Glossary

bannerstone - a rock used as a counterweight on spearthrowers to make them travel faster and further

canoe - a narrow, light weight boat moved with paddles

cash crop - a crop that is grown especially to sell in order to make money

drinking water - water pure enough for humans to drink

erosion - natural process that removes dirt or rock from the earth's surface

estuary - a semi-enclosed body of water with a source of fresh water and and an outlet to the ocean

hammerstone - a stone used to break another rock into pieces

hay dehydrator - a machine that rapidly heats hay in order to dry it more efficiently

hoe - a tool with a flat blade attached at a right angle to a handle and used to dig up the soil

hogshead - a large barrel used to transport tobacco, weighing between 500 and 2000 pounds

Holstein - a type of large, black and white cows raised for milk and beef

indentured servant - a person bound by a contract to work for another person

middens - places where prehistoric people dumped their garbage

navigable - wide or deep enough to be traveled on by ships

old fields - areas that had been cultivated previously

overseer - a supervisor; one who watches over and directs the work of others

Piscataway - a group of Algonkian speaking people who lived in Maryland

plow - a farm tool made of a heavy blade attached to a beam used to break up the soil

prize or press - a simple machine that uses a crank to pack tobacco into large barrels

rolling road - path worn by haulers of tobacco as they rolled the product from the farm to the wharf

silting - to become filled with silt or sediment

slavery - the owning or keeping of people

temper - ground rock, shell, or sand added to clay that helps hold the clay together in the process of making pottery

weir - a fence of wood or rock placed in a stream to catch fish. Also a dam to divert water