‘”very plain plantation fare’”: Zooarchaeological Re-Analysis of the Wing of Offices at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

Summary

The Department of Archaeology and Landscapes at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest is currently engaged in an extensive re-analysis of the Wing of Offices archaeological collection. The Wing was a dependency of four rooms designed for cooking and other domestic activities. It was added to Jefferson’s octagonal retreat home in 1813 and removed around 1840. As part of this re-analysis, the faunal remains from the Wing are being revisited and re-evaluated. In this paper, we will build on the previous analysis of the Wing faunal materials by adding additional contexts and by exploring what information biomass and extensive butchery analyses can add to the interpretation of food remains at Poplar Forest. The end result is a richer interpretation of the cuisine served to Jefferson, his family, and his guests, as well an expanded understanding of the activities of Jefferson’s enslaved cook Hannah and her assistants in the Wing.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Enslavement and the Black Diaspora   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-73,05