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Padlocks as Supernatural Objects in the African Diaspora

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Abstract

Padlocks are often recovered archaeologically from enslaved African contexts in the Western Hemisphere, and prior research has suggested mundane interpretations for these utilitarian objects. However, padlocks are routinely used in many religiosities and belief systems throughout the African continent as supernatural objects, and a key metaphor in “locking down” evil, bodily functions, or individuals’ lives. An exploration of padlocks as potential supernatural objects is conducted within enslaved plantation contexts in the American South and Mid Atlantic, and compared to key African cultures of the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries.

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    James M. Davidson

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Davidson, J.M. Padlocks as Supernatural Objects in the African Diaspora. Int J Histor Archaeol 27, 953–983 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-023-00695-6

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