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz, takes the history we would like to believe about the Pilgrims and makes it the history that is history, not wishful thinking. Prepare to abandon cherished ideas: Pilgrims almost undoubtedly never set that first foot on Plymouth Rock. Pilgrims dressed in brightly colored clothes. They didn't live in log cabins. They didn't eat turkey for Thanksgiving. They shot guns off to celebrate that first harvest, but no one is on record of thanking anyone for anything on that day. The most frequent crimes for which they were tried were sexual ones, and premarital sex occurred at a shocking rate. The mythmakers of the nineteenth century found the supposedly pure Pilgrims more attractive than the rowdy, fortune-seeking crew at Jamestown, even though Jamestown preceded Plymouth.

The Times of Their Lives deals with the social history of the colony, but also examines how the historians and archeologists have been able to come to present conclusions, some greatly at odds with Pilgrim image. The book climaxes with a description of the changes at Plimoth Plantation, the recreation of the colony along the lines of something like Williamsburg. James Deetz was a director of the museum for eleven years, and took the radical position that visitors should be induced to believe that they had really entered the seventeenth century because nothing would be present that was not there at that time. This lively and fascinating book explains some of how the authenticity was confirmed and instilled in the museum. If we have to abandon some idealization of purity in our puritans, so much the better for a humane understanding of their history.

This book is a thorough piece of work - facts, dry text, colorful insights, dull academia, interesting human elements. It is a strange piece to review, as now that I have finished reading the book, I look back and can actually consider it to be a number of smaller works all contained within the save cover. With that in mind, I will comment on the "sections" individually as well as the work as a whole.

Archaeology: interesting subject matter for sure, the reader may well find themselves irresistibly drawn in to the discussions on the various referenced sites. However, the author in his/her attempt at describing orientations of items/foundations, etc., does a poor job. In many instances, a simple keyed diagram would have much more applicable and practical than long-winded and convoluted textual descriptions.

Lifestyles: flowing, page-turning descriptions of the subject matter at hand, be it the belief in the existence of witches, the settlement of estates, or the rules regarding fornication. Well done!

References to other work: must say that I was a bit disappointed with the occasional complete dependence on Demos' A Little Commonwealth.

Self-promotion: constant references by the authors to themselves in the 3rd person became annoying, carrying with it an unmistakable air of arrogance. And the disjointed and gratuitous "Postscript" written at the end of Chapter 6 by Patricia Scott Deetz that rambles on about her husband/co-author's many accomplishments was unnecessary and totally out of place.

Overall: A strange conglomeration of creative writing and storytelling ala Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick and drier Demos-style reliance and regurgitation of old probate records. In the end, I am happy to have read this work, and the experience was enjoyable overall. I can't help but feel, however, that the authors have sold themselves short and not fully-harnessed their collective knowledge of and love for the Plymouth Colony history.

James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz's The Times of Their Lives (Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony) looks at the somewhat misnamed Pilgrims, including much recent archeological scholarship along with the usual documentary evidence upon which most historians exclusively rely. They show a great respect for the nineteenth century created myths surrounding the pilgrims while at the same time deconstructing them to present as realistic picture of this time as current research will allow. Along the way, they touch upon crime, sex, marriage, material culture, and food to give a full picture of the lives lived in Plymouth Colony, both British and Indian. The authors manage to make all of the archeological information quite palatable to the average reader. A nice read.

In this interesting book, Deetz and Deetz develop a realistic picture of the original settlers of Plymouth Plantation. Basically, these settlers were not our Thanksgiving stereotype of devout religious dissenters, grim and disciplined, who wore shoes with big square buckles. Instead, these settlers were much more diverse, and were a mixture of religious separatists (the minority) and secular types in search of land and prosperity. Of particular interest to me was the authors' discussion of crime in Plymouth. One warning: The book has passages that suffer from political correctness. This reader found them distracting.

Dr. James Deetz presents much newly discovered material on the Pilgrims and their journey to the New World. He spends much time describing and giving details on clothing, house building, the legal system with laws and punishment and generally gives the reader a vision of life in the 1600s. He includes lists of possessions and values of items belonging to several men, giving us a glimpse into the world of their time. Even though his research questions many of our previously held assumptions, he presents a picture of a strong, dedicated group of individuals acting together as a group to meet a common goal.

The Time of Their Lives by James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz is about the Pilgrims' culture in Plymouth Colony. The book explores Plymouth Colony through archaeological evidence. The thesis of the book is "Plymouth Colony has an organizing story that is worth recounting in all its colorful detail, enlivened and expanded by contemporary archaeology, cultural research and living history" (xv). This book gives an improved description of who the Pilgrims were.

This book clears up the false interpretations of the Pilgrims as being holy and enlightened by examining their behavior. The book tells about the myths of Thanksgiving in the first chapter. The myths are portrayed as inaccurate when looking at the affairs of the Pilgrims with the Indians. The Pilgrims' laws were based off of English law with adjustment to the new world when necessary. There was use of indentured servants. The book also goes into detail about the different laws and crimes committed. Some sexual crimes that have been documented are bestiality, sodomy, adultery, incest, and fornication. Domestic violence also occurred in Plymouth times. The court was also unlikely to grant divorces because of its strong belief on marriage. The book also explains the different housing in Plymouth Colony. The book goes into detail about the importance of archaeologist findings that explain Plymouth Colony.

The Time of Their Lives is a well-written book. The Deetzs use a lot of primary sources to provide first hand evidence to bring to life what it may have been like to live in Plymouth Colony. Court documents are used to demonstrate the types of crimes that were committed in Plymouth Colony and the punishments that were used. There are a lot of court documents that dealt with sex crimes like adultery and bestiality. Some other sources the Deetzs also use are artifacts, folklore, ethnic studies, demographics, ethnography, and letters. The Deetzs use secondary sources to add expertise to their research. For example, "Historian David Hackett Fischer emphasizes the number of saltbox houses in the eastern counties of England in the late sixteenth centuries, and suggests that New Englanders simply built houses with which they were familiar" (190). The authors show how primary sources are useful to give a clear picture of Plymouth Colony.
The Deetzs' approaches in making their ideas are clear and effective. Occasionally they will propose a question and then answer it at the end of the paragraph. For example, they start a paragraph off asking "What might it really have been like to live in Plymouth close to four hundred years ago," and then they conclude with "It is not possible to know what life was really like but the records that do enable us to obtain a glimpse of what did and could happen" (84). The proposed question causes the reader to think. The book also has a lot of different topics in the chapters, which prevents the book from being repetitive. The Deetzs' approaches are clear and effective because they keep the book interesting from start to finish.

This book is also effective on explaining how primary sources are used. The authors demonstrate that primary sources may lack certain information by saying, "Population figures are difficult to obtain with accuracy, but by 1643 there were probably 1,500 and 2,000 people living in the colony" (132). The Deetzs also explain what evidence was used to come up with their conclusion. For example, "The four most useful and significant bodies of material that provide us with access to the material world of Plymouth are few early descriptions available, standing houses, probate inventories, and those findings obtained through excavating the homesteads of the early settlers of Plymouth" (172). The Deetzs also explain the importance of archaeology as a primary source when they say, "Wherever archaeologists uncover the material evidence of the past, connections are made with the people who ate pottages using the spoons that have been excavated" (269). This book is good at explaining the importance and reliability of primary sources.

The Time of Their Lives is different then other books of its genre because it is from an archeologist perspective instead of an historian perspective. The archeologist perspective differs from the historian perspective by focusing on culture instead of chronological order of historical events. For example, The First Frontier by R.V. Coleman organizes the chapters into chronological order instead of culture characteristics. Coleman's book also focuses on the importance of historical events instead of the culture in daily life. The Time of Their Lives is different from other books in its genre because it is about culture instead of historical events.

The Time of Their Lives is also different than books in its genre because how it portrays myths and certain historical figures. The book goes into detail about the myths of the first thanksgiving, forefathers, the rock, and the Mayflower compact. The myths do not resemble who the Pilgrims really were because their research explains otherwise. The Deetzs portray certain historical figures differently than other books of the genre. For example, the Deetzs say about Squanto, "Being able to speak both languages, he played off one side against the other on a number of occasions" (64). The First Frontier by R.V. Coleman only told about the positive aspects of Squanto instead of the negative aspects. The Time of Their Lives is different from other books in the American colonial genre because its different perspective on the myths and historical figures that made Plymouth Colony legendary.

James Deetz's background and knowledge of the subject matter makes him the more reliable of the two authors. James Deetz received his Ph.D. from Harvard, which has the reputation of being the best college of the United States. He was a Professor at University of Harrison where he taught Historical Archaeology. His experience of leading research on Plymouth has given him an understanding of the subject matter that another writer would not have because he works directly with a variety of primary resources. He has also written other books about archaeology in the colonial era. Patricia Scott Deetz credentials come from working with her husband in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Virginia. She also has a master's degree in history with an emphasis in cultural history from Rhodes University in South Africa. Patricia Scott Deetz has written a few scholarly articles. The Deetzs' first hand experience of spending years researching in Plymouth with their academic background has made them a reliable source. Two authors provide more expertise than one author. The Deetzs have the credentials for writing a reliable book about Plymouth Colony.

This book is one that should be read because it provides a different perspective than other books in the American colonial genre. The emphasis on culture is important because it provides a better understanding of Plymouth Colony. The book also evaluates evidence more than other books in the genre, which would be helpful for students to understand what the reliable sources are. Overall this book is a good book that students should read to have a better understanding of Plymouth Colony.

Poor Deetz. His ego got in the way of a great book. There are some exceptional chapters... the one's that avoid his own personal agenda or self publicity attempts.

Yes, our view of the past does needs to be reconsidered, but the attempt to set the record straight is not helped when one, such as Deetz, wants to remind the general reader how "correct" he is, vice those of lessor talent.

As for the title, one gets the impression that he was also referring to himself. Deetz has done good work and can be justly proud of his achievements. But his self publicity makes one appreciate all the superb works of Ivor Noel Hume, such as Martin's Hundred and The Virginia Experience.

You get the feeling Deetz is a bit of an ass, true, but the book speaks for itself; it's sensational. He gets right to the heart of the matter in the first pages: the truth about Thanksgiving is nothing like the perception. He brings the truth out of a morass of lies. Even in this time of greater accuracy in history-telling, Deetz's book stands out as a particularly honest approach. Yes, English people were responsible for the annihilation of the native population; that much even Jerry Falwell would acknowledge. But the fact that we cover it up and celebrate it with Thanksgiving is the sad part.
There was a lot more happening in the 1620s than historians have allowed us to see.

An absolutely wonderful, detail-filled account of early colonial America by one of the greatest archaeologists of our time. He will be missed.

A thorough, insightful and brilliant analysis.