AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF ELITE TOWNHOUSE SITES IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, 1770-1850

Excavations conducted at the Aiken-Rhett Mansion and the William Gibbes House, two well documented elite townhouse sites in Charleston, South Carolina, have resulted in a proposed model of archaeological status indicators in an urban setting. Data from the two sites are utilized in a discussion of patterns in architecture, land use, subsistence strategies, and material culture. Two previously studied sites in Charleston, low status Lodge Alley and upper middle class First Trident, form an archaeological control and provide an illustration of the different deposits expected of diverse socioeconomic groups.